On our church website we have an “Ask the Pastor” feature (https://cbccne.org/ask-the-pastor/) where any member of our congregation or any visitor to the website can submit a question to me for a response. It is a way for our flock to interact with me and continue our mutual, spiritual growth through dealing with real life questions that we face.

This past week, I received this question:

“I have a growing uneasiness about what I see in the world today. There seems to be a continual decline in American society. I don’t see a lot of respect for one another. People are angry and hurting. We have a war in Ukraine with people suffering and hiding in subways. How are we to understand this decline of Christian values in the world?”

Well, I am not surprised to see this type of question come in after a tumultuous few weeks in the world.  Another question came in last week with a similar vein of thought, although embracing of different aspect of society. The question centered on if we were seeing a modern “demonic activity” present in the world.  I will try to answer both of those with a single response although each question has its specific tangents that we could explore together at length.

“Where Are We?” seemed like an apropos title for the blog since it is a general question that we all like to ask.  Where are we in our marriage?  Where are we in our finances or retirement planning? Where are we in our voyage on holiday? (presumably a response after someone in the backseat asked “Are we there yet?”). We like to know where we are, for sure.

Where are we in the prophetic unfolding of God’s plan for the world?

Talk about a question that could encompass years of study and detailed communication!

Questions like this is one of the reasons that our church will be hosting a Men’s Bible Study beginning on March 26th called “Revealing the End Times” where we will dive deeper into what we know about what is coming for our world. Uncovering and deciphering prophecy and discussing prophetic events is of great interest in our community as I am sure it is in your community.

Where Do We Start?

Since our question addresses what we are seeing in society, the passage I head toward is Romans 1:18-32 where Paul wrote about the consequences and result of unbelief in an individual and eventually at a societal level.

Paul wrote:

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:18-20).

Paul wrote that God’s wrath is evident on an individual when they reject God in unbelief. The Greek here stresses this is a continual revealing of wrath from Heaven toward those who “suppress the truth in unrighteousness”.

Why? Because the existence of God should be evident to them.

Paul wrote that God’s existence was evident within them, and that God made it evident TO them.  How? Everyone should be able to see attributes of God in creation via in His eternal power and in His divine nature, internally understood as being faithful, kind, gracious to all.  Many hold to the belief that God does not exist, or if He does, He is uncaring, unavailable, and unworthy of worship or respect.  This is God who “causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matthew 5:45).  God provides rain to all and brings the sun to all in the world.  Surely, everyone can see that.  Paul wrote that the individuals who suppress the truth that God is the Creator of everything “are without excuse” (Romans 1:20).  They inherently know that God exists, but they purposely determine to ignore Him to their own demise.

Paul wrote that “even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures” (Romans 1:21-23).

Instead of recognizing God for who He is, they chose to honor other gods and give thanks to “Mother Earth,” for a common example, that is even celebrated by the United Nations via Earth Day (https://www.un.org/en/observances/earth-day). Paul wrote that these suppressors of the truth “became futile in their speculations” so that their “foolish heart was darkened.”

Looking for a natural explanation for every event and having a humanist viewpoint of the world is the norm for many in our American society. Modern day demonic activity may be explained away through the definition of a new psychotic disorder, for example. Who is to say that an individual’s dopamine level is not significantly enhanced by a supernatural force?  Ignoring that supernatural forces are present in the world is folly.  If these demonic events occurred in the Gospels (Matthew 8:28; 9:32-33; 17:14-20; Mark 5:1-20; 9:14-29 are examples) who is to say that they are not present in modern day society? (for a detailed look at this topic, see Thomas Sappington’s excellent and descriptive essay at https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/essay/demon-possession/).

