Of all the theological terms out there for the student of the Bible to master, “moral degeneracy” comes to the top of the list of those most difficult to comprehend.
Any thinking person cannot help but ask how a person can be moral and simultaneously be a degenerate? The terms are contrary in nature and collectively appear to form the classical example of an oxymoron. The key to understanding this phrase is to determine what it is that the moral person is degenerating from.
Mistaking “morality” for spirituality has been the goal & basis of all religions in which the conduct of Man is the means to obtain and maintain a right relationship with God.
Atheists, agnostics, and followers of non-Christian religions can choose to be “moral” for a variety of reasons. It may be to preserve one’s health, marriage, career, society or finances or to avoid temporal sanctions from the secular authorities. While all of these are worthwhile reasons for a person to choose a moral lifestyle, morality in and by itself has nothing to do with obtaining or retaining the salvation of one’s soul. There will be millions of “moral” persons who will burn in the “lake of fire (Rev. 20:15 NIV)” because they were never “born again (John 3:3 NIV).
In fact, conventional morality may be one of the reasons why a deceived individual may come to believe that he is “good enough” and is therefore going to be received and approved by God based upon his good behavior (Luke 18: 9-14). After all, haven’t most Christians been raised with the concept that “good” people go to Heaven and “bad” people go to Hell?
While it is easy for us to understand why God abhors sin, it is not so easy for humans to understand that even “all our righteous acts are like filthy rags (Isa.64: 6 NIV)” in the eyes of God. The only reason any one of us will escape the fire of Hell and enjoy the eternal life in Heaven is because we believe in the Person and the Works of the Lord Jesus Christ. No one has ever or will ever earn as much as one millisecond in Heaven by being morally good enough.
Furthermore, even the good deeds performed by Christians using human effort and talents, but void of divine power, will be burnt up and rejected at the judgment of the saints in Heaven (1Cor.3: 12-15).
Religion, being defined as whatever Man has added to or taken from the principles revealed in the Word of God, is not from God. Religion is the stock and trade of the Devil and his kingdom. Religion, not sin, is Satan’s primary weapon against the Kingdom of God.
It is through religion that appeals to the fallen nature in Man that false doctrine and subsequent rituals have infiltrated the Church since its inception.
For every thing that God has created for His glory, Satan devises and promotes a counterfeit offer. Like any other piece of counterfeit, it must have the appearance of the real thing if the deception is going to succeed. Satan is a master at the art of deception and knows how to take advantage of the fallen nature within us (Romans 8:7).
One of the primary differences between genuine Christian doctrine and the teachings of religion is that salvation and sanctification is the work of God. Spirituality is a matter of accepting and applying what God has done for and through us, not what we can do (or not do) in order to please Him.
Anything that attempts to diminish the Person and the Works of the Lord Jesus Christ is going to be promoted by Satan. It matters not to Satan what religion or god a person chooses to relate to, as long as it is not the true God through a personal belief in the Person and the Works of the Lord Jesus Christ.
For those who are “born again (John 3:3 NIV)”, Satan’s only objective then is to lead them away from the true post-salvation spiritual life through the promotion of false doctrine that he knows will appeal to fallen nature with us that remains after salvation (Romans 7: 14-25).
It is from the success of this satanic strategy that comes the issue of moral degeneracy. As long as we see our behavior as the issue, morality and not spirituality will be our guide.
The Pharisees were very “moral” people as far as conventional morality is concerned, but yet it was they who presented the greatest opposition to the Gospel.
The post-salvation spiritual life requires that our focus remain on and only on our relationship with God. It is maintained the same way that it was obtained in the first place, that is to accept and apply what God has already done (salvation) for us and will do (experiential sanctification) in the appointed time that we are to remain here on Earth.
Conventional morality is the fruit of spirituality, but it is NEVER the means to obtain or retain salvation. Anything that diminishes the completed (John 19:30) work of the Lord Jesus Christ or is added to it in order to retain it is blasphemy.
