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Instead of following what is immoral that people in darkness do, Church members ought to bring these people out to the light.
WITH THE CHANGING TIMES and the constantly shifting fortunes of people as dictated by the ebb and flow of economics, we see the erosion of the moral fiber of the society, beginning with its basic unit, the family. This can be seen in the family’s disintegration—the growing statistics of juvenile delinquents, divorces or marriage break-ups, high crime rate, violence and the like are telltale signs that people’s morality is going down the drain.
Morality is supposed to make life in society decent and acceptable, for it embodies the rules, values, and the principles of conduct that people ought to follow to live a pleasant, decent, and socially acceptable life. However, the more liberal society is, the lower the level of morality becomes.
Let us consult the Bible concerning our conduct of life or our morality. On what should we base it? Apostle Paul answered in II Timothy 3:15-17:
“You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.” (New Living Translation)
We should base our conduct of life, our behavior, and our moral values on the teachings of the Bible. What is right and wrong should be based on God’s will, for after all, He who created man is the one who knows what is right and what is wrong for all of us. The Holy Scriptures which is inspired by God, guides us on what is morally right or what is morally wrong.
And what does the Holy Scriptures tell us concerning the conduct of our life and our morality? Apostle Paul made this clear admonition to the Christians in Romans 13:13, thus:
“… We must live decent lives for all to see. Don’t participate in the darkness of wild parties and drunkenness, or in sexual promiscuity and immoral living, or in quarreling and jealousy.” (nlt)
We ought to live decent lives, and true Christians should not be seen in immoral living or displaying unruly behavior.
We should never go with what many people of this world think and do even if this is tolerated by society and is popular. The Bible clearly teaches that we should not go with what the world thinks is right but is against God’s will:
“Do not conform yourselves to the standards of this world, but let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind. Then you will be able to know the will of God—what is good and is pleasing to him and is perfect.” (Rom. 12:2 Good News Bible)
As true Christians, we should then make sure that our morality always conforms to God’s will and standards—what is good and pleasing before Him and not to the standards of the society in which we live. Hence, not because an act or behavior conforms to the standard of morals of the society or this world, the true Christians should follow suit. This is not to say however, that we must go against society in general. We oppose only those practices that do not conform to God’s teachings, because the Bible clearly teaches: “Do not follow the majority when they do wrong …” (Exod. 23:2 gnb).
What then does God require of the morality of the true Christians? Apostle Peter in addressing the early Christians concerning what kind of morality they ought to have as God’s people, admonished them to:
“… Make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge.” (II Pet. 1:5 nlt)
Moral excellence is opposed to moral decadence. So, in the midst of moral decadence, God wants His servants to live on high moral grounds.
Apostle Peter explained what actually causes moral decadence and what servants of God do to maintain moral excellence:
“And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.” (II Pet. 1:4 nlt)
Moral decadence is caused by man’s evil desires. This is what we should escape from although it is prevalent in the society nowadays. However strong the pull of this decadence, God’s servants should not go with the flow.
Apostle Paul gave this admonition for us not to be pulled down by evil desires into moral decadence and to maintain moral excellence:
“Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” (II Tim. 2:22 New International Version)
Apostle Paul’s advice, given particularly to the young Timothy is also applicable to everyone of us. God’s servant should flee or escape from such by pursuing righteousness. The worst thing that may happen to a person who gives in to evil desires and immoral ways is depicted by the Apostle Paul, thus:
“They are people who lack all sense of right and wrong, and who have turned themselves over to doing whatever feels good and to practicing every sort of corruption along with greed.” (Eph. 4:19 Common English Bible)
This is the worst thing that can happen to a person, because if one does not care anymore about right and wrong, then that person’s life will be filled with all kinds of impurity and greed. To avoid falling into such a sad state, Apostle James instructed us to:
“Get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” (James 1:21–22 niv)
Hence, it is truly important to know the words of God for us to be able to do what is morally right before Him. That is why in the Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church Of Christ), it is the words of God that guide us in the way we conduct our lives.
Apostle Paul enumerated some of the things that are not morally right and therefore should not be followed, thus:
“Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.” (I Cor. 6:9–10 niv)
These acts mentioned by the apostle surely do not pass God’s standard of morality because those who are found doing these will certainly not inherit God’s kingdom. That is why in the true Church Of Christ, we do not condone such acts.
We should take note that God will judge the immoral, thus:
“You can be sure that no immoral, impure, or greedy person will inherit the Kingdom of Christ and of God. For a greedy person is really an idolater who worships the things of this world.” (Eph. 5:5 nlt)
Surely, the immoral, the impure and the greedy will not be saved. There is only one place for them to go—eternal punishment in the lake of fire.
That is why the servants of God are always admonished to maintain a life of moral excellence—to always live on high moral grounds set by God. And Apostle Paul gave us this reason:
“You yourselves used to be in the darkness, but since you have become the Lord’s people, you are in the light. So you must live like people who belong to the light, for it is the light that brings a rich harvest of every kind of goodness, righteousness, and truth. … Have nothing to do with the worthless things that people do, things that belong to the darkness. Instead, bring them out to the light.” (Eph. 5:8–9, 11 gnb)
The Lord’s servants or His people are in the light and so He expects them to live like people who belong to the light—to follow goodness, righteousness, and truth. Instead of following what is immoral or the worthless things that people in darkness do, they ought to bring these people out to the light. ❑
