The Real Issue Is Unrighteousness

We now live in a country that is quite divided religiously, socially, morally, racially, politically, and economically.  The racial and political divide widens as we approach another election.  The fight for a decent moral compass widens as some people embrace lifestyles that others consider immoral and degraded.  People talk about how divided we are as a nation, yet many are at a loss as to how to narrow the dividing issues.  The question that we must ask is this.  What is the root cause of our divisiveness?  Some will cite racial issues as the reason for the great political and economic divide.  Others will cite the narrow views of Christians on the issues of morality.  Social engineers will point out the issue of economic disparity between the rich, the middle class, and the poor.  The problem we have in addressing any of these problems as well as others, is that different people use different standards in trying to address these issues.  It is this writer’s opinion (I know for a fact that I’m right), that there is a standard by which all these issues may be addressed and the divide among us narrowed.  God already spoke on all the issues that divide us.  God set the standards by which we live and critique our world.  The divide we’re experiencing is because we’ve rejected God’s standard for our own personal and cultural preferences.  The division that we’re experiencing is the fruit of embracing an unrighteous standard.  God set the standard for how we should relate to each other racially, morally, economically, and socially.  His standard is good and right.  When we follow His standard, doing so brings peace and harmony.  By rejecting God’s word, we invite chaos and division.  We permit deviant behavior to rear its head in the lives of people. There are at least two caveats to this writer’s position.  One is that people who do not know Jesus don’t or can’t see the necessity of reconciling our differences by God’s word.  This is an expected but normal position for people who do not have a relationship with Jesus.  The real issue the divisiveness lies in the church, the body of Jesus Christ.  We who are in Christ Jesus are supposed to stand on God’s word in all things.  Jesus said that we are the light and that we are to walk in the light given us by God’s word.  The divisiveness in our country exists because people reject God’s word regarding these issues.  Any rejection of God’s word either intentionally or ignorantly will most always cause problems.  While my desire is to lay the blame for rejecting God’s word at the feet of all the people, I cannot in good conscience do so.  The real problem is not so much with those who don’t know Jesus.  The real problem is with those of us who do.  The people in Christ Jesus are the ones responsible for living according to God’s word.   We’re divided (in part) because we Christians have taken sides with our culture on these various issues when God has already stated what our position should be.  Allow me to clarify my statement.  For all in Christ Jesus, we say that God’s word is the authority by which we are to live.  We form our beliefs and convictions by God’s word.  Our belief in God’s word should unite us on the issues that divide us.  For example, God addressed the issue of homosexuality in Lev. 18:22 as well as other places in the bible.  Why are we in the church divided on that issue?  Christians are divided on the issue of transgenderism.  Genesis 1:27 clearly states that God made us male and female.  God gave us the power to reproduce according to our own kind.  He did not give us the power to recreate what He had already set up.  So why are we divided on this issue?  God said in Ephesians 2 that He broke down the barrier of the dividing wall between Jew and Gentiles making us all into one new man.  So then why are Christians divided racially?  Why do we allow our Christian friends and relatives to promote unrighteous attitudes and beliefs about others who are not like us?  Abortion is another issue that divides us.  Psalm 139:16 and Jeremiah 1: 5 clearly shows that life begins at conception.  God already spoke on the matter.  The bible shows us that abortion is wrong, yet we are divided.  We are divided over the issue of rights.  The subject of a woman’s right to choose is almost always connected to the struggle for equality and fairness.  Therefore, to prevent a woman’s right to choose is categorized in the same way as discriminating against African Americans fight for their rights.  What about how people now feel about corporal punishment?  With so many cases of child abuse, our society has swung away from the use of corporal punishment.  Applying the board of wisdom to a child’s seat of understanding is frowned upon.  Proverbs 13:24, 22:15, 23:14, and 29:15 all point to the necessity of discipline which includes corporal punishment frowned upon by many with no exclusion to Christians black or white.  Why are we divided on the issues where God has already spoken?   The answer to this question lies in our unwillingness to not only believe God’s word but to stand on it for all the issues.  Whenever we believe differently and do differently than what God said, that is unrighteousness.  Whenever we find a reason to disobey God’s word, that too is unrighteousness.  If we try not to offend people at the expense of offending a holy God. That is also unrighteousness.  Anytime we fail to obey God’s word, chaos, disunity, dysfunction, and division become the result.  The real problem is our unrighteousness.  The divisiveness we’re experiencing in our country is the fruit of our unrighteousness.  The real issue for the divisiveness in our country is our unrighteousness whether we are in Christ Jesus or not. 

          The cure for our divisiveness at least among Christians is to repent and stand on God’s word.  Let God’s word be true and everybody else a liar.  When we take up a lifestyle of obeying God’s word no matter the cost, we’ll see less unrighteousness among the saints and more love for the saints from all backgrounds.  Some in our culture will reject our stand.  Others in our culture may be won by the righteous stand we take.  God blesses a nation when His righteousness is the standard by which we live.  Righteousness exalts a nation.  My challenge is for all in Christ Jesus.  The real issue that promotes all this divisiveness in our nation is our own unrighteousness.  Some churches and Christians set aside God’s word on some of the issues.  If the people of Jesus become united on the issues based on what God’s word, we will begin to see a less divided country, led by a more united church.  Unifying around God’s word unifies us with each other.  The world will know that we belong to Him because of how they see us loving God and each other.

Please fact check me, and you will see that it’s our unrighteousness that is the problem.

Rev. Lawrence Robinson