Chapter Six

THE CULTURE OF "SO WHAT"

The blush is gone from our modern society, just as it was abandoned by those who lived in the time of the Prophets of the Old Testament. Twice, when faced with the moral intransigence of His people, God utters His despair through Jeremiah, who was inspired to ask, "Were they ashamed because of the abomination they have done? They were not even ashamed at all; They did not even know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; At the time that I punish them, They shall be cast down, says the LORD" (Jeremiah 6:15, 8:12). In a later time, when Ezra the priest returned from Persian captivity to learn that those who had preceded him to their homeland had corrupted themselves, he cried, "O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God; for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our guiltiness is grown up unto the heavens." (Ezra 9:6). He recalled that it was because of that sort of corruption that Israel was exiled in Babylon, and asked God in prayer, "After all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, since You our God have punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and have given us such deliverance as this, should we again break Your commandments, and join....with the people committing these abominations? Would You not be angry with us until You had consumed us, so that there would be no remnant or survivor?" (Ezra 9:13-14). After he prayed, he fell into a convulsion of weeping that goaded the collective conscience of those who observed it into repentance (Ezra 10:1-4).
Ezra's blush was effective, because there were some among the Israelites who "trembled at the commandment of God." Yet, we know that there are many who do not tremble before the message of God. They say, "So what," and continue in the corruptions and perversions condemned in the Word. The Apostle Peter has perfectly described "...them that walk after the flesh in the lust of defilement, and despise dominion. Daring, self-willed, they tremble not to rail at dignities" (2 Peter 2:10). We might suppose that these words were meant to identify people who had never known the way of the Lord, but the opposite is true. Further study of the context of Peter's statement reveals that these corrupters had infiltrated the church, and were spreading their filth among those who called themselves Christians. Peter says to his readers that they "....count it pleasure to revel in the day-time, spots and blemishes, revelling in their deceivings while they feast with you" (2 Peter 2:13). This connection is more clear in the remarks of Jude, who parallels what Peter said, but adds that these corrupters "have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ" (Jude 4).
Is there anyone who denies that scandals are rampant among bodies of believers, today? There is actually a feeding frenzy in the media regarding the foibles and hypocrisies of religious people. Some of the most sordid of sins have been exposed, involving people who were supposed to be trying to walk the high road of righteousness. But, the sad thing is that when they are confronted with the evidence of their misdeeds, these sinners often say, "So what!" and find support and encouragement from a host of followers who have developed that same sentiment through their example and teaching.
When men in high government office have been caught in a scandal of some variety, the answer that comes from their mouth almost immediately is, "I have done nothing wrong." We know, of course, that they often say this, because they suspect that the problem will have to be resolved legally, and they are trying to "plead innocent," in order to have a hearing before the bar of public opinion. If the evidence can be scrambled enough, or if witnesses can be discredited enough, they might be able to escape the legal consequences of their crimes. But, if the Christian proclaims his innocence in the face of evidence of his guilt, in the hope that his God will be confused by the same tactics, he is certainly fooling himself. The Word of God, which does not cause him to "tremble," says, "....There is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account" (Hebrews 4:13). This "reality check" for the Christian should show him that he needs to exclude himself from the "so what" culture of our time.
The "chip-on-the-shoulder" attitude of many sinners in our modern world is not new, as we have shown from both the Old and New Testament portions of the Word of God. Brazen resistance to the indictments of sin revealed in the Bible is one of the products of pride. People think it is humiliating to be influenced by straight preaching from the Word. Repentance is the most difficult of God's commands to obey, but it is absolutely necessary if we expect to enter the eternal kingdom. When Paul stood before the Sophists of Athens, and told them that "God....now commands all men everywhere to repent," he reinforced the need to take this command of God seriously, by saying, "because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead" (Acts 17:30-31).
Like many today, some of the Athenian audience sneered at the idea of the resurrection of Christ. Even those who did not mock the concept did not readily believe, but only said, "We will hear you again on this matter" (Acts 17:32). The jaded minds of the Athenian philisophers, who "spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing" (Acts 17:21), were unrepentant. This is the core of the problem of the "so what" culture, today. Sinners are no longer impressed by the biblical vision of a court of judgment presided over by the risen and righteous Son of God. If the resurrection makes no impression, then our "faith is empty," and we are "yet in our sins," according to 1 Corinthians 15:17. Too many Christians, in addition to those in the unsaved world, are skeptics, when it comes to the moral suasion that is based on the resurrection of Christ. They are more powerfully persuaded by the moral bankruptcy of "Conventional Wisdom." But, Paul writes, "Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified (a message that entails of necessity the resurrection of Jesus, Romans 1:4), to the Jews it is a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men." (1 Corinthians 1:20-25). There is therefore a streak of skepticism running through those who are not made to blush at the enormity of their sins, and who will not "repent in sackcloth and ashes."
Is remorse no longer a virtue? The Word says that the Christians at Corinth, who had first followed the "so what" line when it was pointed out to them that they were tolerating the brazen act of a rank sinner in their midst (1 Corinthians 5:1-2), later repented sincerely under the rebuke of Paul, who was moved to write, "Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death. For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter" (2 Corinthians 7:9-11).
Where are the Christians today who display this same urgency to be restored to righteousness, after being charged with sin? Too often, the shrug of indifference is their response. It is a dangerous reaction, because it holds the forgiveness of God in reserve, and persistent shrugging "brands the conscience" of the sinner, leaving a scar devoid of sensitive nerves. The "jaws of hell" are wide open to receive such adamant sinners.
These consequences are evident in the letter of rebuke written by the Lord to the church in Thyatira. He wrote, by the hand of the Apostle John, "Nevertheless I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality ....And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, and she did not repent. Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds. I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you according to your works." However, Christ offers a ray of hope to those who did not resist His appeal for repentance. "Now to you I say, and to the rest in Thyatira, as many as do not have this doctrine, who have not known the depths of Satan, as they say, I will put on you no other burden. But hold fast what you have till I come" (Revelation 2:20-25).
Moral sensitivity is a virtue that is absolutely essential for the Christian to possess. If tears of remorse, godly sorrow, and repentance result from the loving rebuke of the Lord uttered in the mouths of His faithful proclaimers of the truth, these actions befit the true character of those who recognize spiritual "reality." As we have seen in all other applications within this document, reality only exists for those who respect divine authority, treating the word of God for what it truly is. Paul was grateful to find this attitude in the hearts of the Christians at Thessalonika (1 Thessalonians 2:13), and it would gratify messengers of the Word today, as well.