Saturday, February 21, 2009
The Wrath of Abandonment
This isn't really about politics.
Well, maybe a little about politics.
But I am a Christian first, a believer and follower of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And way behind that, I'm a political Conservative, a believer in freedom of speech, freedom of religion, limited government, free enterprise, low taxes, constitutional strict constructionism, and right to life. In other words, I generally favor a republican (small "r") form of government, in which people freely and democratically elect their representatives, but with a Constitution which protects the freedom and economic sovereignty of its citizens, even unborn ones.
Almost always, when that type of government is not followed, it results in evil practices. Biblically evil. Few exceptions.
Such veering away from the foundations of our Republic is rapidly happening now, due to a radical Leftist President, and a nearly equally radical Leftist Legislature.
The essence of this is both a rapid erosion of freedom (including the freedom to publicly worship Jesus Christ and speak for His Word), and such evils as abortion, infanticide, and the stealing of the earned income of productive citizens to be used for Marxist or Socialist purposes.
Even Marxism itself is essentially a materialistic philosophy, anti-Christ, and has no interest in the spirits and souls of people, favoring the supposed "good" of the State, or those who by their sheer numbers prop up the power of the State.
Finally, such political coups require such blatant and enormous deceit by its leaders that it makes "normal" political deceit look like shining truth. My observation of such deceit in the current U.S. President and Congress is that it has reached the proportions of "The Big Lie".
You may remember that "The Big Lie" was a concept described by Adolf Hitler as a lie so "colossal" that no one would believe that someone "could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously".
Except under the Obama administration, now only a month old, there are many such "big lies", too numerous to detail here.
Anyway, take a look at the following video, and then I would like to comment briefly on WHY I believe this is all happening:
Romans Chapter 1 speaks of the decline of peoples, individual and groups, in roughly the following pattern:
1. First, although knowing the power and attributes of God from the created world, they suppress the truth in unrighteousness, not seeking God.
2. Then there is typically a sexual revolution, which America experienced full force in the 1960's and 1970's, until today "shacking up", which was considered somewhat shameful when I was a kid in the 1950's, is now hardly blinked at.
3. Then there is a homosexual revolution, which we are currently in the midst of to an amazing degree.
4. Then, God reveals His wrath on a people, with a form of wrath John MacArthur calls "the wrath of abandonment", in which He, in one degree or another, "abandons" a people, nation, etc.
5. This results in a people of "depraved" minds.
John MacArthur, in an insightful message delivered during the National Day of Prayer in 2007, teaches this Romans 1 pattern regarding America, with a sobering conclusion that this "wrath of abandonment" has basically come about in America. (If that link goes dead, just go to family.org and search "John MacArthur, National Day of Prayer 2007")
MacArthur points out that "depraved minds" are minds which simply don't work like they should. They are illogical. Mentally defective.
So when we remark, "What's going on? Are these people CRAZY?!?", the answer is really, "Yes", in the Romans 1 sense.
Think of this next time you find yourself asking, "Is the Congress nuts!!!?" "Are the voters really that stupid!!?" "Has the world gone mad!!?"
A few suggestions:
1. If you are not a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, I urge you to "flee the wrath to come", believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and follow Him. (More here)
2. If you are a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, more than ever stay in the Word of God, and fellowship with Jesus. You need that truth, and you need that close communion with the Truth. You will not likely find truth in the mouths or programs of political leaders. Walk in the Spirit, be filled with His Spirit.
3. Pray for Obama and our other leaders. If you don't live in America, please pray for us. Hopefully, we can return the favor.
4. Don't be cowardly. It's been said that nothing is worth living for if nothing is worth dying for. If you think these are overly dramatic words, you need to study simple history better.
5. Stay informed, but don't fret and stew and hate. Walk in love, even as you walk in truth. Speak the truth in love. Leave the results to God. "Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord."
6. Be a witness for Jesus. Tell His story, His good news, His truth, His grace, in private and in public;
in letters to our political leaders;
in blogs and Letters to the Editor;
to your family who may be fearful in these times;
to a friend who may think that political power is the big answer;
to yourself...remind yourself regularly of who you are in Christ, and what He's done for and in you, and what is most important.
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12 comments:
Boy Terry...that was good.
Love you in the Lord,
and grace upon grace,
Brian
Very sobering, Terry. Thanks, brother.
Hey Brian,
Thanks and great blessings to you and yours, brother.
Matthew,
Good to hear from you. Sobering, yes, but all being worked together for good to those who love Him.
Terry, as was already said, sobering. Thanks for this post!
Mark,
No re Gene...:)
Nice to hear from you.
Great post!
This Obama character is going to sell us down the river.
We are in deep doo-doo.
If it weren't for Christ Jesus, I'd really be shaking in my boots.
But we will get through it.
Phil,
I don't see where you get that Romans 1 is speaking of individuals and not societies or nations. Not only does Paul refer to pluralities ("men" "their" "them", etc.), but if it referred only to individuals, where are those who practice homosexuality, for example? (Only about 1% or 2% of the American population, for example, are practicing homosexuals. Yet as a *society*, we are in the midst of a homosexual revolution).
Or to put it another way, would you not agree that god does indeed raise up and bless nations, and then bring those same nations down? If so, on what basis does He bring them down?
I believe He often does so based on their following the pattern of Romans 1, in varying degrees, and I think Romans 1 supports that.
America, for example, was clearly blessed by God for many years in many ways, ways that are largely no longer in order.
Law-keeping or outward moralism will not "justify" an individual before God, of course. But we would have to be blind not to see the shifts that have taken place in America regarding God and His Word.
Examples:
The anti-Christ legislation and court-rulings of the Government; the wide denial of the truth and standards of the Bible; the public acceptance of the basest of immorality; the banning of God from public schools; the pluralistic acceptance toward religions, even those which deny any kind of personal God or Creator (e.g., humanism, pantheism, animism, wicca, etc.); the post-modern denial of any standards of absolute truth, etc.
All these things have always been in the hearts and natures of unregenerate men, but as a society we previously at least held them as "wrong".
Nowadays, however, "wrong" is a slippery, if not non-existent concept in most of our society. Or even worse, "right" is now considered "wrong".
Lastly, I don't think this "wrath of abandonment" concept has anything to do with the Old Covenant. God raised up and brought down many nations before and after the Mosaic Covenant of Theocratic Israel.
Steve,
We will indeed "get through it", if for no other reason than Romans 8:28.
The video is gone Terry.
Grace upon grace,
Brian
Thanks for the heads up, Brian.
I found another copy.
This was just excellent. Thank you for sharing!
" Stay informed, but don't fret and stew and hate."
This is something I struggle with... to the point where sometimes I just don't want to know b/c I'm afraid I'll just get angry.
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