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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.

14 comments:

Bhedr said...

Boy Terry...that was good.

Love you in the Lord,

and grace upon grace,

Brian

Mattityahu said...

Very sobering, Terry. Thanks, brother.

Terry Rayburn said...

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.

mark pierson said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
mark pierson said...

Terry, as was already said, sobering. Thanks for this post!

Terry Rayburn said...

Mark,

No re Gene...:)

Nice to hear from you.

Phil said...

Hi Terry. My take on Rom 1 is that the 'wrath of abandonment' so-called is not a distinct or vindictive judicial act. Paul's just laying the grounds of his argument that concludes all in Adam unrighteous by imputation and nature. So he's just describing how that manifests in the progressive establishment and strengthening of fleshly patterns/sinful acts. Which are particularly evident in those without a vested interest in the external morality of the Law Covenant (Rom2)...and he's talking individuals, rather than nations. It seems to me when folks mix grace and law they always go into some sort of semi-sacral view of the nations and God's judgements. I believe Paul just has in mind the natural death-consequences of sin in Adam here. He's not talking any sort of Old Covenant-esque open and direct judgements...Just some thoughts, for what they're worth.

Anonymous said...

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.

Terry Rayburn said...

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.

Terry Rayburn said...

Steve,

We will indeed "get through it", if for no other reason than Romans 8:28.

Phil said...

Hi Terry. Well, I said that about individuals because Paul's point is to conclude all men under the sin of Adam by first birth, before he reveals the 'righteousnessy which comes from God'. The Gentile pagan is his focus in Rom1. The Jew in Rom2. The deeds of both attest to God imputing unrighteousness on the basis of Adam's sin. Paul's just pointing out in Rom1, for example with homosexuality, that being in sin leads to fleshliness that's all the more evident because it goes against the natural order of things. He says the moral man of Rom2 does the 'same things'. It might not express quite the same way, but he says it's not just a case of both being 'not righteous enough',despite the 'superiority'of the 'moral' man, but that all works of the law are qualitatively bad and attest to both the moral man and the immoral man being qualitatively in the same boat when it comes to righteousness. Lacking spiritual obedience, because they lack imputed righteousness which is 'not of the law'. Seems Paul would be undermining his argument to level the playing field between the 'two' groups, if he was arguing comparative national states/ blessings between those with less moral laws etc than others...Did God bless Israel such that they were lifted up for it on account of their law-keeping? Hmm. He blessed them by grace with certain privileges. And when they met some of the terms. But the pattern of having that civil law 'made unto life' by having blessings attached for performance by and large brought the curses, not the blessings. After a civil fashion... And no other nations have ever been in such a covenantal scheme...I would think God's raising up and putting down of nations would rest in his sovereign purposes, and not be established by the nation's civil performance and morality. I guess there's been knock on effects peripheral to gospel-advance on nations at times. That's not national morality though before God. God's blessings are by grace alone...As well, how does one define the national blessing in such a way as to distinguish from others? ...Well, just some thinking aloud.

Bhedr said...

The video is gone Terry.

Grace upon grace,

Brian

Terry Rayburn said...

Thanks for the heads up, Brian.

I found another copy.

Sarah said...

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.