Steve massey
The Spokesman-Review

Call it the way it is.

That's what we say to sports referees, weather forecasters and surgeons.

We demand a fair game, a reliable storm warning, a straight-up health assessment. Anything less is outrageous incompetence.

Regrettably, that same standard often is not expected of churches. As mainstream churches struggle with divisive social issues, society's marching orders often drown out sound doctrine and common sense: “Call it the way we want it,” the culture urges its churches. “Life is easier that way.”

The easy life of moral relativism has born some rotten fruit. Christian churches now ordain openly gay ministers, sanction homosexual marriages and even promote parents' rights to kill unborn children.

Behavior once widely recognized as blasphemy, immorality and murder is now hailed as progress, acceptance and choice.

As Christians, we ought not be surprised by this shift. Jesus said it would happen. In fact, he said it would signal that his Second Coming is imminent.

“But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.” Why did God bring the flood? Because He saw “that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5).

The Apostle Paul warned his protégé, Timothy, to steadily preach biblical truth, no matter what people asked from him.

“The time will come when people will not listen to sound doctrine, but will follow their own desires and will collect for themselves more and more teachers who will tell them what they are itching to hear. They will turn away from listening to the truth” (2 Timothy 4:3-4).

Immorality in the culture is not a cause for hopeless despair but instead a wakeup call to believers.

This is no time to be discouraged and entrenched.

It is our time to share the Gospel, speak God's truth, demonstrate his love, and lead others to a relationship with Christ. That is the only hope of steering friends, neighbors and co-workers away from the trap of moral relativism.

To be certain, it's a tough battle wanting for soldiers.

At first blush, this rush to tolerance and moral relativism seems the perfect ideology. If there are no moral absolutes, if truth is relative to individuals, everyone gets what they want.

No one gets offended. When it comes to sin, there's no need to call it the way it is, because what sin is depends on who is looking at it.

Don't be fooled. There's a hearse in this parade toward tolerance. God's word is clear.

Truth is not relative; it is absolute. God's moral laws, which stem from his abiding love for his people, cannot be violated without consequence.

We need to look only as far as this week's headlines to see those consequences:

• Parents are pulling their daughters from the Girl Scouts of America by the thousands because the organization now accepts lesbians as troop leaders, bans prayer from group meetings, and allows girls to substitute the word “God” in the Girl Scout oath.

• Atheists argued before the nation's Supreme Court that the word “God” be removed from the Pledge of Allegiance because it unfairly indoctrinates kids who don't believe in God.

• An Oregon county has called a halt to all marriages until courts can resolve whether homosexual partners can be legally wed.

This wake-up call rings loudest for ministers. Yes, it's every believer's job to go into the world and make disciples.

But it is the minister's job to lead the way, to point unashamedly to the truth, no matter what the cost.

Isn't that what Paul said? “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation . . .” (Romans 1:16).

The Bible says spiritual leaders will be held to a higher standard when it comes to preserving and promoting the integrity of God's word. How it must grieve the Spirit of God to have pastors in some denominations now teaching what is clearly not biblical: Abortion is OK; the Scriptures don't forbid homosexuality; the path to God is broader than Jesus.

Such heresy wears the mask of moral tolerance. And it's attracting many.

It is my prayer that believers will not tire of swimming upstream in a culture that is forsaking God and the absolute truth of his word. It is also my prayer that spiritual leaders will search his word with renewed vigor, contrast it with the culture, and preach the truth.

Call it the way it is. Anything less is outrageous incompetence.

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