If our church members fall into the habit of frequenting the theatre, we shall soon have them going much further in the direction of vice, and they will lose all relish for the ways of God. If theatre-going became general among professing Christians, it would be the death of piety. Yet one finds the taste for such things increasing on every hand.
— Charles Spurgeon
We are a fallen people. Sin is our nature. God sees that we, in our natural state, are greatly wicked and that every intention of the thoughts of our hearts are only evil continually (Genesis 6:5). This is one of the foundational truths of Christianity. God is good, man is fallen. This is why he sent his Son to rescue us.
But there is a great evil that pervades in our society and it has even the best-intended churches and Christians in such bondage that entire theologies have been built around defending the acceptance of this wickedness. Entertainment. Specifically, pornographic, God-hating, blaspheming entertainment. I’ve seen some of the greatest theological minds of our time defend our right to indulge in and succumb to this industry. This hidden and subtle form of depravity has become nothing more than a way for professing Christians to appease their wicked hearts and fulfill their need for the gratification of sensual desires while alleviating the conscience of the burden of temporal consequences. In other words, it has become acceptable for Christians to indulge in sick and twisted morally-debauched television simply because they are not partaking in it themselves.
Or are they?
It is commonplace for Christians to indulge in barbaric twisted bloodthirsty pornographic television shows like American Horror Story or Game of Thrones. These shows are replete with themes including rape, incest, blasphemy, murder, fornication–all the things that 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 says will keep you from inheriting the Kingdom of God. It’s all there. Every desire of the wicked human heart can be fulfilled in entertainment.
The argument is that it’s not real, and it’s only entertainment. It’s artistic. But it is real. These are real people that perform in these shows. They are paid to carry out the sin you claim to have been redeemed from. They are paid to take their clothes off and perform sex scenes for the world to spectate. They are paid to blaspheme God. They are paid to participate in the glorification of human death–both physically and spiritually. And whether you want to come to terms with it or not, the reality is, they are being paid to practice sin for you.
Jesus clearly taught that sin is more than carrying out the evil desires of your heart–it’s the desires of your heart themselves that are sinful. It’s where sin begins. 1 John 3:15 says, “Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.” Matthew 5:28 says, “But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” How much hate, how much lust must be built up in your heart to be entertained and fascinated by indulging yourself in this stuff?
The question that needs to be asked is this: if it would be sinful for me to do, is it sinful for me to indulge in someone else doing it?
Here’s the thing, we are commanded to love our neighbors, including our unsaved neighbors, as ourselves. It should be our desire, as Christians, to see the Gospel spread. If we’re supporting an industry that is anti-gospel, anti-Christ, and morally debauched, are we really loving the people caught up in this prostitution? Do we really desire to see them saved? Obviously not. Further, if it would be sinful for your wife or your children to perform in these shows, how on earth could you justify supporting others doing this while calling yourself a Christian?
Where do we draw the line?
The biblical principle is simple. If it’s sinful to perform and produce, it’s sinful to watch. But the American church is so morally degenerate that she will not accept this. I understand that this is a very unpopular position to take. Some of the greatest Christian minds will disagree with me on this. Why? Because, for some reason, we have conditioned ourselves to accept “artistic” representations of sin as acceptable. “A swear word here or there won’t cause me to stumble.” But that’s just the thing, you’ve already stumbled. Immersing yourself into something sinful is sinful.
It does us no good to turn from our sin if we have no desire to completely separate from sin. How can we say that we’ve repented–that we hate sin–if we still desire to watch it? Will God allow this kind of entertainment in Heaven? Have the desires of your heart really changed if you’re a believer? If not, perhaps you should seriously examine yourself. Living out your depravity through television shows, movies, and entertainment is no different than living it out in real life. It merely assuages your conscience, leading you to believe that you don’t desire to sin, while the truth is, you very well may still be a twisted, barbaric fornicating pornographer and blasphemer at heart.
What a tool Satan has in leading the world away from God.
[Contributed by Pulpit & Pen]
