Hey, podcast listeners! Thanks for streaming today's podcast, From Pathway to Victory. Pathway to Victory is a nonprofit ministry featuring the Bible teaching of Dr. Robert Jeffress. Our mission is to pierce the darkness with the light of God's word through the most effective media available, like this podcast. To support Pathway to Victory, go to ptv.org slash donate or follow the link in our show notes.
Now, here's today's podcast, From Pathway to Victory. God's Word with you every day on this Bible teaching program. On today's edition of Pathway to Victory, Jesus affirmed God's plan. And by setting God's standard, one man with one woman for life, He is saying that any deviation from that standard, not just gay marriage, but any deviation, adultery, premarital sex, unbiblical divorce, those are all sins because they don't measure up to the standard, the perfect standard of God. Welcome to Pathway to Victory with author and pastor, Dr. Robert Jeffress. You know, the Bible teaches that God established the standards for right and wrong when He laid the foundations of the world.
But recently, politicians and policymakers have become self-appointed authors of moral law. Today on Pathway to Victory, Dr. Robert Jeffress shows how the spiritual decline of today's culture is a sign of turbulent times ahead. Now, here's our Bible teacher to introduce today's message.
Dr. Jeffress. Thanks, David, and welcome again to Pathway to Victory. For the entire month of June, we've devoted this daily radio program to a singular topic. I've titled my series, America and the Bible. It represents my deeply held belief and a conviction that I believe all Christian patriots hold dearly that the future success of our country depends upon our fidelity to Christian beliefs. In Matthew 5 14, Jesus said, You are the light of the world.
Let your light shine before others that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. And that's exactly what we're doing together through the broadcast ministry of Pathway to Victory. So please join me in seizing this opportunity to move forward and expand our influence for the gospel across America and around the world. And perhaps you've heard Pathway to Victory is the recipient of a large matching challenge in the amount of $750,000. This means that every dollar you give between now and July 5 toward blessing America with the hope of God's word will be automatically matched and doubled in size and impact. And we're relying on you to help us meet or even exceed this $750,000 goal. Plus, when we receive your gift, we'll be happy to send you a copy of a book called Miracles in American History. Thirty-two amazing stories of answered prayer. We'll identify more details about this book and other resources later in the program.
But right now let's continue the study I introduced Thursday on Pathway to Victory. My message is titled The New Moral Disorder. We're going to look at what the Bible says about the moral deterioration of our world and how it will be a precursor to the return of Jesus Christ. Listen, as an individual or a nation, we will never experience God's blessing when we are rebelling against Him.
It is impossible. And as a nation, we are rebelling against God. We are shaking our fists in the face of God in two distinct areas. First of all, in the area of what God says about marriage. Let's look and see what the Bible really says about marriage.
And the best place to start is at the starting place. That's profound, isn't it? Let's go back to the book of Genesis. Look at verse 27. And God created man in His own image.
In the image of God, He created him. He created them male and female. There's an equality. But listen, equality doesn't mean sameness. There's a difference in the way we act.
There's a difference in responsibility. There is a difference in how we relate to one another, including how we relate to one another sexually. And that's why you find the prohibition against homosexual behavior. Listen to what the Bible says. Leviticus 18, verse 22. You, talking to men, you shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female. It is an abomination.
Now, some people would say, well, wait a minute. You Christians, you are so hypocritical because you just pick and choose which verses out of the Bible you want to obey. Well, there's a very simple reason for that.
There's a very simple answer. The only rules of the Old Testament that apply to us today are those rules that are repeated in the New Testament. We live under the New Testament, the new agreement, the new law of God.
And the only parts of the Old Testament we follow are those parts of the Old Testament that are repeated in the New Testament. But in this new agreement, there are prohibitions against homosexuality. For example, in Romans 1, verses 26 and 27, Paul said, for this reason, God gave them over to degrading passions. For their women exchange the natural function for that which is unnatural.
And in the same way also, men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another. Men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their persons, their bodies, the due penalty of their error. There's a prohibition against homosexual behavior. Secondly, that leads to there is certainly a prohibition against homosexual marriage.
You can take this message when you hear this said in your classroom and hear it in other places in the university. Well, Jesus never talked about homosexuality and he certainly never said anything about homosexual marriage. Oh, yes, he did.
