God’s message to us today is the same as it was to those living in the equally depraved culture of Rome: don’t conform.

The Apostle Paul’s letter to the Christians in Rome begins with an indictment of the corruption surrounding them that is chilling in its parallels to contemporary American society. If you doubt me, go read Romans 1, verses 21 through 32, and just try to pretend it isn’t as though Paul is writing a response to our front-page headlines.

I find myself being drawn back to this passage nearly every time I go to write on the most recent pop culture trend or societal debacle brought on by Orwellian-named progressivism. For instance, this tweet from the New York City Mayor’s Office:

“To all trans and non-binary New Yorkers: We see you, hear you, and respect you. Starting in 2019, all New Yorkers will be able to change their gender on their birth certificate to M, F or X – without a doctor’s note.”

This utter confusion is celebrated – actually celebrated – by a significant portion of our population. How can seemingly rational people be so willfully blind to the absurdity of something like this? How can anyone think this is actually a sound or sensical idea? How can anyone not clearly see the chaos and calamity this kind of rebellion towards science and reason will bring to our society?

There’s only one answer to those questions, and Paul wrote it a couple thousand years ago: “Just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done.” (Romans 1:28)

I’ve written before, God is (obviously) the author and foundation of all science, logic, reason, and morality. So when you rebel against God and His moral order – as American society has gleefully chosen to do – you necessarily rebel against all science, logic, reason, and morality. Up becomes down, right becomes wrong, regressive becomes progressive, boy becomes girl.

The curse is perhaps most visible amongst institutions and bodies of supposed scholars; academia and all those who take pride in their intellects are the most beclowned by their submission to the backward spirit of the age. Take, as but one example:

“America’s second oldest women-only college has announced it will begin accepting admission applications from some trans-identified candidates, explaining that the school has ‘expanded its definition of womanhood.’

“In a statement, Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri, announced that it will be admitting male students who identify as women — but will exclude women who identify as men — beginning in the fall of 2019.”

Make sure you follow this intellectually stunted policy: those who call themselves girls but who are actually boys will be permitted into an all-girls school; those who call themselves boys but who are actually girls will NOT be permitted into an all-girls school.

This is a college. The people making these decisions and applauding them are those with advanced degrees. Once again, that Pharisee-turned-Christian missionary named Paul nailed it two millennia ago: “Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.”

Paul was writing these words to his fellow believers in Christ, warning them not to succumb to the stupidity that surrounded them. No doubt his warning was prompted by the knowledge that several wearing the name of Jesus were being sucked into the cultural bile that surrounded them. There’s a lesson there for us too. I note that Jim Wallis, who wears the name of Jesus and leads a pseudo-Christian organization today dubbed “Sojourners” “liked“ the decision of Stephens College to embrace sexual immorality on campus.

The message to God’s elect today is no different than it was to those living in the equally depraved culture of Rome: don’t conform. Yes, there will be the Jim Wallis’s around you who do and who at first beckon you to join, then in guilt condemn you as bigoted for your refusal to.

But your trust is to remain in God, your allegiance to His truth, your focus in His word, and your commitment to Him as your only reliable foundation for science, reason, and morality. Once you’ve been faithful in those ways, then pick up a megaphone and tell that truth to a lost and dying generation no matter what they say of you.