When God said, ''Let us make man in our image, after our likeness," (Genesis 1:26), He singled out humankind as the recipient of special favor and distinction which was not give to any other creature.

As the result of Adam?s sin, man lost his moral, sinless likeness to God and in turn passed on his depraved, dead spiritual nature to all his offspring. However, man retained the natural likeness to God of: will, emotion, reason and intellect. Man alone, among the vast numbers of animal species, was made in God?s image. He alone is capable of abstract, articulate, symbolic speech. No other creature has these distinctives.

Whereas animals do possess a soul and physical body, they are incapable of responding to the Lord who made them, functioning only by instinct patterns. They are incapable of regeneration, and their soul is temporal, whereas the soul of man is immortal. Animals do not possess a spirit, whereas trichotomous man is possessed of body, soul and spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:23).

MAN IS SEPARATED FROM GOD

Lost man is possessed of a dead spirit, which must be made alive through the supernatural act of salvation, apart from which he experiences physical and spiritual death.

Man in general has forsaken God and His Law, and has chosen instead to worship entities of his own imagination. Paul explains the spiritual darkness that falls on man when he rejects the living God in Romans 1:21-32.

Earlier, in Romans 1:18, Paul says, ''For the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness.'' Note in particular the phrase, '''who hold the truth in unrighteousness.'' Prideful, rebellious man has been given the light (Romans 1:19-20) of God's eternal power and Godhead in the physical creation, but he has ''held down'' or ''suppressed'' this truth at his own peril.

When great light is rejected, great darkness follows. When man focuses on his soulish and physical nature, and rejects the spiritual component, he does so at his own peril. Note in particular the horrible litany of sins springing from rebellious, God-rejecting hearts: 'Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:? (Romans 1:29-31). Included in this context of reprobate sins are lesbianism and sodomy (Romans 1:26-27).

REJECTION AND REPROBATION

God does not take lightly having His truth, goodness, grace and Gospel rejected. When prolonged, consistent, stubborn rejection of the Lord and His truth occurs, a frightening and sobering judicial and punitive act of the Lord follows: reprobation, or divine abandonment.

To put it another way, even God?s grace and mercy has limits. Determined rejection will not always experience fire and brimstone as in the case of Sodom and Gomorrah. It may be reprobation in which God gives a person over to a reprobate mind. Note the phrase, ?God gave them up? in Romans 1:24, 26, and God gave them over in Romans 1:28.

Flagrant sin of reprobates is a grievous and vexing spectacle. When this sin becomes prominent in a society and that society tolerates and condones that immoral, indecent audacity, that society is ripe for judgment.

It is not just the Hottentot with a bone through his nose who is elevating animals to Godhead (Romans 1:21-23). Listen to the strident voices in our society who are raising a cacophony of protests against eating meat, using fur and leather and against hunting. This humanizing of animals devoid of a spiritual nature is as fundamentally flawed as the Hindu who avoids eating a steak because the animal may be a reincarnated person!

A PERVERTED SOCIETY

Sexual perversion is becoming so pervasive in our reprobate society, one must be very circumspect about what he sees or hears. Hireling, uncharactered political leaders continue to fund the unbelievably disgusting and depraved art of the National Endowment for the Arts.

The degraded, dissolute denizens of the sodomite world have come out of their ?closets? with a raucous and unashamed insistence that decent, moral people accept them as being ?normal.? Their political power is disproportionate to their numbers, in some cases because of fawning politicians (who care nothing about moral perversions), actively courting their favor.

If anyone questions our national descent into the realms of raw paganism, witness the acceptance of sodomites. Look at how those in positions of authority tolerate them and even pander to them. Note that they are now even receiving the protection of law in many venues as if they were a minority class of citizens that has experienced discrimination. Note further that decent, moral and principled folk who speak out against their perversion are attacked ad hominem as ?homophobes,? ?hate-mongers? and intolerant.

GOD AND SECULAR GOVERNMENT

Our own government, by an arrogant and unprincipled rejection of history, precedent and our constitution has outlawed God, the Bible, prayer and morality from our public schools. The evolutionary hypothesis, though devoid of scientific merit, has been established as fact. Multitudes of malleable young hearts are taught that we are highly evolved animals. Why then should we be surprised when such youngsters act like the animals we have taught them they are? Barnyard morals, barbaric violence, rejection of authority and living for self are some of the bitter fruits we may expect from youngsters who have matriculated in the halls of pagan, humanistic schools.

Believing parents had better take seriously the admonition, ?Learn not the way of the heathen? (Jeremiah 10:2). Sending a child into the public schools of our country is to place them at great moral, spiritual and physical risk.

WHERE IS THE REMNANT?

Unquestionably, believers live today in a hostile society. Committed Christians are vexed as we witness the ungodliness so ubiquitous in our world. But are we easily distinguishable from this jaded world, or are we being conformed to it? Are we actually being salt and light, or are we unwilling to bear the reproach of the cross a clear testimony would bring?

One can only wonder what the early Christians, who bore the lash of persecution for their uncompromising testimony would view believers of our age who:

1. passively view unmitigated violence, pornography, immorality, indecency and an anti-Christian agenda via their television sets;

2. rarely spend any personal time with the Lord in prayer or Bible reading;

3. adopt a "religion of convenience" and only participate in their church when "convenient" for their busy schedule;

4. are strenuously seeking all this world has to offer instead of Christ?s Kingdom and His righteousness;

5. remain strangely silent at the onslaught of moral decadence, loss of liberties and encroachments of paganism;

6. look, act and live like the wicked world around them;

7. cater to and feed with relish their body and soul, but give little attention to their starving spirit.