Where did he talk about it? He talked about it in Matthew 19. Remember the Pharisees were trying to trip Jesus up and they came to the Lord and they said, Lord, is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason at all?
So they said, Lord, answer this divorce question for us. Verse four, Matthew 19, and Jesus answered and said, have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female? And he said, for this cause a man shall leave his mother and father and shall cleave to his wife and the two shall become one flesh.
Consequently, they are no longer two, but they are one. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate. What Jesus is saying is if you want to know the answer to the divorce question, let's go back and see God's original plan for marriage, Genesis one and Genesis two. It is one man with one woman for a lifetime. That's God's plan.
Jesus affirmed God's plan. And by setting God's standard, one man with one woman for life, he is saying that any deviation from that standard, not just gay marriage, but any deviation, adultery, premarital sex, unbiblical divorce, those are all sins because they don't measure up to the standard, the perfect standard of God. Jesus did address the marriage question.
He said, it's one man with one woman for a lifetime. And I know there's some people who say, well, I just wish we didn't talk about this gay marriage stuff. It is so controversial. We should just keep silent about it and not talk about it. We do not do the world a favor when we stay silent about what God has said.
Best-selling author, Joel Rosenberg offers this wise reminder. He said, it is becoming politically incorrect to accept the Bible's teachings on these and other moral issues or to talk about them publicly. Nevertheless, the kingdom of God is not a democracy. The Lord is not running for political office.
He's not trying to cobble together a majority. He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. What he says goes. How blessed is the man or woman who follows the word of God, not his or her own desires. God has spoken about this issue.
We dare not be silent. Our rebellion as a culture against God is seen and our attitude about marriage. Secondly, it's seen in what we believe about the sanctity of life. Let's talk about this issue, the issue of abortion. Since the Supreme Court's ruling in 1973 Roe versus Wade that legalized abortion for women, since that time, 54 million children have been butchered in the womb. 54 million children have been murdered. And that number is being added to every year by 1.3 million children who are being slaughtered.
Gone. They don't exist anymore, wiped off the face of the earth because of our nation's rebellion against God. How does God look at that? Well, let's see what God says about the unborn. Psalm 139 verses 13 to 16. David said, for thou didst form my inward parts. Thou didst weave me in my mother's womb. I will give thanks to thee for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are thy works and my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from thee when I was made in secret and skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth. Thine eyes have seen my unformed substance and in thy book they were all written the days that were ordained for me, yet there was not one of them. God is the one who in the womb weaves together forms the child.
Remember God's word through Jeremiah in Jeremiah 1 verses 4 and 5. Now the word of God came to me saying before I formed you in the womb I knew you and before you were born I consecrated you. God had a relationship with Jeremiah before he was ever born while he was still in the womb. You know one of the most fascinating stories that deal with the unborn is found in Luke chapter 1 verses 41 and 44. This is the story of when the then pregnant Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist when she met Mary who was pregnant with the Lord Jesus Christ and look what happened. Luke 1 verse 41, and it came about that when Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting the baby leaped in Elizabeth's womb. That's John the Baptist and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Verse 44, for behold when the sound of your greeting Elizabeth said to Mary reach my ears the baby leaped in my womb for joy. John the Baptist and his mom's womb got so excited when he heard Mary speak that he leapt in her womb. Now what is fascinating is this word baby in Greek is brephos. Talking about the baby inside Elizabeth's womb it is the very same Greek word that is used elsewhere in the New Testament to talk about an infant that has already been born. God views the baby in the womb as much as a human being as the baby outside of the womb.
Both are creations of God. You can understand then why God absolutely hates any violence toward children. Do you remember in the Old Testament when the Israelites came to Canaan the promised land that was inhabited by Canaanites they unfortunately fell into the ways of the Canaanites and they begin to worship the false god Malek a god whom the Canaanites said required the sacrifice of children on the altar, burnt sacrifices of children. One commentator describes that gruesome act this way the ancients would heat up this idol of Malek with fire until it was glowing and then they would take newborn babies and place them on the arms of the idol and watch their children burned to death. What did God think about that?
