“In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”(Judges 21:25) Israel had a big problem. The Israelites lacked a king’s moral guidance leaving them groveling in the confusing impulses of their hearts. Israel dethroned God as being authoritative and enthroned themselves. They found morality not in objective truth, but in their subjective feelings. Israel embraced a worldview summed up well by the phrase “follow your heart”.
Unfortunately for Israel, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”(Jeremiah 17:9) A deceitful guide causes confusion and medicine from a sickly source produces death. My question is a simple one, is there no king in Kewanee? Are we seeking truth in the objective, unchanging, and good character of the true God? Or have we enthroned our feeble, fickle, and fallible selves?
In the month of June, I lament our falling into the same trap that Israel stumbled into by enslaving ourselves to the corrupt guide of sinful human hearts leading to the confusion of subjective morality. Ten years ago, would anyone have imagined our society celebrating cross dressing men dancing in our parks and puberty blockers being injected into our children? Do we really lack the moral clarity and courage to say that this is not healthy or morally acceptable?
For the Christians reading this, do we love our neighbor enough to speak truth about the damage of sin and about the reality of Christ who can save them? Encouraging sin is never loving your neighbor. I humbly ask you to mute the loud voices on social media urging you to suppress what we know to be true. To restore sanity to a culture that is increasingly embracing the absurd, we must have a king in Kewanee. It’s time to call a mutiny on our sinful hearts and recognize Jesus as King. Here are several clear realities found in the Bible which Jesus (God Himself) authored: -Marriage is between one man and one woman (Genesis 2:23-25) -There are only two genders (Mark 10:6) -All sexual activity outside of marriage, including homosexuality is sin. (Romans 1:26-28, 1st Corinthians 6:9-11). -We are all sinners in need of a savior (Romans 3:23) -Jesus is a perfect savior to all who trust in Him (John 3:16)
No amount of misquoting Scripture, emotional manipulation, or bullying on social media changes the reality that affirming any sexual activity outside of biblical marriage abandons what is moral and true as the Bible, thousands of years of church history, natural law, and reason itself militates against such an incompetent moral position. Jesus is our only hope. In Jesus you will find truth, healing, and salvation. As the Apostle Paul summarized beautifully “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.”-1 Timothy 1:15
So again I ask, is there no king in Kewanee? Taking pride in sin and Christians remaining silent, demonstrates we have surrendered our community to the abusive and tyrannical rule of the sinful human heart. But for those who have answered the call of King Jesus, we must firmly plant ourselves on the solid rock of God’s Word and speak truth in love to restore moral clarity, and life to a society that is starved of it due to the stranglehold of secularism. “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”-Jesus
Justin Rumley
Geneseo
Pastor of First Congregational Church in Kewanee
****The opinions expressed are those of the writer and do not reflect the opinions or endorsement of The Kewanee Voice.