Satan and his demonic minions are present in the world and even disguise themselves as angels of light (1 Peter 5:8; 2 Corinthians 11:14-15) so we believers have been warned.  Believers should warn non-believers, as well, even though we may be looked upon as being uneducated fools.  We know that an accurate understanding of the truth requires spiritual enlightenment (1 Corinthians 2:14) and therefore we should pray for those unbelieving friends to gain discernment through the presence and influence of the Holy Spirit.  Unfortunately, unbeliever’s “foolish hearts” are now darkened since they “professing to be wise, became fools” resulting in their exchange of “the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.” They replaced God with their own creations and His creation was used for unholy purposes such as the worship of the sun, or worship of the sacred cow.  Mankind continually creates items that people are called to worship such as currency or material assets. Now, rarely do we see the worship of a statue like in the days of Daniel (Daniel 3:8-27) but we have our own “celebrities and heroes” that many worship.  Some of those individuals lead churches or denominations, too.  God will not share His glory with anyone or any created thing (Deuteronomy 5:7-10).

The Result of Suppression

Suppressors of the truth about God face punishment.  Paul wrote about the wrath of God (Romans 1:18).  There are five types of God’s wrath in the Bible, so we need to ask ourselves what type of wrath Paul wrote about. 

God’s eternal wrath is the never-ending punishment in Hell.

God’s eschatological wrath is discussed in detail in Revelation reflecting the events leading up to the Day of the Lord when Jesus returns in judgment.

God’s cataclysmic wrath is shown in events like the flood, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, or Pompei where the explosion of Mount Vesuvius buried the city in ash.

God’s consequential wrath is the effect of reaping what you sow on the earth – living a lifestyle of excess may lead to an early death.

None of these fit the pattern of Romans 1, though, so we must look to the fifth wrath which is the wrath of abandonment. Abandonment is when God removes the restraints on an individual and lets them go their own way to pursue their sin leaving them to the consequences of their actions.  In truth, unbelievers abandon God and God eventually abandons the unbelievers both at an individual level (Judges 10:13; Hosea 4:17) and then eventually at a societal level.

The Wrath of Abandonment in Romans 1

Paul wrote about three phases or judgments that would occur in a society that abandons God. Paul used a recurring term “gave them over” in each of these judgments, which is the Greek word paredōken, meaning “to be delivered to judgment or punishment”. It is used of Jesus being handed over to be crucified (John 19:16) and Jesus willingly giving Himself up for us on the cross (Ephesians 5:2; 25).  It is also used of God punishing angels who sinned by committing them to “pits of darkness reserved for judgment” (2 Peter 2:4).  It is also translated “betray” in a number of passages (Matthew 10:21, for example) including when Jesus was betrayed by Judas (Matthew 17:22) and when the king was handing an unrighteous slave over to the torturers (Matthew 18:34).

In Romans 1, Paul wrote that “God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.”

The first phase of God’s abandonment of a society is a dishonoring of the human body with lust and impurity. The implication is sexual immorality where societal norms are cast aside and replaced by the lust of passion.  The creature is worshipped rather than the Creator.  Men with increased lust for women and women with increased lust for men looking first and foremost for pleasure.  Paul wrote that this is exchanging the truth of God for a lie with fornication.  Jesus also called the Jews out for this behavior (John 8:41-44). We might call this first phase a sexual revolution.

Paul then wrote about the second phase of God’s abandonment on a society when “God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.”

In this second phase of God’s abandonment, the women lead in pursuing relationships with other women.  God created women to have a greater moral compass to some extent.  Women are usually the last to be affected by a moral issue being more reserved and generally more thoughtful to changes in norms. In God’s abandonment, however, the women become the leaders in immoral behavior, setting their desire on a same sex relationship.  Paul called this abandoning the natural function (Genesis 2:24) for that which was unnatural (as Leviticus 18:22 clearly states). The “penalty of their error” in the Old Testament was clearly stated as death (Leviticus 20:13). In our modern world, we have the predominance of sexually transmitted diseases that are easily “shared” with multiple partners. We might call this a homosexual revolution.

Paul then wrote of the third phase of God’s abandonment on a society when the people “did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer.” In the third phase, “God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, [and] malice” (Romans 1:28-29).

Paul described the people in society as “gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful” (Romans 1:30-31).