What did he think about his own people engaging in that horrific sacrifice? Jeremiah 32 35 it says and they built the high places of Baal that are in the valley of Behenim to cause their sons and daughters to pass through the fire to Malek which I had not commanded them nor had it entered my mind that they should do this abomination. God said when I saw the Israelites burning their children alive it never entered into my mind that they would do such a thing and so in verses 28 and 29 he pronounces this judgment therefore says the Lord behold I'm about to give this city that is Jerusalem into the hand of the Chaldeans and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and he will take it the Chaldeans that is the Babylonians who are fighting against this city will enter and set this city on fire and burn it. God said to his own people his own nation of Israel because you are killing slaughtering your own children I'm going to raise up the foreigners to come and invade your city and to take it captive to burn it to the ground.
Now folks if God will do that to his own chosen people who destroy the lives of children do we have to wonder how God is going to deal with the United States of America a country that not only allows but it celebrates the freedom of choice the freedom of choice to murder our children. It is an abomination in the sight of God contrast that to what Jesus said about children. If you want to know how Jesus views children look at Mark 10 verses 13 through 16 and they were bringing children to him so that he might touch them and the disciples rebuke them but when Jesus saw this he was indignant and said to them permit the children to come to me and don't hinder them for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these and then verse 16 and he took them in his arms and he began blessing them laying his hands upon them. The parents couldn't get their children to Jesus fast enough because they sensed he loved their children they wanted him to be touched by Jesus.
I want you to write down these two principles as we think about this whole abortion issue. Principle number one when we honor a child we honor Jesus. When we honor a child we honor Jesus. Jesus said in Matthew 18 5 whoever receives one such child in my name receives me. When we honor a child we honor Jesus and second principle when we harm a child we will face unspeakable judgment. Listen to what Jesus said in Matthew 18 verse 6 but whoever causes one of these little ones who believes in me to stumble it is better for him that a heavy millstone be hung around his neck and he be dropped and drowned into the depths of the sea. Whoever harms a child tempts him, leads him to sin, abuses him or commits an act of violence against him.
That's what Jesus is talking about. It would be better to have a millstone hung around his neck and remember Jesus said a child inside the womb is the same as a child outside the womb. If you harm a child you'd be better off having that millstone placed around your neck and dropped into the most turbulent place in the sea.
That's a better fate for you than to be found harming a child. Pope John Paul II cast this matter of abortion into a larger context when he said whoever attempts to destroy human life in the womb of the mother not only violates the sacredness of a living growing and developed human being but he also opposes God and he also attacks society by undermining respect for all of human life. You say well what does all of this have to do with Bible prophecy?
Here's what it has to do with it. Turn over to 2 Timothy chapter 3 and look at verse 1. Paul said to Timothy but mark this and in the NIV it says there will be terrible times in the last days.
Now that verse raises two questions. First of all what did Paul mean by the last days? He said Timothy buckle up get ready because it's going to be terrible times in the last days. What does he mean by the last days? Well in one sense the last days began as soon as Jesus ascended into heaven after his first coming.
The countdown began. This phrase really refers to those years, months, days leading up to the return of Jesus Christ. Paul said to Timothy it's going to get worse. It's going to get worse in the last days and the second question is what does he mean by it's going to be terrible times, difficult times. Look that word terrible is not just some bland preacher word. The word had a very specific meaning.
Literally you could translate it. It will be times without moral restraint. That's what he's talking about. You know almost three decades ago the evangelical philosopher Carl Henry predicted that as America increasingly lost its Judeo-Christian heritage paganism would grow even bolder and he predicted that by the start of the 21st century we would face quote naked naturalism and raw paganism. That is humanism with the pretty face ripped off revealing the angry monster underneath it.
And that's what we're seeing right now. Humanism unmasked for what it really is. These are the times we're living in and they are a sign that we are living in the last days. But there's even a more direct connection to Bible prophecy and the moral deterioration of our culture. Remember in the last seven years of the tribulation there will be a world dictator called the antichrist. And I want you to listen to one of the descriptions of the antichrist found in Daniel 7 verse 25. And he will speak out against the most high and he will wear down the saints of the highest one and he will intend to make alterations in times and in the law.
Now we understand the first part of this. In the last days the antichrist is going to speak out against God and he's going to speak out against the people of God. He's going to attempt to wear them down. But what does he mean when he says he will also try to make alterations in times and in the law? He's saying that this final world dictator will seek to change the most basic laws of humanity.
And we're seeing that happen right now. For the first time in history we have a United States president who has tried to redefine the most basic law of society what constitutes a marriage. The first president who ever who has come out and said I don't care what God's word says I want to change the definition of marriage. The president once again lectured and he called them out evangelical Christians.
