A Nation Abandoned by God

A Sermon given by John MacArthur, copyright Grace to You Ministries

It is a real delight to be with you tonight.  I want to thank Pastor Hurd(?)  and Pastor Al for the opportunity to be here.  Thank you, men, so much, this is a...this is a privilege and a...and a joy and a delight to me.  I always love the opportunity to teach and preach the Word of God, but especially to meet and greet people who have listened to me on the radio through the years and come to me with all kinds of strange comments about...(applause)...thank you...come to me with strange comments about what they thought I looked like.  (Laughter) This is it, better that you had never known.  (More laughter).

It's a joy tonight to have my dear wife, Patricia, here.  Honey, stand up and let them welcome you.  (Applause) This...this is the best earthly gift has given to me by far and I have to take advantage of every moment I have with her in this world because there's no marriage in heaven, so I've got to take advantage of it while I'm here.  And I'm delighted to be able to do that.  God has blessed us with four children and by His grace they're in Christ and serving with us in our church and they married four who love the Lord and we have 14 grandchildren who are being raised in the things of the Lord.  And it's exciting to see that happening.  (Applause) We are very, very grateful to the Lord and His goodness in our family, and I say that only to say God has used Patricia in a remarkable way in the lives of our children, to nurture them in the things of Christ.  What...what a great blessing to me. 

It's not a small thing to have the opportunity such as I have tonight to try to put a little bit of perspective and focus on the issue of praying for our nation.  There are so many things that could be said and probably should be said and I certainly don't intend to say them all, by any means.  But trying to kind of funnel down our thinking a little bit so that our prayers can be direct is really helpful.  I remember one of our kids, I used to go from room to room when the kids were little and pray with them.  And one of my daughters, I got into the habit of just because she was sleepy, I think, saying, "And God bless the whole wide world.  Amen."  And I thought that was a little unspecific, I guess you could say.  Needed a little more targeting in her prayers. 

And if I can tonight, I want to try to target our prayers a little bit as to how we can direct our prayers in what, I believe, is the most needful way...not to the exclusion of any other things, but this, I think, has to be the primary focus.  And it may take me a little while to get to that point, and you need to kind of stay with me and you'll see how this unfolds and hopefully it will be helpful.  That certainly is my prayer. 

One of the most tragic scenes in the Bible and yet one of the most familiar to us is the scene of the strongest man who ever lived, a man by the name of Samson, finding out he had no strength.  Judges chapter 16 records this.  "When Delilah saw that he had told her all that was in his heart, she sent and called the lords of the Philistines saying, 'Come up once more, for he's told me all that is in his heart.'  Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hands and she made him sleep on her knees, called for a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his hair.  Then she began to afflict him and his strength left him.  And she said, 'The Philistines are upon you, Samson," and he woke from his sleep and said, 'I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.'" And here's the telling line written by God the Holy Spirit.  "But he did not know that the Lord had departed from him.  So the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes, brought him down to Gaza, bound him with bronze chains and he became a grinder in the prison."  Sad.  He didn't know that the Lord had departed from him.  I can't imagine anything worse than being abandoned by God.

To the sons of Israel earlier in the book of Judges in chapter 10, God said this, "You have forsaken me, you have served other gods, therefore I will deliver you no more.  Go and cry out to the gods which you have chosen.  Let them deliver you in the time of your distress." This was God saying to Israel, "I'm done with you, abandoned by God. 

Proverbs chapter 1 records a similar sentiment.  "Because I called and you refused, I stretched out My hands and no one paid attention.  You neglected all my counsel, you did not want my reproof, I will even laugh at your calamity.  I will mock when your dread comes, when your dread comes like a storm and your calamity comes like a whirlwind.  When distress and anguish come on you, then they will call on Me but I will not answer.  They will seek Me diligently, they will not find Me because they hated knowledge, did not choose the fear of the Lord, they would not accept My counsel, they spurned all My reproof, so they will eat of the fruit of their own way and be satisfied with their own devices."  Again being abandoned by God, turned over to the inevitable consequences of sinful choices. 

