How Lost is Our “Enlightened Society”?

Another earthquake has claimed the lives of, at latest count, 3,500 people in Indonesia as per the Globe and Mail this morning (see Luke 21:11). We’ll find out eventually how many lives were snuffed out. This is absolutely tragic, but not surprising since we are in the end times, the time after the time of the Gentiles (Luke 21:24).

I’ve wondered why God has centered tragic events - like this earthquake, the 2004 tsunami, and hurricane Katrina - in specific areas. But looking at the areas they’ve affected, they seem to be areas of extreme immorality (the sex trade in Phuket Thailand or the immorality of New Orleans) or in areas of brutal Christian persecution (Muslims on Christians in Indonesia). If God’s patience is starting to weigh thin with the sins of this world, and at some point it does as per the Old Testament, these events should be a red light warning to the citizens of Canada. It amazes me how immoral our society has become and how hateful some people have become in Canada.

Case in point: the story of the earthquake in the Globe and Mail invited readers to post comments. One lady, bless her soul, wrote:

Researchers have suggested that this century has been the most violent and destructive in natural disaster terms for the couple of thousands of years of the earth’s existence. Could this be a warning sign that the Day of Judgment is near?

Here are some responses to her post:

Naah.

You crack me up.

Give it a rest.

Day of judgment? That’s right, the Day of Judgment is upon us. Spending every Sunday of your life listening to some guy spew unsubstantiated stories to you in exchange for 10% of your pre-tax salary is about to pay off.

A religious crackpot has chimed in to shove her ridiculous belief down the public throat.

God doesn’t judge – people do.

Your religion has nothing to do with this. The Christian god [sic] didn’t create the world nor is he/she going to destroy it. Religion is a faith based on human beliefs not facts.

Etc, etc, etc.

God bless the lady who wrote the original comment and WOE to the scoffers who ridiculed her (2 Peter 3:3)! How awful it is to scoff at the Lord, the maker of everything seen and unseen. These people think Sodom and Gomorrah and Noah’s Ark are fairytales. We need to pray for these people, even though they ridicule us, that God would reveal himself to them and draw them to him before it is too late. Reading these comments was disheartening, and demonstrated that God’s anger must be burning against Canadian society as well – our general society must be a repugnant stench to the Lord. Rest assured God’s wrath will fall upon Canada as well at some point, just as it has in Phuket, New Orleans, and twice recently with the 2004 earthquake/tsunami and yesterday’s earthquake in Indonesia.

Thank God that, just as he saved Lot and Noah from amongst the ungodly, he is able to save true Christians from his coming day of wrath (2 Peter 3:7).

A key passage:

Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man. [Luke 21:34-36]

My advice is be sure of your salvation and do what it says in Luke 21:36 because the day of wrath is coming.

Repentance

It is a word too infrequently spoken in our churches today. I suspect it’s because congregations prefer to hear “feel-good” sermons and sing about Christ’s love for us...and that’s it. There is rarely a mention of the pathetic condition of man without Christ, or the condition of a “Christian” who continuously allows sin to creep in uncontested. We rarely talk about the coming day of judgment and the wrath of God. Instead our focus seems often, only on the love of God. “Fire and brimstone” sermons are avoided and considered too old fashioned and too harsh for “seeker services”. Are we really doing our fellow man a favour by ignoring the spiritual battle around us and in us, and by ignoring God’s coming day of judgment? Have we lessened the urgency to repent by saying things like :”who am I to judge” , when Christians should instead be holding one another accountable? Is there a greater failure than to fail to warn of God's impending judgment?

2:4 Or do you have contempt for the wealth of his kindness, forbearance, and patience, and yet do not know that God’s kindness leads you to repentance? 2:5 But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourselves in the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment is revealed! [Romans 2:4-5]

Our recognition of God’s kindness, forbearance, and patience should lead us to the next step – lead us to daily repentance. We need to examine our hearts, thoughtfully read the bible, and pray that God would give us wisdom to make repentance a priority, and it should hurt us when we recognize that we have sinned. The world is sending us the opposite message: of tolerance and understanding of sinful behavior. That is not surprising because Satan is the ruler of this temporary world. Unfortunately, I see that this message is also polluting the church’s thinking. As Christians, we need to confess our sins daily and admit when we’ve failed. Woe to that person whose conscience has been so dulled that they rarely see the need to repent. That is Satan’s ploy – to make us believe that we’re really not that bad, that “surely you will not die” [Genesis 3:4] I don’t know about you, but I find that I am in a constant battle against sin, “which so easily entangles” [Hebrews 12:1], and is so prevalent in our self-seeking world. Lord forgive us and prevent us from ever becoming comfortable with sin, or failing to recognize it.

And then here’s the best part: the recognition of sin and repentance produces an overflowing, grateful heart for God’s free gift of grace. Christ died for us, so that we can live – it is impossible to overstate this! We have no hope apart from Christ to live up to the righteous standard that is demanded by God. Praise God, he has provided us a way. It’s only through the recognition and admission of sin, that we see the immeasurable value of Christ’s death.

And Lord, let it begin with me – amen:
25Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. [I Corinthians 9:25-27]