"Come On! Everyone is Doing it! It's not a big deal anymore!" That seems to be the war cry of quite a few Christians these days. It seems so many things have become socially acceptable, that they are no longer considered a sin.

Just take a look at some of these, and ask yourself, "Are these things Socially Acceptable in Today's World?"

• Swearing (James 3:9-12)


• Pre-Marital Sex (1 Cor. 6:18)


• Back-talking, or Refusing to Listen to Parents (Exodus 20:12)


• Breaking the Law - even minor things (Romans 13:2)


• Lying and Cheating (Leviticus 19:11)

Unfortunately, most of these things are not only Acceptable, but they are encouraged in today's world! Just turn on the television set... it won't take you long before finding shows like "Sex and the City" where pre-marital sex is all the rage... Or how about the Simpsons, where Bart and Homer are continually at each others' throats... or just ask a Medical Student if they think cheating on a test is ok (49% say yes!)...

That's the sad reality of today's world... it has become a world where these things are "normal." It has become a world where parents will buy their daughter birth control pills, because they "know" she will be active. It has become a world, where Sin is In.

But just because the world views these types of activities as acceptable, doesn't mean they are. The Christians who say "Sin is In," are really the ones saying, "Sin, I Sin." God doesn't change his definition of sin, or change his mind about what is acceptable. God isn't willing to say, "Buy your daughters birth control pills, because thats the thing teenagers do."

God says, BE SEPARATE FROM THESE ACTS. Do not join the world, but stay separate, stay pure (2 Cor. 6:17). Follow my commandments, not theirs.  He tells parents that instead of giving up, they should reach deeper, to make sure their children are not falling into these behaviors. Instead of saying, "That's how teenagers talk to parents these days," he tells us to be wise and to discipline those we love, that they may follow his commandments (Hebrews 12:6).

In Exodus 20:3, God makes this very clear when he gives the first commandment:


He doesn't mean Gods such as "Egyptian Gods," because he says you are not to worship any other God beside him at all (Exodus 20:4). Instead he is saying "Do not put anything before me... not money, not fame, not popularity, and not the world's standards."

And when we listen to the world's standards before God's... we are doing just that.