A haunting line is found tucked away in the little prophecy of Hosea chapter 4 and verse 17, and it refers to Israel by the name Ephraim and it says this, "Ephraim is joined to idols," so says God.  The next line, "Leave him alone."  Sounds out of character for God, doesn't it?  "Ephraim is joined to idols, bring him back," might sound a little more like God.  "Let him alone?"

People and nations, even the covenant nation Israel can come to a point where they are abandoned by God.  Jesus reiterated this in Matthew 15 when He confronted the Pharisees and then described them to the disciples.  He said this, "They're blind leaders of the blind.  Let them alone."  When God lets you go, it's serious.  When Jesus pronounces over you abandonment, it's serious. 

Now I'm going to say something, you're going to have to hold on to your seat a little bit.  I'm convinced beyond doubt that in this same sense, God has abandoned America.  I know that's a strong thing to say and I'm going to show you why I believe you can see that clearly in Scripture. 

The Wrath of God 

Open your Bibles to Romans 1...Romans 1.  Don't be surprised, by the way, by that statement because while you're turning there, Acts 14:16 says this, this is from the Apostle Paul, "In the generations gone by," that's past history, "God permitted all the nations to go their own way."  This is not the first nation God has abandoned, nor if Jesus tarries is it the last, or is it now the only.  This is the cycle of history and it is this very cycle of history that Paul describes in Romans chapter 1.  Here in Romans chapter 1, beginning in chapter 18 running to the end of the chapter, you have the most clear presentation of God abandoning a nation, what that looks like, what happens and why He does it.  This is the most graphic and the most detailed and the most comprehensive discussion of what it means for a people, a society to be abandoned by God.  And it perfectly describes the moral chaos in our own nation today.

It starts with very familiar words.  Verse 18, "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven."  Now let me stop you there for just a moment.  We're talking about the wrath of God and I need to just let you know that in the Scripture and in reality there are five different manifestations of God's wrath.  Okay?  And you will recognize them.  There is eternal wrath.  That is that wrath which God unleashes on the unbelieving dead in hell...eternal wrath, suffering forever eternal punishment.  That's eternal wrath.

There is also in the Bible eschatological wrath, that is the unfolding of divine wrath at the end of the age described in detail, for example, in Revelation 6 through 19, the pouring out of God's wrath in the breaking of seven seals, the blowing of seven trumpets, and the dumping of seven bowls of wrath...eschatological wrath, that wrath is yet to come as is eternal wrath for all society, yet right now there are many experiencing eternal wrath, all the unbelieving who have left this world are experiencing.

The third kind of wrath is what I guess you could call calamitous wrath.  That is that wrath of God which produces calamity in the world and the most notable illustration of that is the Flood which drowned the entire world, only eight people were saved.  Massive wrath on the part of God against sinful man.  Fourthly, there is consequential wrath, that's sowing and reaping wrath.  That's the natural end of patterns and choices of sin.  Whatever a man sows, he...what?...he reaps...that's consequential wrath.

But there's one other kind of wrath that is usually overlooked.  We all understand eternal wrath, eschatological wrath, calamitous wrath, we all understand the...in the calamity of the Flood or God destroying Chorazin, Bethsaida, Capernaum, etc., etc.  Throughout history these calamities continue to even happen and they all fit in the category of God's judgment of sin.   But there's this other category of the wrath of abandonment, it is a form of God's wrath in which He lets go of a society and lets it catapult full speed without restraint in the direction of its own sinful desires and devices and choices.  That's the wrath being described here.  This is the cyclical reality of this wrath that has defined human history and will always until Jesus comes.  As Paul said, in all the generations gone by, God permitted the nations to go their own way.

I don't believe we're waiting for God's wrath in this society.  We haven't had a massive calamity such as the destruction of an entire city, we certainly don't want that to happen, pray that does not happen, but it could happen and God would be just in any calamity that He brought upon us.  We have not entered into eschatological wrath that comes in the end times, we are experiencing, all of us do, consequential wrath of sin.  But this massive concept of the wrath of abandonment I'm convinced is now at work in our society.  We'd like to talk about the fact that America was founded on Christian principles and God was at the center of it, and all of that, whatever it might have been in our founding, it's no longer the way it is and I want to show you how you know that has happened.

