A.I.D.S. - America In Deep Sin - Part 1

In recent weeks, we have seen the rise of an obvious culture conflict in America. On the one side we have watched on the evening news how all moral restraint is being removed via the same-sex marriage movement. On the other side, we have watched in theaters nationwide "The Passion Of The Christ" film portray God's love for this wicked world. On the one side, we see homosexuals shamelessly kissing their partners and getting their marriage licenses. On the other side, we Jesus Christ emptying himself and dying on a cross for sinful men of women. On the one side is self-satisfaction while on the other side is self-sacrifice. Do you see the cultural war? 

Most of us know that AIDS is an abbreviation for Auto Immune Deficiency Syndrome.  But I believe it could be redefined and relabeled to represent America In Deep Sin. In essence, our nation is reaping what she has sown for the last thirty to forty years. Many Americans have convinced themselves that free sex and free love are acceptable.  Marriage is seen as a dying institution. Divorce is no longer wrong. Fornication is no longer a sin. Homosexuality is seen by many as an alternate lifestyle. Our society has redefined its terms in order to make it more acceptable. 

However, one's wealth can't buy life or time. The wages of sin is death. The Apostle Paul, under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, issued three indictments against this world -three indictments that God brought to pass in the courtroom of His justice.  Here is what God's Word has said.

First, Our Nation's Blindness Is Inexcusable

 

It is inexcusable, ladies and gentlemen, because we have chosen to ignore our conscience. We have chosen to ignore creation. We have chosen to ignore Christ. 

A) We Have Chosen to Ignore Our Conscience (v. 19) "Because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them."  Regardless of who you are, God has put into the heart of every person a conscience. It is there to help us discern between what is right and wrong. Yet, we have chosen to sear our conscience.

 

We can determine where we stand with God by asking these two questions:  What makes us laugh, and what makes us weep? Answering these two questions will enable us to know where our conscience stands in relationship to God. Many in our country have seared their conscience - they no longer can tell what is right or wrong. We live in a day when the unsaved refuse to blush and the Church no longer knows how to weep over the sins of mankind. We have chosen to ignore our conscience and we have chosen to ignore creation. We are watching the sins that use to slink down our back allies now parade down Main Street.

B) We Have Chosen to Ignore Creation (vv. 19-20) "Because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.  For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being made, so that they are without excuse." Regardless of what language we speak, everything in this universe bears this stamp - "Made by God."  Yet, many have chosen to ignore God, to make sure He has no place in our public school systems or our government. He is made fun of on television and in the movies. He is lampooned, ridiculed, cursed and blamed for all the economical and physical disasters of life. It is easier to get a Bible into atheistic nations than to get them into the schools of the United States of America. 

We have chosen to ignore God our Creator.  If there is a creation, there must be a Creator. Yet, we have chosen to willfully ignore Him. We've ignored conscience, we've ignored creation, and we have ignored Christ.

C) We Have Chosen to Ignore Christ (v.18) "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness."  The word "suppress" means to "smother," to "stifle." We have chosen to smother, to stifle, and to suppress the truth. It is not that we have never received the truth; we have chosen to press it down.

 

Jesus Christ is the truth. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life."  But we have chosen as a nation to ignore, to smother, and to stifle His message. No longer do we base our standards on what the Bible has to say; often we base our standards on what the experts have to say. We have chosen to ignore Christ. Our blindness is absolutely inexcusable.

 

A woman once shared with her pastor about her broken heart that was caused by her husband. With tears she told how her husband drank, cursed, gambled, and ran around on her. But she concluded by saying that her husband had a good heart. However, the pastor told her that the heart of the problem is the problem of his heart. Until a man's heart is changed, his life will never be changed. Never forget it, the reason for our condition is because the heart of the problem is the problem of the heart. Man is inexcusable in his sin. 

 

Hear what the Bible has to say about man. Isaiah says man's head is sick. Mark says his eyes are evil. David said his mouth is deceitful. Isaiah said his lips are unclean. James said his tongue is unruly. Paul said his throat is an open sepulcher. Jeremiah said his neck is stiff. Matthew said his eyes are dull. Isaiah said his hands are full of blood. Solomon said his feet are swift to mischief. Job said his bones are full of sin. Mark said his heart is exceedingly wicked. Regardless of how fancy his car, how expensive his clothes, how wealthy he is, or how powerful he becomes, the Bible says that man is a sinner. 

We don't want to call man's problem sin. We want to be more sophisticated. We want to come up with new labels. No longer is man homosexual, he has an alternate lifestyle. No longer do two people commit fornication, they are just living together. No longer is there adultery, it is now an affair. No longer is it called fraud, just insider trading. No longer is it lust, now it's a fantasy. 

Regardless how we label it, regardless of how we redefine it, the Bible still says man's problem is sin - S-I-N.  It is America In Deep Sin that has brought us to the place where we are today. Man's blindness is inexcusable. We have chosen to ignore conscience, creation and Christ. Not only is our blindness inexcusable, our nation's beliefs are irrational. There is no logic to the way we live.

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