Bacon, Eggs and God

Has Christianity Succumbed To A Burger King Business Methodology?

In one of Burger King’s advertisements there is a jingle that says: “Mix and Match. Whatever you want we’re into that. At BK have it your way!” And that is the direction traditional, structural churches have taken.

Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. James 4:4

From my own personal experience, I would say that 75 percent or more of church members do not speak out against on-demand abortion or the heathenistic practices of those who identity as LBGTQ2+.

Many Christians are still what Paul, the apostle, called “carnal.” Carnal Christians often trust in Jesus for salvation, but they still think, act, and react like the world. They simply have not allowed the Holy Spirit free access to every area of their hearts. They are trying to live the Christian life in their own strength, while still being heavily influenced by the world’s way of thinking. The carnal mind has not been fully renewed by the Word of God and still seeks compromise with the world. Carnal Christians allow the persuasive viewpoints of the ungodly to sway their opinions on many things, including abortion and immoral relationships. Spiritual growth requires us to shed our old ways of thinking as we become more like Christ. When we begin to see things the way God does, and the closer to him we become, we reject the world’s system. But if a person continually refuses to allow the Word of God to transform his/her thinking, chances are great that he/she is not really a believer.

Scripture is crystal clear about abortion.

If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman’s husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine. Exodus 21:22

But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace, To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; Galatians 1:15-16

Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. Jeremiah 1:5

For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them. Psalms 139:13-16

Some will say they hate abortion, but support a woman’s right to choose. That makes as much sense as saying that you personally hate rape, but support a man’s right to commit it. The rhetoric sounds nice—the mention of “choice” makes it more appealing—but underneath such thinking is a direct conflict with God’s teaching in Scripture.

Other pro-choice advocates often state that their position is “compassionate” because they care about the woman or her child. This argument is a red herring. Whether pro-lifers “care” or not is irrelevant, just as it is irrelevant whether those opposed to robbery “care” about the banks being robbed. Robbery is against God’s moral law. So is abortion.

Scripture is also crystal clear about immoral sexual practices.

Romans 1:18–32 teaches that homosexuality is a result of denying and disobeying God. When people continue in sin and unbelief, God “gives them over” to even more wicked and depraved sin to show them the futility and hopelessness of life apart from God.

First Corinthians 6:9-10 proclaims, Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

A person may be born with a greater susceptibility to homosexuality, just as some people are born with a tendency to violence and other sins. That does not excuse the person’s choosing to sin by giving in to sinful desires. Just because a person is born with a greater susceptibility to fits of rage, that doesn’t make it right for him to give in to those desires and explode at every provocation. The same is true with a susceptibility to homosexuality.

No matter our proclivities or attractions, we cannot continue to define ourselves by the very sins that crucified Jesus and at the same time assume we are right with God. Paul lists many of the sins that the Corinthians once practiced, but in 1 Corinthians 6:11, he reminds them, And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. In other words, some of the Corinthians, before they were saved, lived homosexual lifestyles; but no sin is too great for the cleansing power of Jesus. Once cleansed, we are no longer defined by sin.

The problem with homosexual attraction is that it is an attraction to something God has forbidden, and any desire for something sinful ultimately has its roots in sin. The pervasive nature of sin causes us to see the world and our own actions through a warped perspective. Our thoughts, desires, and dispositions are all affected. Homosexual attraction does not always result in active, willful sin—there may not be a conscious choice to sin—but it springs from the sinful nature. Same-sex attraction is always, on some basic level, an expression of the fallen nature.

As sinful human beings living in a sinful world (Romans 3:23), we are beset with weaknesses, temptations, and inducements to sin. Our world is filled with lures and entrapment, including the enticement to practice homosexuality.

The temptation to engage in homosexual behavior is very real to many. Those who struggle with homosexual attraction often report suffering through years of wishing things were different. People may not always be able to control how or what they feel, but they can control what they do with those feelings (1 Peter 1:5–8). We all have the responsibility to resist temptation (Ephesians 6:13). We must all be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2). We must all walk in the Spirit so as not to fulfil the lust of the flesh (Galatians 5:16).

Scripture does not describe homosexuality as a “greater” sin than any other. All sin is offensive to God. Without Christ, we are lost, and any type of sin entangles us. According to Scripture, God’s forgiveness is available to the homosexual just as it is to the adulterer, idol worshiper, murderer, and thief. God promises the strength for victory over sin, including homosexuality, to all those who will believe in Jesus Christ for their salvation (1 Corinthians 6:11; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Philippians 4:13).

You can’t mix and match because the Scripture is not a Burger King jingle. Either you believe all of God’s Holy Word, or you are carnal and simply want things your way…and…not God’s way.