For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So, they are without excuse.  For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.  Claiming to be wise, they became fools,  and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Romans 1:18–23

Hollywood actress Shirley MacLaine is famous for many things, but I want to tell you today about one source of her fame that is germane to what the Apostle Paul was calling out in Romans One.

Ms. MacLaine wrote a book in 1983 entitled “Out on a Limb” that was later turned into a movie that was released in 1987. The essential message of “Out on a Limb” is that progressive thinking is the answer to all of mankind’s problems, whether political or spiritual. Smart people, enlightened people, “woke” people, like her, just need to take the lead and be authorized to usher in a utopian future. Such thinking is because indeed, the “right” humans can think us into that beautiful future.

As a Hollywood celebrity, Shirley was one of the first popular public figures to vigorously push New Age spirituality with its advocacy of so-called “higher truths” such as astral projection, reincarnation, karma, soul channeling, and related topics. She argued such ideas are not only valid, but they represent the necessary replacement for “out-of-date” and “irrelevant” and “damaging” biblical truth. 

We can easily see that today, nearly thirty years after this actress published her influential attack on all manner of Christian doctrine, that she was not an anomaly. She was at the forefront of a veritable tsunami of “suppressing the truth in unrighteousness” in American culture and politics. A biblical analysis of nearly all forms of progressivism quickly prove that man-centered ideas are not just in disagreement with Scripture, they are pointedly anti-Scripture. For every doctrinal truth laid down in God’s inspired Word, there is a countering untruth being packaged and repackaged in the world. In short, progressivism is at war with God.

So, we Christians in 2021 feel the pressure. We marvel at the thought of an eight-year-old child being encouraged by adults to reject the obvious and scientifically verifiable biological gender of their birth and demand hormone therapy, along with radical gender reassignment surgery. Such a scenario seems unthinkable, yet it is perhaps more mainstream in the United States today than Little League baseball.

We long for an understanding of how this can be so, and the Apostle Paul gives us the answer. Sin is immensely powerful over all humanity, and it runs utterly unchecked in unredeemed people such that they cannot help but to put in maximum and sustained effort to suppress the truth.

When I was growing up in the state of Florida back in the 1970’s my mom and dad invested in a humble little backyard pool that brought my brothers and me, plus many neighborhood kids, great relief from the sweltering central Florida summer heat. I remember playing a game in that concrete oasis where we would try to force an air-inflated beach ball to the bottom of the pool. Needless to say, it was a difficult task. “Suppressing” that ball took massive effort, and we were rarely successful in even keeping it under the water’s surface, much less controlling it all the way down to the bottom of the pool.

God’s truth is like that. It takes massive effort to suppress. Just think of how tortured and illogical it truly is to deny what is plainly before us. Whether its sexual deviation from God’s perfect design for men and women, or to deny DNA level realities that come with the miraculous birth of every God-created human being, suppression of the truth takes an immense amount of work.

Sin is like that. Lost people will always put the work in to deny God. Christians, see audacious lies for what they are! Too many believers are buying into the craziness of the culture, especially with regard to sexual sin. Perhaps this is because weaker brothers and sisters just do not want the hassle of standing for truth, or worse, they fear an aggressive personal attack. However, “live and let live” is not really an option for truth bearers. God expects us to fight for truth and we do this by being steeped in His Word, by being in Christian fellowship together, and by praying to acquit ourselves well in the truth versus lie battles as they come to us. Moreover, fighting for truth comes with a promise that God will be us in our moment of need. Therefore, we need not fear the future.

The climax of the movie “Out on a Limb” depicted Ms. MacLaine spinning ecstatically on a beach boldly proclaiming, with outstretched arms, “I am God!,” “I am God!, “ I am God!” Well, I am quite sure she is not God. I am also quite sure she has no credible foundation like Holy Scripture upon which to rest her truth claims, nor is she enlightened by God the Holy Spirit who indwells every true believer. Nonetheless, her point of view is both pervasive and damaging. It is not the Christians who are hurting people or damaging lives. Ms. MacLaine and those who agree with her are the ones hurting people with evil philosophies and schemes and the righteous wrath of God must ultimately come against the truth suppressors in judgment. That is His right, and it will be so.  

The insidious nature of the assault on truth has slowly numbed thinking people, even believers, to the most obvious and glaring disconnects of logic and common sense. We may have even reached a tipping point where most Americans believe the unbelievable. But this is precisely what Paul was calling out 2000 years ago, which helps me to see that my faith is in the right place. I am quite sure the eternal truth of the marvelous Gospel of Jesus Christ is the answer to all of mankind’s problems. Nothing Ms. MacLaine or any progressive has to say can sway me in the least to think otherwise.

As Paul calls out the bad news in Romans One, he also beautifully balances the bad with the good news of the Gospel. Hold on tight to this marvelous gospel truth as you watch the culture sink:

“ For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.  For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith. Romans 1:16–17

I as look at the facts of our life in 2021, I see more and more that things are clearly binary. Reality is a picture of truth versus error, good versus evil, grace versus wrath. For this clarity, I am grateful. Now I just have to respond in faith!

Choose faith that leads to truth, good, and grace this day and every day. Your choices count!