The Bible is clear about what the last days will be like…and it looks very much like our world today. God’s Word describes a time when people will call good evil and evil good (Isaiah 5:20). When the truth of God is exchanged for a lie, here is what happens:

²⁴ Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, ²⁵ who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. ²⁶ For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. ²⁷ Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. ²⁸ And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting.

~Romans 1:24-28

Take note of what happens to those who pursue such things. They are:

1. Given up to uncleanness. They will lust and will dishonor their bodies.
2. Given up to vile passions. Men and women will exchange the natural use of their bodies for what is against nature.
3. Given over to a debased mind. They will do what is not fitting.

Mercifully, this woefully sick June “celebration” of those very things is coming to a close. We have suffered a nauseating month of “pride this” and “pride that,” yet it is all the antithesis of what the Bible says about pride.

Dear friends, there is sin of all kinds in our world, we have all committed our fair share of it, and God is able to forgive every sin. But some sins more greatly impact our world than others. In the very first chapter of Paul’s letter to a vile and pagan Roman society, he lays out the sins that plague such a society…and ours mirrors that Roman society. (See Romans 1)

Jesus’ brother, Jude, calls out the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah for giving themselves over to sexual immorality (Jude 1:7), and Luke 17:28-30 warns that, just like in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah, fire and brimstone will destroy those who practice such things on the day the Son of Man is revealed.

That is a sobering message, and we have the task of rescuing people from such eternal devastation.

I’ll be honest. I find it hard to love those who blatantly throw evil and godlessness in the face of everyone else in the name of “pride.” Yet, we are commanded to love those entangled in sin, while hating what they do. They are promised fire and brimstone and they need a Savior every bit as much as you and me. Absolutely, the church must make a strong stance against the sin, and must not allow it to enter and influence the body.

But we must also take the opportunities God gives us to show His love. There is a critical distinction between who a person IS (created in the image of God), and what a person DOES (which may be sinful). Love the person but hate the sinful things they might do.

So, when you see the next report on the news of a huge “celebration” somewhere, and when you see TV networks throw up their “pride” messages, will you take the opportunity to pray for the faces you see on the screen? If you encounter a person trapped by Satan in a lifestyle of sin, will you find a way to show love (without condoning their sin)? For those of us who have family members or friends held captive by the enemy, it is our responsibility as believers to pray for them and to share the love of God and the truth of God when He opens the door for us to do so.

Let’s do the hard thing. Being obedient to our Lord’s commands is rarely easy but is always rewarding. Will you join me in doing the hard thing?