“Cultural Bond, James Bond”

For certain persons have crept in unnoticed…ungodly persons who turn the grace of God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

Jude 4

Licentious is not a word that’s used often (if ever) anymore. But it is a stellar word, full of accurate meaning in today’s culture. So, how can it be defined? Simply put, it is to be lawless, impious, given to unrestrained sin and gross immorality. It’s an arrogance to do what you please, when you please, even though it may offend others—and offend God. An easy way to remember it is to think of those awesome James Bond movies through the decades. (This makes me wonder, who is your favorite Bond?) Anyway, James Bond has the moniker of 007—he has a “license to kill”…and this is similar to how we can think of licentiousness: It is a license to offend God—a license to sin. 

Back when Jude (and Jesus, and Peter, and Luke, and Paul, and John) were talking about false teachers/teaching coming into the Church, there was a spiritual movement called Gnosticism that was permeating culture and infiltrating the young Christian movement. Basically, Gnosticism was a combination of Jewish, pagan, and some Christian beliefs, all muddled together with one primary teaching: Your spiritual life is all that matters; flesh is meaningless, so you can do whatever you want with your body to satisfy your physical desires—it doesn’t affect your “holiness” in any way. In other words, the good Gnostic would say, “I can do whatever I want with my body!”

Hmm. Sounds remotely familiar.

The first-century Church (and every century since) has been called to influence the hedonistic culture of that day, to spread the Good News of the gospel and the transformative power of the God’s grace through Jesus Christ. And the Church, despite the Gnostics and the pagan cultures around at that time, was turning the world upside down (Acts 17:6)! 

Today’s culture, if you haven’t noticed, is also licentious. And activities that not so long ago were hidden and done in secret when no one was looking—generally agreed to be “bad” or “unacceptable” or even “sinful”—are now done in the light. They’ve been normalized. Beyond that, they have also become celebrated. Most disturbing, many of these activities are becoming engrained into our legal systems, mandated even. Whether or not it conflicts with religious/moral beliefs, they must be accepted, affirmed, and venerated. And if you don’t, if you stand on the Truth of God’s Word, the name-calling begins. You are a hater, bigot, oppressor, etc., and you very well might get kicked out of school, lose your job, or go to jail for doing (or even saying) the “wrong” thing. You must go along with the latest riotous crowd, or else.

The issue for believers today, however, is not just what is happening in the culture, the degradation and licentiousness—and the resulting reaping of what’s been sown for the past decades. While that’s important to acknowledge, it’s more vital to recognize that the culture is influencing and infiltrating the Church more than the Church is influencing the culture. The church has established an anti-biblical bond with the culture, and this is a huge problem.

A recent study conducted by George Barna (released May 2022) is terrifying. Across denominations and pastoral roles in the American Christian church, just 37% of pastors hold a Biblical worldview. In other words, nearly two-thirds of church pastors do not believe or behave in alignment with God’s Word. Despite the warnings given us in the Bible—from Jesus and His disciples and the epistle writers—licentiousness has crept in. And it’s taken over. 

So, as followers of Jesus, we must be on guard in our churches and with those pastors/teachers we listen to. We must know God’s Word for ourselves, so we can test what we’re hearing. If we don’t know the Truth, our ears will get itchy (2 Timothy 4:3) and we’ll be easy prey for the wolves in sheep’s clothing (Matthew 7:15). When the world around us embraces a license to sin, we need to stand firm on the Truth and be ready to defend our faith. And when that licentiousness results in pain, depression, and despair for those partaking in it, let’s be at the ready to give a reason for our hope: the love, forgiveness, and saving grace of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 3:15).

Lord, Your Truth will stand amid false teaching and cultural darkness—help me to stand firm on it and proclaim the Gospel as the only Hope for this lost world.