Go down to verse 24.  You see in verse 24 the first word "therefore," this means we're now going to see a description that connects to what has been said.  If you go back to verse 18, "The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men," and we could stop at that point.  The wrath of God is revealed.  And then it goes on to talk about the wrath of God and the reasons for the wrath of God.  And then in verse 24 it then describes the wrath of God and here's the description. 

"Therefore God gave them over, or God gave them up, in the lust of their hearts to impurity that their bodies might be dishonored among them, for they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator who is blessed forever, amen.  For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions, for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural.  In the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman, 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.  And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind to do the things that are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, envy, full of...or evil full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice, gossip, slander, haters of God, insolent arrogant boastful inventors of evil, disobedient to parents without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful.  And although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, and not only do them, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them." 

Now let me break that down for you a little bit.  Three times the verb "gave them over" is used...three times.  The wrath of abandonment is when God gives a nation over.  This verb, paradidomi, can have a judicial sense.  It's used often in Greek literature in terms of law courts and criminal courts.  It comes down to handing a prisoner over for punishment.  It's even used in the case of Jesus being handed over for a crucifixion.  Each of these uses of the verb in this text express the fact that the wrath of God has acted to hand over a society to sentence...to hand them over.  As the historian Schiller(?) said, years ago, "The history of the world is the judgment of the world."  There comes a time in a nation when God has had enough and He literally lets go and turns them over to the sentence that they have passed upon themselves by their incessant sinful choices.  To see it another way, they are deprived of restraining grace.  Now how do we know when this has happened? 

Signs of Abandonment 

Note the progression.  Verse 24, "God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity that their bodies might be dishonored among them."  Impurity speaks of sexual sin.  The first thing that happens in a nation when it is abandoned by God is a sexual revolution.  Moral, sexual perversion, pornographic desire describes the general character of the culture.  You can't even count how many million pornographic web sites there are.  When a society is abandoned by God, it operates out of its own perverse sexual passion without restraint.  You can go back to the 60's and the sexual revolution of the flower children, or Hugh Hefner in the Playboy world and it has gone like a flood since then.  It is characterized by, as you look at verse 24, lust coming from inside as Jesus said, "What comes out of the heart of a man is what defiles him," leading to impurity, this means sexual impurity, and to the dishonoring of their bodies.  The heart is wicked and the bodies demonstrate it.  The body follows the heart.  Lust conceives in the heart, James says, and brings forth sin and sin brings forth death. 

The first thing you look for in a society you're trying to discern whether God has abandoned that society is whether or not that society has gone through a sexual revolution so that illicit sex, adultery, every form of immorality is accepted as normal in that society.  And we're there.

The second step in the progression, verse 26, "God gave them over, not just to passions that are explicable because they're men and women, but to inexplicable degrading passions for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural."  You know a society has been abandoned by God when it celebrates lesbian sex.  God has given them over...gross affections, unnatural, unthinkable.  So you follow a sexual revolution with a homosexual revolution, and homosexuality becomes normalized.  Verse 27 adds the male part, "In the same way the men abandon the natural function of the women burned in their desire toward one another.."

And by the way, it is a burning that is just hard to comprehend.  There was a man named Halpern(?)  who was the coroner for the city of New York and he did, I think, 26 or 28 thousand autopsies in his day.  He said we can look at a corpse that had been murdered and tell you whether a homosexual killed that person by the multiple wounds.  He's not a Christian, he's a Jewish guy and he just said, "There's something about the passions of that kind of involvement that are not explicable."

But interestingly enough, the Holy Spirit puts the women first here and the men after.  Why?  The Holy Spirit refers first to the degradation of women because they're usually the last to be affected in the decay of morals because their hearts are so naturally inclined toward a husband and toward the responsibility of nurturing children.   But when they lead the parade, God has removed His restraint.  And the amazing thing of it is this, verse 27, "The man abandoning the natural function of the women, burning in their desire toward one another, men with men, committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error." Right into this wrath of abandonment comes the wrath, the consequential wrath and even though it generates venereal disease and AIDS, they keep doing it.  This is what step two looks like and we know this has come like a flood.  But it's not the final step.  The final step comes in verse 28, the  middle of verse 28, "God gave them over to a depraved mind." 

