Recently, Sherril and I had the stimulating experience of
being with a small group of young people from our church. (For us, young means being in your thirties!) They were discussing how they
had seen a decline in morality in our culture, citing such things as sex and
violence on TV and in the movies, foul language and dishonesty.
They realized the relevance of a verse in the book of Jeremiah that they had heard quoted in a recent sermon: “…they [the people] did not know how to blush” (Jeremiah 6:15, 8:12). So decadent had the people of Judah (the southern kingdom of Israel) become that Jeremiah as he prophesied to them about coming judgment was admonishing them for having no sense of shame for their sinful behavior and their total disregard for God’s law.
But I was amazed at what I was hearing from this group. Amazed, because I realized that the moral decline of our nation had accelerated enough to be evident during the relatively short span of their lives. But I was also encouraged and thankful because it gave me hope that there is a younger generation that the Lord is speaking to and revealing to them the need to take a stand and to make a difference for Him.
After that encounter I was driven to dig into some of the writings that had influenced my thinking when I was their age. I pulled out a small volume by Dr. Francis A. Schaeffer, entitled Death in the City. Again, I was amazed because the theme of this book was about the drift of our culture away from the truth. He drew upon the words and life example of Jeremiah to urge Christians to wake up and as Jeremiah did, to speak lovingly, but firmly, into our culture to warn it of the consequences of being under God’s judgment that would surely come.
Dr. Schaeffer used Romans 1:21 – 22 to explain what had happened to Judah and why massive destruction was coming upon them. It was because “although they knew God, they did not accord Him glory as God, or give Him thanks. Instead, they became vain in their reasoning, and their senseless minds were darkened.” (NABRE)
Of course, Israel was God’s chosen nation to whom He had revealed Himself through great miracles, had given them the Law and the Temple worship, as well as sent them many prophets. They certainly knew God, intellectually speaking, but they had not honored Him for who He was.
But, you might say, “What does that really have to do with us? We are not the chosen nation or culture, are we? Let’s be careful not to take this out of context to apply it incorrectly.” That’s always good advice in Bible study. So, is there a principle here that we might accurately apply?
They realized the relevance of a verse in the book of Jeremiah that they had heard quoted in a recent sermon: “…they [the people] did not know how to blush” (Jeremiah 6:15, 8:12). So decadent had the people of Judah (the southern kingdom of Israel) become that Jeremiah as he prophesied to them about coming judgment was admonishing them for having no sense of shame for their sinful behavior and their total disregard for God’s law.
But I was amazed at what I was hearing from this group. Amazed, because I realized that the moral decline of our nation had accelerated enough to be evident during the relatively short span of their lives. But I was also encouraged and thankful because it gave me hope that there is a younger generation that the Lord is speaking to and revealing to them the need to take a stand and to make a difference for Him.
After that encounter I was driven to dig into some of the writings that had influenced my thinking when I was their age. I pulled out a small volume by Dr. Francis A. Schaeffer, entitled Death in the City. Again, I was amazed because the theme of this book was about the drift of our culture away from the truth. He drew upon the words and life example of Jeremiah to urge Christians to wake up and as Jeremiah did, to speak lovingly, but firmly, into our culture to warn it of the consequences of being under God’s judgment that would surely come.
Dr. Schaeffer used Romans 1:21 – 22 to explain what had happened to Judah and why massive destruction was coming upon them. It was because “although they knew God, they did not accord Him glory as God, or give Him thanks. Instead, they became vain in their reasoning, and their senseless minds were darkened.” (NABRE)
Of course, Israel was God’s chosen nation to whom He had revealed Himself through great miracles, had given them the Law and the Temple worship, as well as sent them many prophets. They certainly knew God, intellectually speaking, but they had not honored Him for who He was.
But, you might say, “What does that really have to do with us? We are not the chosen nation or culture, are we? Let’s be careful not to take this out of context to apply it incorrectly.” That’s always good advice in Bible study. So, is there a principle here that we might accurately apply?
First of all, when Paul wrote to the Christian in Rome, he
was speaking to both Jews and Gentiles, but probably most the Roman church was
made up of Gentiles. His teaching in
this passage is about “ungodliness and unrighteousness of men” not of any
specific people group. Also, in the
Scriptures are many warnings and prophesied judgments against all sorts of
nations, not just Israel.
It may be safe, then, to say that Paul’s message applies to any person or group that has known God, but has chosen to live in a way that disregards Him. It would certainly apply to those who claim to be Christians but generally ignore God’s claim on their lives, those whose lives are not significantly different from the rest of the world’s.
What does this then teach us about the rapid decay of our culture? In the rest of Romans, Chapter 1, Paul describes the downward spiral that is inevitable when God’s people turn away from Him…all sorts of lustful activities, moral corruption, violence, and general depravity of the culture. His list is long and detailed.
Thanks to modern technology, everything is accelerated today, both good and evil, but evil seems to be more adept and faster at adopting the new technology than the good.
The hour is already late for us and the signs of a collapsing society are everywhere. We are rapidly becoming like the rest of the world. We have failed to recognize that our blessed and protected status as a nation was granted to us because of our godly heritage, which in the public arena has now been all but abandoned.
There is still hope, I believe, that the tide can turn, but as God’s people we must act quickly in taking a stand for the Lord and reaching out in love to our families, neighborhoods, workplaces, and communities with the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
I pray that God may have compassion on us and hear our prayers for a true revival in His church before He no longer withholds a Biblical style of judgment from falling on us.
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