And that is evident when we note what we read immediately afterward. For you will know them by their fruits. Sadly, one of the problems in today's church is that NO ONE feels compelled to exercise solid judgment. It takes the most egregiously awful behavior before anyone is willing to call a halt. Not these days.
People are afraid.
A certain man in the church was sleeping with his step-mother, a practice which even the heathens would think immoral. There are times when judgments must be made. As the plot progresses, however, the reader learns this village carries out an annual lottery in which the loser is stoned to death. It is a shocking lesson about primitive rituals in a modern American setting. Today, not one of the teacher's current students will go out on a limb and take a stand against human sacrifice.