Conscience and the Depraved Mind 

Now the version of the Bible you have, I'm reading the New American Standard, might have a different translation for depraved, so let me tell you what the word means...non-functional.  It doesn't work, useless, can't think, can't reason, can't comprehend.  And you look at this world and you say, "Rampant sexual immorality, out of control, destroying people willy-nilly even in the church, even in the leadership of the church.   Homosexuality, same thing, rampant, out of control, demanding to be accepted as normal and the society rushing to affirm that acceptance.  Isn't there anybody in the system who would stand up and call this what it really is, a massive, moral disaster?  Can't they see it?  Can't they figure it out?  No...no.

First Corinthians 1 says, "Man by wisdom knew not God."  Human wisdom just on its own doesn't get there.  Then you add that the god of this world has blinded the minds of them that do not believe and you've got a compounding blindness.  And then you add the fact that they are blinded by virtue of the sweeping, dominating elements of their culture and you're just not going to get anybody to rise up and take that position and have people rally around it.  You're going to have more people in leadership in the country outing themselves as homosexuals.  If you think you've seen a lot of that, you haven't seen any of it yet as it becomes more and more accepted.

A depraved mind in the original language is one that's tested and found useless, therefore disqualified for its intended use.  The reasoning faculty has been corrupted by the influences that surround it.  MTV did a survey on morality.  Boy, there's a...(laughter)...switch.  And they took, you know, they took the Middle Ages idea of the seven deadly sins, you know, lust, greed, all those things, and they surveyed their audience about what they thought about that.  And basically they thought all those things were virtues.  Now they thought they were all virtues.  Yeah.  And when that happens and your entire sense of morality is warped, then your conscience is ill-informed and it doesn't function.  So you have unconscionable behavior.  And then you laugh at the Jerry Springer Show instead of falling on your face and weeping at the aberrations.  A depraved mind, reasoning faculty so corrupt that it must be rejected as non-functioning.  And as a result of that, what happens?  God gave them over, verse 28, to a depraved mind.  So as a result, they do the things that are not...what?...proper, fitting, sensible, reasonable.

What do they do?  They're filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, envy, murder, deceit, malice.  What's that?  That's the nightly news.  It's the local newspaper.  Slanderers, haters of God, and on and on and on and on it goes.  They're unconscionable.  Conscience can only function...conscience is a sky light, okay?  Conscience is a device that reacts to your moral code.  If you're a Muslim, conscience tells you to blow up infidels because conscience is not a set of moral laws.  It's not a set of moral rules.  It's a mechanism, like pain.  Pain is a mechanism God gave you that responds to your physical condition.  It says to you something is wrong with your body.  Pain is simply the device that tells you that.  And it's a good thing, isn't it?  It's a good thing cause it tells you've got a problem with your body you need to deal with.

That's what conscience is, it's a mechanism God gave you that accuses you or excuses you, Romans 2 says, but only functions if it is morally informed accurately.  And if you have a culture that has developed an aberrant morality, then you have consciences that function off of that aberrant morality.  And you get all the stuff, all the inexplicable behaviors.  And that's why in verse 32 it says, "Although they know the ordinance of God, all they know...all they know inherently in them, Romans 2, what is right and what is wrong, they who practice such things are worthy of death.  They know that.  They do them anyway and they give hearty approval to those who practice them.

You know what that reminds me of?  Bill Clinton's approval ratings went up in the middle of the Monica Lewinski affair.  Why?  Because a culture like this approves of somebody like that, perfect fit.  That's our kind of guy.

So they are without reason, without conscience.  This is what it means when God abandons a society.  Sexual revolution, down one more step; homosexual revolution, down one more step; you can't ever get your way out of it because the mind, the cultural mind is gone...it's gone...it's gone.  And I would put it this way, maybe simply, there's no surer indicator of a corrupted, wicked and abandoned society under God's wrath than when that society does not tolerate anger against sin.  This society will not tolerate you standing up and displaying righteous indignation against sin.  How long is it going to be before if you preach against it in your pulpit the government is going to come in and tell you, you can't do that?  They've done it in Canada.

