by Nancy Vandemark
The very first sin committed in Genesis 3 was of idolatry. Adam and Eve put themselves before God. That has been mankind's biggest sin ever since. We value what we think, more than what God says.
While “there is nothing new under the sun” (Eccl. 1:9), in the past there have been nations who primarily believed in the LORD God. We are saved by grace, but show our love for God by doing our best to follow His law. That number has dwindled.
If you look back in the history of the United States you can see the decay. For the United States, the door to that decay opened even wider with the Supreme Court case in 1973. The Supreme Court issued a 7–2 decision ruling that the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides a “right to privacy” that protects a pregnant woman's right to choose whether or not to have an abortion. The ruling of the “right to privacy” opened the door wider for other sins also.
Today we have a tendency to rename the sins to make them more palatable. We call the murdering of preborn babies, “women's reproductive health”; the killing of the elderly and infirmed “compassionate care”. Although rejected for now, how long before pedophilia is labeled “minor-attracted people” as suggested by the author Allyn Walker. He wants to change the label of yet another sin as he believes “no one can control who they are attracted to.” * (Does that reason sound familiar?)
So what are we to do? If you look at the early church, they too were surrounded by idolatry. So first, we need to overcome idolatry in our own lives, following Paul's admonishment which we focus on in our Bible Study Guide, Do Not Be Idolaters.
Paul also advises us “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Rom. 12:21).
And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.
1 Peter 3:13-16 (KJV)
You might say that is easier said than done, but we have God on our side. Ultimately, where the world is headed is in God's hands, but we make our own decision to not put anything or anybody before the LORD our God.