Abstinence just may be unrealistic

Caught in an apparent contradiction, Bristol Palin’s public interview last week regarding abstinence became all the rage on at least one conservative talk radio show. While I’ll admit that my initial reaction to the revelation was one of dismay, the more I ponder it, the more I am inclined to believe that her comments regarding abstinence being unrealistic for some teens was more an observation than what she believed was right.

And you know what? I am inclined to believe that she is right.

For years, modern Christianity has been fighting social issues. As I said back in the fall, President Obama’s election spells what may be the end of the movement to reverse Roe vs. Wade. But this is just a social issue. Abstinence, likewise, is a social issue.

And before you misunderstand me, I am not saying that I am in favor of abortion and am against abstinence. I am more pro-life than most of those involved in the pro-life movement, and I am a great believer in marriage.

What I am saying, though, is that I can find no biblical mandate for social reformation. Social reformation works backwards from what we see in the Bible. It attempts to change people outwardly, perhaps even with the hope of eventually seeing them change inwardly through faith and trust in Christ. The problem is that what we are really seeing is a bunch of people running around who know nothing about biblical salvation, but yet they think they are good people.

What is really needed is suffering. Without suffering, without feeling the consequences of sin, the lost are only going to become increasingly emboldened to believe that they are the masters of their own destiny. It will lull them into a deceptive sleep that will harden them against the gospel and, in the end, they will awaken in hell.

There is such a thing as helping a person too much. Right about now many conservatives are railing against the stimulus package because of its welfare emphasis; i.e., helping those who made stupid decisions avoid the consequences. Oftentimes Christians do the very same thing.

But this was not the case in Luke 15 with the Prodigal Son. His father allowed him to fail, and miserably.

Though it is very apparent he longed for the return of his son, he did not go after him. Unlike the average bleeding heart of today, he never compromised his standards just to keep him “safe” at home. No, he allowed his son to suffer the consequences of his sin; he waited for suffering to bring repentance to his son’s life. Not many have the guts for such a thing today.

The truth is that there is a certain segment of our population that will not learn any other way. The problem is that we have such a social safety net in place that the single unwed mother suffers little in our society. It really is unrealistic to think that young people will wait until marriage to have sex when the rest of society pays for their sin.

But there is hope, and it may not be long in coming. While President Obama and Congress are busily endeavoring to keep our economy afloat, there is no guarantee they will be able to do so. Obama has warned it cannot be fixed overnight. Thus, we all my suffer a bit as we learn what the phrase “I cannot afford it” means.

The hope in this is that the awfulness of sin will increase and become a burden to those who pleasure themselves in it. When they can no longer bear the burden of their sin, then they can come to a right frame of mind and repent, and then turn to Jesus who alone can save them from their sin.

This is what Peter has in mind when he writes in I Peter 2:11-12:

“Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.”

What Peter is saying here is that the purpose of abstinence is to give the lost such a contrast between themselves and true, biblical Christianity that when the burden of sin weighs heavy upon their soul, they will be able to see their remedy clearly, through you and me.

Abstinence, therefore, is a Christian concept; it is not for the lost. The only question that remains is whether we have any young people willing to take up the standard and march. Do we have any parents who have the foresight to remove the obstacles that stand in their way?

Virginity given up cannot be regained, therefore we must act before it is too late.

Ron Hamman is pastor for Independent Baptist Church of Wasilla. Contact him at 357-4229.