One night Larry King said to me, off the camera, he said...he said, "You know," he said, "I like you a lot but...he said...you're all...you're all caught up in the words of the Bible and you miss the message."  So I said, "Well, what's a message with no words?"  I don't think we miss the message.  It was C.S. Lewis who said, "The last experience of the sinner is the horrible enslavement of the freedom he desired."  So, Paul is unfolding for us this picture of what a society looks like when it's abandoned.  It's not my description.  Now you see why I said I think America is here going through the cycle of Romans 1.

Why does it happen?  Let's go back to verse 18 and find out.  Why does it happen?  I'm going to give you the short version.  Here's why it happens.  Verse 18, "The wrath of God is revealed from heaven in this form of abandonment against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men that makes up this society."  Verse 18, "Who suppress...what?  There it is, that's it...they suppress the truth...they suppress the truth." That's why I wrote the book The Truth War, it's always about truth, always about truth, always.  From the Garden, it started out as a war of truth, right?  God says you eat the fruit, you'll die.  Satan says, no you won't, you shall not surely die.  There it is.  Adam and Eve believed Satan.  They thought God was lying to them.  That started the truth war, it's going on today.  It's always about the truth.  Simple, this happens when you suppress the truth. 

Truth and Reason 

What truth?  Real truth.  As Francis Schaeffer used to say, the true truth...biblical truth.  You suppress this, that's where you go.  Take the Word of God out of the place of its supremacy and you suppress the truth.  Deny that it's true, deny its veracity, deny its authenticity, deny its inerrancy, deny its inspiration, deny its sufficiency, deny its clarity...that's the latest one that nobody really knows what the Bible means anyway, it's a wonderful book, we believe God gave it to us but we have no idea what it means.  That's convenient.  I mean, you can divide my life, my life up into attacks on the Bible coming from every imaginable angle...the truth is always under assault.  This nation has succumbed to that.  There are even churches that have decentralized the truth cause they think it offends, it's divisive.  It's all we've got, folks.  It's all we have.  God saves through the truth.  You're begotten again, Peter says, by the Word of truth.  You're sanctified by the word of truth.  Jesus said, "Sanctify them by Thy truth, Thy word is truth," John 17:17.  That's all we have.

Of course it's being assaulted by Satan.  Of course the critics come along and say it's not inspired, it's not true, you can't believe it.  Of course the mystics come along and say no, it's fine, but we have more revelation over here and more over there, and more over there.  And the cults all develop out of extrabiblical revelation.  And then there are others who come along and say, "Well, the Bible's fine, it's just not sophisticated.  You need to add philosophy and other kinds of things to the Bible to fill it out." And now there are those who come and say, "Well, it lacks clarity." And that's an attack on the old perspicuity, the doctrine of perspicuity, that Scripture is clear, that God intended it to reveal not to hide.  So the truth is diminished in its place, it's denied, it's rejected.  It's amazing how people mock biblical truth today...amazing.

Oh, you can figure out a way to make it so smooth and soft, take out all the hard parts so it doesn't have the sting.  But if you give the unadulterated, unexpurgated, pure Word of God, it will generate a negative reaction in many environments.  You need to speak the truth in love, but all we've got is the truth.  Suppress the truth.

Let me expand that a little bit.  Give you four things to think about, four reasons for wrath that have to do with the suppressing of the truth.  Number one, revelation.  We've been given the truth.  "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, eternal power, divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made so that they are without excuse."

What is this?  This is not even talking about the Scripture.  This is talking about the fact that God has inlayed His truth into the fabric of man's being.  He is not without a witness to the truth.  Look at chapter 2 for a moment, drop down in to verse 14, "The Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these not having the Law are a Law to themselves in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness."

