"Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land."

Hosea 4:1

The charge of the prophet Hosea against Israel sounds very familiar these days in our own culture and time. Biblical truth has diminished in our society over the past generation. There is no stigma associated with actions that the Bible calls "sin". While Jesus proclaimed that the "truth shall set you free" his revelation was that one had to live in accordance with the truth. This is contrasted to a society as in the days of Noah before the flood when evil ruled.

The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Genesis 6:5

Ephesians 6 tells us that our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the " the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." Our job is live in accordance with the truth, to show mercy and to be lights in a dark world that proclaims the truth of God's word. All of this is to be wrapped in love and fellowship within a spiritual community that embodies the power of God's Holy Spirit. Where do we find this? It is called the "church". If we want to be relevant and true to the proclamation of the Good News we need to do those things in each of lives that comports with good deeds and oppose evil.