In the third phase of God’s abandonment, we see His restraint on sin being pulled back precipitously.  The society is filled with depraved or debased minds.  The Greek word here describes someone that is rejected or failed to pass a test, indicating that the individual is not worthy or is useless to God. The individual has been completely abandoned to his own desires. The remaining characteristics Paul wrote about for these individuals is a laundry list of evil which reminds you of the condition of the people in the days of Noah when “the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5).  For the society of Noah’s day, the cataclysmic wrath of God came via a flood.  In the New Testament, the eventual punishment for these individuals will be eternal wrath in Hell.

How many people do you know who are slanderers, or haters of God, or inventors of evil, unloving, and unmerciful?  My guess would be that we all know many like this in our sphere of influence. While we long to provide temporary grace to these individuals, Paul wrote that “although they know the ordinance of God, those who practice such things are worthy of death” noting that these individuals have willingly and purposely rejected God.  They are in blatant rebellion of God and “not only [do they] do the same, but [they] also give hearty approval to those who practice [with] them” (Romans 1:32). In the third phase of God’s abandonment, society as a whole celebrates the individual’s sin and their personal rebellion against God. We might call this the absolute depravity of society.

In the Old Testament, we read of Pharoah’s heart being hardened by God (Exodus 9:12).  In the New Testament, Paul wrote of Hymenaeus and Alexander being turned over to Satan because they “rejected [God] and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith” (1 Timothy 1:20). These are examples of God’s wrath of abandonment on an individual.  At a societal level, we can look to the Rome as a historical example of a society that God abandoned moving through these same phases of abandonment via moral decline (see https://teachers.yale.edu/curriculum/viewer/initiative_08.03.07_u for an excellent essay on this comparison).

Getting back to the submitted question, there was a statement about American society (“There seems to be a continual decline in American society”) so the natural question is “where is America in these three phases of God’s abandonment?”

Faithful reader, you should pause here for a few minutes to allow yourself to realistically assess what moral issues you see in the U.S.A. If you are living in another nation, do the same, and assess what you see as you will know a lot more than I about your nation of residence.

In the United States, the Supreme Court has always been a beacon of societal values.  What the Court decides usually reflects the mindset of the culture.  Since Supreme Court justices serve for a lifetime when appointed, there can be a significant delay before the culture affects the Court’s decisions.

Looking back over some Supreme Court decisions in the last 50 years, it is not difficult to see a pattern that matches Romans 1.

The 1960s were a time of sexual freedom and exploration.  It was called the sexual revolution for a reason.  No longer would the people be restricted the societal norms of the 1950s.  Instead, the era of free love ruled the day.  The sexual revolution included “increased acceptance of sex outside of traditional heterosexual, monogamous relationships (primarily marriage), the normalization of contraception and the pill, public nudity, pornography, premarital sex, homosexuality, masturbation, alternative forms of sexuality.” Free love is a social movement that accepts all forms of love. The movement’s initial goal was to separate the state from sexual and romantic matters such as marriage, birth control, and adultery. It stated that such issues were the concern of the people involved, and no one else. The movement began around the 19th century but was notably progressed by the “hippies in the Sixties” (Wikipedia).

According to the Planned Parenthood website, “the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade ruling on January 22, 1973, not only gave people the right to access abortion legally all across the country — it also prevented many deaths from unsafe, illegal abortions” (https://www.plannedparenthoodaction.org/issues/abortion/roe-v-wade).

Justice Harry Blackmun’s opinion in that decision provided all sorts of reasoning as to why abortion should be allowed, but nothing of the events that led to the decision even being brought up for consideration.  The issue of abortion was merely a result of the “consequences” coming from the sexual revolution – unwanted pregnancy. Cultural beliefs were shifting and people wanted to have sex without consequence for their actions. A problem needed to be simply taken care of where individuals could simply “make it go away.”

For those with a biblical perspective, however, it is a reflection of the first phase of God’s wrath of abandonment on America – the decline of American sexual morality.