Part of being human like all the other parts of being human, be able to think and to make relationships, to speak and to act in the ways that humans act, those kinds of things are the familiar components of what it means to be human.  But another one is, the Law of God written in the very fabric of man's nature so that he cannot plead ignorance.  In fact, it says in verse 20 that he has enough of the Law in himself, enough of reason to be without excuse.  You cannot plead ignorance, that which may be known of God.  What is knowable regarding God.  What man can know, what of the light that lights every man that comes into the world, John 1:9, is written in the heart.  It is evident in them.  Two ways, one, in reason...in reason.

Where does reason inevitably take you?  Reason inevitably takes you to an ultimate cause.  Reason is simply a cause and effect device.  Reason is simply thinking our way through patterns of cause and effect.  This leads to this, this leads to this, this leads to this, and that's how reason works.  And eventually you get back to the first cause of the massive universal effect of creation, so reason is a device given by God to all human beings that leads them directly back to Him...directly back to Him.

Any thinking person knows that.  You can't have an effect without a cause, right?  I mean, how simple do we have to be?  You ask me where this watch came from, if I say, well there's a bunch of tin floating in a box and pulled it out and it started to tick and this is it...is ridiculous.  Well how can you explain the universe that way?  It's an absurdity.  Nobody times nothing equals everything?  That's totally irrationality.

I'll give you a little thing to think about.  There was a scientist by the name of Van Noiman(?)  And Van Noiman invented, or conceived of an invention called the ultimate machine...the ultimate machine.  Okay?  Called the Van Noiman Machine, all engineers and scientists know about.  The Van Noiman Machine, he said, this is the ultimate machine, it is self-perpetuating.  It has the capacity within itself to sustain itself.  Wow!  Secondly, it is self-repairing.  Anything that ever goes wrong with it, it can fix.  It has within itself the ability to fix itself, to generate whatever new parts it needs to reassemble them so that it functions.  And then thirdly, it reproduces itself.  It multiplies itself.  This would be like having a car that generated its own fuel, fixed itself, and when you came out in the morning there were three little cars sitting next to it.  (Laughter) Okay?  This is a Van Noiman Machine.

The complexity of this machine is staggering.  And so it can't be built, it's way too complex.  It becomes exponential, almost...almost to infinity to put something together like this, it can't be done.  And yet that is exactly what every single organic cell in existence in the biological world does.  It's a factory of perfect self-generating, self-repairing, self-reproducing machinery.  Don't tell me that one time there was a pile of protoplasm and it decided to become this.  My reason tells me there has to be a Creator.  And do you know the whole world believed that until Darwin came along?

Jonah out on a boat, and the sailors, pagan sailors say to him, "Why is this going on?"  He says, "It's my God, He's doing it cause He's punishing me.  And so it's my God."  And they say, "Well who's your God?"  He didn't say, "Well, let's see, He's the Hebrew God, He's the God of the Hebrew people, that's who He is."  He didn't say that.  He said this, he said, "Well, He's the God who made the earth and the sea."  Oh, that's a natural assumption...natural assumption.  Go to Mars Hill, Paul's up there, they have a deal there for the unknown god.  Paul says, "I want to tell you who this unknown God is."  He doesn't say, "This is...this is the Christian God of New Testament."  He says, "This is the God who created everything.  This is the God in whom we live and move and have our being."  Everybody got it.  Only in the modern world do we not get it.

You go back to God, the massive first cause of everything.  So that's in the fabric of being human.  And you know, you have to work hard for a couple of hundred years to convince an entire society that that's nonsense and that what makes sense is nobody times nothing equals everything.  And though it doesn't make sense, it works in a totally immoral culture because if there's no Creator, there's no judge.  So reason is the first thing that shows you God.  The second thing is morality which is built into the fabric of all of us and has again to be cultivated to the point where you've got a society of people whose reason doesn't need God, and whose sense of morality has been totally perverted.

Here we are.  Here we are.  Even though since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power, divine nature clearly seen, clearly understood so that we're without excuse, this society has rejected God.  That's our second point.  Point one, revelation, God has revealed Himself to every person.  Second, rejection, men have turned away from the truth.  Verse 21, interesting, "Even though they knew God," that is humanity, that is society in any given period of time by God's creative design have the knowledge of moral law and reason that leads them back to a moral law-giver and a judge and a Creator, even though they know that innately, they did not honor Him as God, or give thanks, but instead of doing what was reasonable and moral, they became empty in their speculations and their foolish heart was darkened.