Degeneracy, moral or immoral, must be understood as a deviation from the post-salvation spiritual life. Moral degeneracy is just as destructive as immoral degeneracy. .
All Christians at one time or another will drift either to the left or to the right and off the straight and narrow road in the post-salvation spiritual life. Like a navigator, we must continually check and confirm our location and direction (2Cor. 13: 5) if we are to remain on course.
It is important to note that we drift and do not (usually) take any sharp or intentional wrong turns. Our knowledge and application of the “mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16 NIV) will be the only source of “WRONG WAY” signs in our lives and Satan and his kingdom will do the best he can to divert our attention away from seeing these signs along the way.
A Christian who has entered into either moral or immoral degeneracy is of great use to the Kingdom of Satan. Either one can become like a malignant tumor that can spread and cause much destruction within the Christian Community.
Drifting to either the left or the right will not result in the loss of salvation, but will take us out of the plan of God for our lives in the post-salvation spiritual life. This results in divine discipline (Heb.12: 6) during our life here on Earth and loss of certain rewards (not salvation) in Eternity (1Cor.3: 15).
We drift to the left into immoral degeneracy when we begin to excuse or rationalize our behaviors and, if not corrected, will come to the conclusion that since salvation can not be lost, we may as well live like Hell and have the best of two worlds. Such an attitude is developed in clear ignorance or rejection of what the post-salvation spiritual life is all about. This is what is known as immoral degeneracy and is manifested in overt sin.
We drift to the right into moral degeneracy when we attempt to add something to the Works of the Lord Jesus Christ in order to retain what cannot be lost (salvation). This will lead to all forms of legalism, works, and religious bondage. If not corrected, it will lead one to believe that is on account of what he/she has done that makes and keeps him/her right with God and as a result, he/she is better than those who don’t. We will become members of the religious police department. We will become self-righteous, critical and judgmental of others. Worse yet, we may even become unforgiving and vindictive, making others pay for what they have done against us, totally disregarding our own sin debt that has been forgiven by God (Matt. 18: 24-35).
We all have the same fallen nature within us. What makes us different is that it manifests itself differently in each one of us. What influences one to get involved is some form of sexual immorality is the same source that influences someone else to lie, steal, gossip or judge others. Scripture (James 2:10) is clear that if we have broken any one of God’s laws (and we all have) we stand as guilty as one who has broken them all!
It is only when we keep our focus on the Lord Jesus Christ that we will come to know and acknowledge that we (and others) are only saved and sanctified by what God has done (1Cor. 15:10). We can take no credit for it, nor can we use what God has accomplished in us to justify being critical of others. Some may argue that it is better to be found in the extreme right (moral degeneracy) than in the extreme left (immoral degeneracy), but both are as equally far away from the true spiritual life as the other.
In fact, those involved in immoral degeneracy are in a better position to do something about it than those involved in moral degeneracy. At least thieves, prostitutes, homosexuals, adulterers, liars, gossips and drunkards KNOW what they are whereas many involved in moral degeneracy are totally blind to their own condition and actually believe that are going to be approved by God on the basis of their moral behavior (Luke 18: 10-14).
The first step in correcting any problem is to acknowledge that one exists. It is for this reason that the Lord Jesus Christ told the self righteous Pharisees that “...tax collectors and prostitutes are entering into the Kingdom of God ahead of you (Matt. 21:32 NIV). The Lord Jesus Christ was not condoning sin, but pointing out that recognition of one’s sin is the first step in repentance. It is one’s recognition of sin and the only solution to remedy it that draws a person to God.
Contrary to human viewpoint, many of the sins of the mind, often associated with moral degeneracy, are worse than the overt sins committed by those involved in the various forms of immorality (Proverbs 6: 16-19). This is not license to sin, but to demonstrate the seriousness of the sins that are often associated with moral degeneracy.
When tempted to enter into moral degeneracy and inevitably begin to condemn others, we would be wise to take a look at our hand and consider that we cannot point our finger at others without have three more of our own pointing back at ourselves.
----------------------
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (R) Copyright (C) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All Rights reserved.
The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.
|
