One of the darkest times in Israel’s history was when “everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25).  It seems that mindset is growing more prevalent in our society today.  These days, no one is truly wrong about anything…except the one who would dare to say that someone else is wrong.  Our supposed “tolerance” of everyone and everything except those who take an actual stand concerning real right and wrong is one of the major reasons why our society is growing more sinful.  Sexual immorality, whether it be adultery, divorce, pornography, pre-marital sex, or homosexuality, is on the rise in our society and has been for some time.  More and more people are involved in recreational drugs of both the legal and illegal variety which get them drunk, addicted, and alter their minds, drugs such as alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, and heroine.  The killing of human beings whose lives are found to inconvenience, whether it be the unborn via abortion or the aged through euthanasia, has also put a stain on the soul of our country.  More and more people of all ages, including our children, think nothing of cursing each other with increasingly vulgar epithets and blaspheming the holy name of God by taking it in vain. 

Because of the rise of sin in our society, the Word of God is being maligned by our culture more than ever before in our nation’s history.  All signs show that it will get worse.  As a result, Christians will be increasingly tempted to ignore, overrule, or abandon certain parts or even the totality of Scripture in order to avoid offending people.  God’s followers must never give in to this temptation, no matter the cost!

Christians must never forget that the Bible contains the gospel.  The gospel is how God calls mankind to Himself (2 Thessalonians 2:14).  It is the instrument God has chosen to use to save mankind.  The apostle wrote, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16).  Jesus’ disciples must also never forget that His Word will judge us when all is said and done.  Christ said, “The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day” (John 12:48).  We need all of the Bible to know how to be righteous and fully equipped to do any good work in the sight of God (2 Timothy 3:16-17).  The totality of God’s Word is truth (Psalm 119:160; John 17:17).  Christians must follow it if they are to shine as lights in the midst of this crooked and twisted generation in which we live (Philippians 2:15-16).  If we abandon or ignore the Bible, we do so to our own destruction in the end (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9).  Why choose to side with the majority who reject the Bible when their end is destruction (Matthew 7:13-14)?

“All who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12).  Christ said that His followers are blessed when they are falsely reviled and persecuted because of their allegiance to Him (Matthew 5:10-12).  They will be victorious in the end (Revelation 6:9-17).  He promised that if we are faithful even to the point of dying for our faith, we will receive the crown of life (Revelation 2:10).  This is why saints must never abandon God’s Word, even when holding to it proves to be unpopular and leads to ostracism and mockery.

Instead, all who wear the name of Christ must study the Bible every single day (Psalm 1:1-6; 119:97).  We must choose to allow it to guide our every decision (Psalm 119:11).  Only then will we truly grow in real wisdom and stay away from sin (Psalm 119:98-104).  In the end, we will receive eternal salvation because we chose to obey Jesus, the Word (Hebrews 5:8-9; cf. John 1:1, 14).

Sin must be exposed for what it is with love and firmness (Ephesians 4:15; 5:11-12).  That requires asking a simple question:  “What does the Bible say?”  May we all heed what Scriptures says and teach it to others (Mark 16:15-16).