The 1960s sexual revolution also began the rise of the feminist movement which carried into the 1970s and 1980s.  Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, homosexuality was still considered a developmental maladjustment by medical establishments, but the gay rights movement took hold after the Stonewall riots in 1969.  According to Judy Rebick, a leading Canadian journalist and feminist activist, lesbians were and always have been “the heart of the women’s movement”, while their issues were “invisible” in the same movement. Sociologist Mary Bernstein wrote: “For the lesbian and gay movement, then, cultural goals include (but are not limited to) challenging dominant constructions of masculinity and femininity, homophobia, and the primacy of the gendered heterosexual nuclear family (heteronormativity).” The fact that the acronym LGBT begins with “lesbian” reflects the leadership of women in the movement.

We should be reminded that God created the “heterosexual nuclear family” in the garden of Eden (Genesis 2:22-25). In marriage ceremonies, we often hear “what God has put together, let no man put asunder,” reflective of Jesus’s words in Matthew 19:6. May I suggest, the same could be noted at a societal level.

One of the elements of equality that the LGBT movement sought to overturn was the definition of marriage.  One of the lower court cases that led to the Supreme Court’s hearing the case and eventually making a decision on same sex marriage was a lesbian couple wanting to have equal treatment under the tax code which gave an exemption for a portion of inherited assets upon the death of a spouse (for much greater detail on the cases, see the book Awakening: How Gays and Lesbians Brought Marriage Equality to America by author Nathaniel Frank).

On June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court held in a 5–4 decision that the Fourteenth Amendment requires all states to grant same-sex marriages and recognize same-sex marriages granted in other states. The decision was celebrated across the world with newspapers in Europe stating that America had finally “grown up”. America celebrated with the White House lit up in rainbow colors (https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/same-sex-marraige-legal-nationwide-supreme-court-rules-n375551).

For those with a biblical perspective, however, it is a reflection of the second phase of God’s wrath of abandonment on America.

As far as the third phase of God’s abandonment on America, we have seen a rise in mass shootings and other unimaginable crimes over the past decade.  Larger cities have had numerous moments of frontpage media attention with bombings, school shootings, child pornography, and the current rise in sex trafficking cases. These events certainly reflect the depraved or debased minds that Paul wrote about. The mindset of culture might have not risen to the “continual evil” that Moses wrote about in Genesis 6, but it certainly on its way there with great speed. We can certainly see the characteristics that Paul wrote about reflected in our society. The White House display after the same sex marriage decision is a great example of the “hearty approval” of the people (Romans 1:32) for activities that God describes as an abomination (Leviticus 18:22) which is reflective of a society under the third phase of God’s abandonment.

I should point of here that abandonment of a nation does not mean the abandonment of an individual believer.  God will always have His remnant among the nations. and He promised to never leave His people nor forsake them nor can anyone snatch His chosen away (Deuteronomy 31:6-8; John 10:29).

For those with a biblical perspective, each year brings more and more of these events leading us to question where we are as a society. We are in the process of being abandoned by God completely.  For many, the thought that America is a “Christian Nation” provided comfort. In reality, however, America was never a “Christian Nation” even though many founders believed in God. Jesus said it Himself, “My Kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36). One day in the future, however, it will be true that His kingdom will come to Earth (Revelation 19-20). Until that time we will continue say “Marana-tha” -> Lord, Come!

The Restrainer of sin, at present, is the Holy Spirit. The Lord’s Spirit will not strive with man forever, though.  Just as was the case in Genesis 6, God will abandon the world to its own and Satan’s complete, uninterrupted control.  Paul wrote of this day:

“Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things? And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. For this reason, God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth but took pleasure in wickedness” (2 Thessalonians 2:1-12).

At present, America and the other nations of the world are accumulating more people of evil. Eventually, God will remove the Restrainer from the world and completely delude those who took pleasure in wickedness.

May we all and those we love be wise and warned to the current and coming schemes of the evil one.

May we remember to pray for those who are currently alienated from their only hope of salvation, Jesus Christ.

May we be emboldened and courageous to reach out in the hope that the Restrainer will move on their hearts before He is completely removed from the Earth.

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