Recently, I saw an article that discussed the "unwritten laws" of nude beaches—rules intended to regulate behavior in such places. The title was, "Lose your clothes, but not your manners." I found this fascinating because it perfectly reveals the modus operandi of this world. It shows how the enemy ensnares the masses into a sense of self-righteousness while they are actively promoting and participating in evil.
One of the "laws" mentioned was: Don’t look down, and don’t compliment people on their bodies. This would be hilarious if it weren't so wicked.
A person who frequents such a place and keeps these "laws" will consider himself a moral person. Because he didn't stare or make inappropriate comments, he feels righteous. He might even condemn someone else who fails to follow these rules as a "pervert" or a "wicked person with no self-control."
This is exactly where the world wants to bring us: to a point where we think we are righteous because we keep the "laws of evil" while remaining in complete disobedience to God.
Some might ask, "Are you saying there shouldn't be laws to regulate behavior at a nude beach? How else can we ensure the experience is pleasant for everyone?" This is the trap. The world tries to get us to agree that these regulations make the practice "decent." But as Christians, we should not fall for such counterfeit morality. We prevent evil at a nude beach by not having such a wicked thing in the first place. Public nudity is a sin against the Lord. It isn't just the man who breaks the "beach rules" who is a pervert; the entire environment is based on perversion. We must stand on God’s morality, not man’s imitation of it.
Our society is full of this counterfeit morality. Take, for example, the "age of consent." God’s standard is clear: intimacy is reserved exclusively for a man and a woman within the covenant of marriage. However, society rejects this. Men say, "We want to have sex without being married, but we need rules to regulate the behavior." So, they set an arbitrary age of consent. In one society it is 18; in others, it is 16, 15, or even younger. If a 21-year-old sleeps with a 17-year-old, society calls him a pervert. But if that same man waits until the girl turns 18, society views him as a law-abiding citizen. God, however, sees both as being in sin. Having an "age of consent" for a sinful act does not make the act right. A man who follows God’s law—refraining from intimacy until marriage—will never have to worry about violating the changing laws of men.
Society calls abortion "a woman's right to choose," while God calls it murder. Society calls homosexuality an "alternative lifestyle," while God calls it an abomination. Too often, the church follows the culture’s morality instead of the Word of God. When the culture shifts, the church shifts.
Fifty years ago, both the culture and the church condemned homosexuality. Today, the culture celebrates it, and many churches have followed suit. Today, society and the church rightly condemn pedophilia. But as wickedness increases, and as justifications are found to rebrand these actions—perhaps calling them "minor-attracted persons"—the church that follows culture will eventually follow that trend as well.
Society’s morality changes like the wind. Today they condemn; tomorrow they apologize and exalt. History shows us that ancient cultures, like the Greeks and Canaanites, practiced things that we currently find loathsome. Society is largely under the control of the enemy, and its "morality" is just a series of evil counterfeits.
The Word of God reveals true righteousness. It tells us that "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). We must not follow the shifting winds of culture. Instead, let us preach the Word—condemning sin while offering mercy to the sinner. In the eyes of society, the fornicator is respected while the pedophile is condemned; in the eyes of God, both are in need of divine grace.
Let us live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. His morality is the only true morality.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3730628/
https://www.cnn.com/travel/nude-beach-etiquette-naturism-rules/index.html
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