How bad can it get?

Good morning, everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Sound doctrine, strong faith”

Our Bible verse for today: “For this reason God delivered them over to disgraceful passions. Their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. The men in the same way also left natural relations with women and were inflamed in their lust for one another. Men committed shameless acts with men and received in their own persons the appropriate penalty of their error.” Romans 1:26-27 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “How bad can it get?”

As we continue our study of the book of Romans (thinking about how it is that sound doctrine leads to strong faith), we come to a section at the beginning of the book that addresses an issue of doctrine that many in our society struggle with – including increasing numbers of Christians.

In 2018 I published a book with the title “Getting Along Without Going Along: Biblical Sexual Ethics in An Age of Controversy and Conflict”. Originally it was a devotional series written sometime in 2016 and which I then turned into a book in 2018. This was back in the days before same sex marriage was legal nationwide and there was a raging debate in our nation regarding a whole host of sexually related issues.

Not only was there debate and confusion in our society over what should be permissible and what civil laws were or were not needed, but there was a good deal of debate and confusion in the Christian community regarding what the Christian response to it should be, and even about what exactly the Bible teaches about all this. There was also debate about whether Biblical standards on sexuality even apply anymore – including among some Christians!

To help us as Southern Baptists to get a better grip on the issue, both in terms of the Biblical standards for sexual ethics but also in terms of effectively engaging our culture on these issues, there was a conference held in Nashville that was sponsored by the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention. It included over two thousand church leaders from forty-eight states and five countries. It also included leaders from the Gay and Lesbian community, who had been invited to speak and to interact with Southern Baptist leaders in the workshops and in the discussion groups.

The purpose of the event was to better equip church leaders for dealing with the massive cultural shift that was underway in our nation. Part of dealing effectively with difficult issues includes hearing firsthand from those on the other side of the issues. If you want to engage effectively with people on the other side of an issue you need to understand what they think and why they think that way. That’s why leaders from the Gay and Lesbian community were included in that conference. We wanted to hear them present their own case, and we wanted them to hear us – but to do so in a calm and reasoned manner that treated each other with respect and dignity. You can read more about that in the introduction to my book. (If you would like a copy of the book please let me know and I will be happy to send you one.)

We live in an age when it is essential for Christians to be clear in their understanding about what the Bible teaches with respect to sexual ethics. If we are not, our doctrine can become twisted, and our faith can become weak. How bad can it get? We will continue considering this issue tomorrow.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(If you like what you are reading in these daily devotionals and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00 – in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

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