Christians. He said you all need to quit talking about abortion and gay marriage and just take care of the poor like the bible says. President Obama and by the way he's not the only one who's trying to change the most basic laws of society.
You know there has been an unholy alliance right now between the left and big business. Right now forming together to strangle our religious liberties and say we're going to change the laws about marriage in this country. You see these nine self-appointed priests in black robes sitting on their bench in Washington DC saying now stay tuned because in June we are going to rule about marriage. They're not going to rule about marriage. The rule has already been made. The judge of all the universe has already said that marriage is between a man and a woman. This is what the antichrist will do.
He will seek to change. Did you hear again it's not only gay marriage but did you hear Hillary Rodham Clinton the would-be successor to Barack Obama at the women in the world summit in New York City said that every woman has a right to abortion. Every woman has an unfettered right to abortion but to make that dream that perverse dream a reality she said and I quote for women to have access to abortion means that the deep-seated religious beliefs have to be changed end of quote.
Can you believe that? We have to change our most basic convictions. Mrs. Clinton culture may change your views certainly change but the word of God never changes.
Thy word is established in heaven forever says the word of God. This is what Paul was talking about when he said to Timothy get ready get ready in the last days there will be terrible times times without any moral restraint but with that prediction is also a great hope all of these things are simply setting the stage for the greatest event in human history. Don't lose heart don't despair help and hope are on the way.
I suspect you care deeply for our country just as I do and you want nothing more than to see Americans wake up. At Pathway to Victory we believe God has given us an enormous opportunity through radio television and all of our digital channels to quicken the hearts of our fellow Americans. It's one of the many reasons we're so excited about the Beacon of Hope matching challenge that's active right now until July 5th. With your investment in this opportunity we're empowered to proclaim the truth about Christ and his word and when we do this together we can shine the beacon of God's hope around the world. Now here's how the matching challenge works whatever amount you're able to give today will be matched and therefore doubled in impact until we reach the goal of $750,000.
That's a large number for any one person but through the combined efforts of our listening family I'm confident we can reach and even exceed this goal. Now when you give a gift when you give a gift toward the matching challenge I'm going to say thank you by sending you a copy of a powerful book I've selected for you and your family. It's called Miracles in American History. In this revealing book the authors tell the true stories about factual events that sadly are no longer taught in most American classrooms. You'll read about God's miraculous interventions at the Boston Tea Party, the Battle of Bunker Hill, the winter at Valley Forge and so many other stories like these. This is a book to share with your children and grandchildren as well so that they too can learn the truth about God's divine hand in American history.
David. Thanks Dr. Jeffress. Today when you invest in the ministry of Pathway to Victory by giving a generous gift we'll say thanks by sending you the book Miracles in American History. Plus you'll also receive a DVD copy of the message America is a Christian Nation. It's perfect for viewing at home or sharing with a small group Bible study.
Call 866-999-2965 or visit our website at ptv.org. And when your gift is $100 or more we'll also send you the complete unedited collection of audio and video discs for the America and the Bible teaching series. You'll get that along with the highly requested book by Dr. Jeffress called Praying for America 40 Inspiring Stories and Prayers for Our Nation. Remember every dollar you give right now will be doubled in impact by our beacon of hope matching challenge.
That's until we reach the goal of $750,000. So please get in touch today. One more time call 866-999-2965 or go to ptv.org.
You could also write to us if you'd like. Here's that mailing address P.O. Box 223-609 Dallas, Texas 75222.
Again that's P.O. Box 223-609 Dallas, Texas 75222. I'm David J. Mullins. Wishing you a great weekend then join us again next week when our series called America and the Bible continues. That's right here on Pathway to Victory. Pathway to Victory with Dr. Robert Jeffress comes from the pulpit of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas. You made it to the end of today's podcast from Pathway to Victory and we're so glad you're here. Pathway to Victory relies on the generosity of loyal listeners like you to make this podcast possible. One of the most impactful ways you can give is by becoming a Pathway partner. Your monthly gift will empower Pathway to Victory to share the gospel of Jesus Christ and help others become rooted more firmly in his word. To become a Pathway partner go to ptv.org slash donate or follow the link in our show notes. We hope you've been blessed by today's podcast from Pathway to Victory.
