Three times in Romans 1 (Rom 1:24, 26, 28), Paul writes that “God gave them up” to their own evil desires and sins. It is likely that the apostle is speaking primarily here of the pagan nations, known at that time for the sort of sexual debauchery (including homosexual practices) that he notes. Within the overall context of Romans’ opening chapters, however, this functions as only part of an overall argument that all mankind alike, even the Jews, are enslaved to sin and under God’s judgment. This sobering truth paves the way for the gospel of grace by which God justifies the ungodly in Christ.

These days we are getting a fresh reminder of the depravity of man. Recently, in response to a law forcing the US Trump administration, many of the FBI files related to Jeffrey Epstein are now in the public domain. It is unclear, as of yet, the degree and degeneracy of the crimes, but at the very least it shoes many government and industrial figures in close ties, relationally and financially, with a convicted pedophile and child trafficker–many who swore previously that they had no connection with him. Many of these public figures are now resigning in disgrace. Much remains to be seen, and it is possible that the files allude to crimes and evils much worse yet than this. I have written, in Deep Discipleship for Dark Days, of the incredible evils and assocations with Satanism among celebrities, especially in Hollywood.

On the other side of the Atlantic, a courageous MP, Rupert Lowe, has convened a hearing on Muslim rape-grooming gangs in the UK, and how police turned a blind eye in the face of clear evidence than thousands of girls were being systematically targeted and raped–they didn’t want to be seen as racist. Almost as wicked, is the fact that the mainstream media refuses to report on these findings. they don’t fit the narrative they are pushing.

It is important, I believe, for the church to recognize these evils and not be part of a world that wants to silence them–probably because their own works, likewise, evil. Silence is what permitted the Jewish Holocaust. Even the German church at that time utterly failed to be a prophetic voice.

There are other reasons, however, why we ought to do what Paul says in Ephesians 5:11 : “Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.” Firstly, it signals to those God is calling out of the world that we are on the side of what is good and right. We are living in dark days, and I regularly here from the unchurched that in seeing the wickedness of the world, it has drawn them to light and truth. Praise God! Our open condemnation of evil (and not just the proclamation of the gospel) signals to those whom God is preparing, that we are the righteous and the antidote (through Christ and His Spirit) for evil in the world. We are light and salt.

Secondly, it prevents increasing evil. We heard this last week from Joshua 7 that sin always propagates and spreads unless it is arrested and cut off. That starts however with divulging the truth and bringing those things that are hidden into light. Thus, it is part of loving our neighbour to speak truth and expose evils that will keep those crimes and evils from spreading. As one example, if the church never speaks out against abortion, more babies will be murdered. Their blood cries out from the ground to the Lord God and we might rightly ask, will their blood indict us for a failure to courageously speak out?

This doesn’t mean that every issue is of equal import or that we cannot have a focus in what injustices we try to tackle or that we need to constantly wage war. But I do think we ought to ask ourselves–what is cowardice preventing us from saying?