WORD FOR THE MONTH~ JUNE 2014, END-TIME MINGLING & THE SALTLESS

Dear Friend, 

Messiah said “You are the salt of the earth…” Salt is a preservative against decay. If we are witnessing spiritual  

and moral decay all around us, we must ask “What happened to the salt? What happened to believers?” The  

following comprises part of the answer:

END-TIME MINGLING & THE SALTLESS  

Word for the Month & for Sunday, June 1 

Scripture: 1 Thess. 4:3 

See Message: End-Time Love 

The Word of God tells us that we are not of this world, and to stay separate from the ways of the world. A  recent study on Christian attitudes toward dating and marriage paints a shocking picture of the state of modern  

believers. 

The Bible defines sexual relations before or outside of marriage as “fornication.” It further warns that  

those who practice such things will not be saved. According to the “2014 State of Dating in America,” report   published by the Christian dating site “Christian Mingle” and “JDate,” the proportion of Christians who said  they would have sex before marriage is 61%. Thus, 61% of Christians believe in fornication. 

The proportion of those who believe it is fine to live together without marriage after dating between six  

months and two years is 56%. This percentage has to be joined to another in which it has been found that  couples who live together before marriage have a much greater chance of failing at marriage than those who  don’t. 

The apostle Paul warns believers against being “unequally yoked.” In other words, a believer is not to  

knowingly marry an unbeliever. According to a survey, 34% of Christians believe that while it would be nice to  marry someone of the same faith, it’s not a necessity. 

The Word of God teaches that man and woman are not the same or interchangeable. The husband has the  responsibility of providing for his family. According to a survey, the proportion of Christians who said that it  doesn’t make a difference who the primary provider of the family is, man or woman, is 59%. 

What does this reveal? It tells us that Christians, at least those who are on dating sites, are not actually 

following the Word of God as their authority, but are following the world and its changing morality. It  

brings into question whether most who view themselves as Christians (and in this case it presumably means  evangelical and born again) are, in fact, actually Christians according to the Bible. 

The findings are consistent with other studies which have found that young evangelicals are increasingly  leaning toward supporting gay marriage, moral relativism, and a general outlook that sees no real absolute truth. 

The fact that these traits are all the more strong among younger evangelicals is an ominous sign concerning  the future of the Church in America. Beyond that, it is a revelation as to the moral apostasy we are witnessing  in our culture. Believers are called to affect the world around them, to be salt, to preserve, and to be light into  the darkness. How could America and western culture become so ungodly if America has so many Christians?  Perhaps it doesn’t. Or perhaps what it does have has become ineffective. Perhaps the salt has lost its saltiness  and cannot preserve any more. This is a wake-up call. It is not just a nation and culture in trouble, but the  Church. All the more, let us commit to being true light that lights up the darkness and true salt that impacts the  

world against rottenness. 

This month seek to live uncompromised, by the word of God, pure light, and salty salt. And may God  

greatly bless you as you do!  

Your brother and co-laborer  

 in His love and service, 

Jonathan