And the bottom line is that they don't like the God their reason leads them to and they don't like the God that their innate sense of what is right and wrong leads them to and so they abandon that God and the lights go out.  And then you come up with stuff like a rock is a rat is a dog is a boy.  Life is random.  Truth is relative.  People are basically free to do whatever they want.  It's all good.  Everyone ought to be free to do whatever he wants.  The goal of life is self-satisfaction.  Live it up and don't let anybody tell you, you can't do anything.

So they didn't honor Him as God.  They weren't thankful to Him for what He had given.  And the lights went out.  They became empty in their speculations, their thinking, their patterns, their ideologies, their foolish heart went black.  Empty human ideas, now you can't know God, can't know the truth.  But you think you're smart.  Look at verse 22.  "Professing to be wise...professing to be wise, they became fools." That's the third step.  You go from revelation to rejection to rationalization.  Men insist they're doing fine, never did better.

We're very advanced.  Professing to be wise...reminds me of the guy lying in bed in the nut house, pounding his chest saying, "I'm Napoleon, I'm Napoleon, I'm Napoleon."  And the guy in the next bed saying, "Well, I'm God, I'm God, I'm God."  Just that kind of insanity.  Or the lady who came to the psychiatrist's office with a duck on a string and said, "You've got to help my husband, he thinks he's a duck."  This is no perception of reality.  In fact, it says, "Professing to be wise, they became fools."  The word is moraino from which we get moron, proud morons giving each other Ph,D.s.  (Applause)

And finally, it comes down to...goes from revelation to rejection to rationalization to religion.  Yeah, religion.  That's right.  Verse 23, "They exchanged the glory of an incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible men, birds, four-footed animals and crawling creatures." What religion is that?  Oh, how about environmentalism where you worship...what?...the creation, not the Creator.  Wow.  Yeah, this is man at his...you say, "Isn't this man at his highest?  He's worshiping?"  No, this is man at his lowest.  False religion is man in the pit.  He's gone so far down, he's created the fantasy of false religion.  Religion is not man at his highest, it is man at his lowest.  The ultimate insanity is to worship any other than the true God, right?

And so we see what happens in a society when God turns them over and we see why He turns them over.  And that was just a quick overview.  So we look at our nation, our hearts are broken, the mind is depraved, they think they're smart, they're morons.  They can't get to the truth, the mind is completely gone.  They invent bizarre religions.  They become religious.  And today they like to talk about being spiritual, right?  I'm very religious, I'm very spiritual.

What in the world does that mean?  What does that mean?  As if you can invent your own worship and your own religion.  That's man at his lowest.  That's all the way at the bottom, total complete rejection of the true God and the true faith.  That's where we are.  Now the question is...how do we pray?

Turn to Psalm 81...Psalm 81.  And I want the Holy Spirit to give you direction here as we think about this.  See if this doesn't sound familiar, verse 11, Psalm 81 verse 11, "But My people did not listen to My voice or My word.  Israel did not obey Me."  So verse 12, "I...what?...gave them up."  Wow.  If He would do that with Israel, a covenant people, what do you think is going on in America, we're not a covenant people?  "So I gave them over to the stubbornness of their own heart to walk in their own devices.  I let them go, I let them go to the consequences of their choices."  This is God, He's abandoned them. 

But look at verse 13, and here's the heart of God that I think we have to grasp in America in this hour, here's God, His words, "O that My people would do...what?...?...yeah, there it is...that they would listen to Me, listen to Me.  That Israel would walk in My ways."  Right there, folks, is your mandate to pray.  What do you have to pray for?  You have to pray for the Word of the living God to be proclaimed across this nation.  And if it's not being proclaimed in churches, it's not going to be proclaimed anywhere else.

This is not a time for weak men in weak ministries preaching weak messages.  This is a time to call on God to raise up a generation of passionate faithful gracious loving preachers of the Word so that a nation can listen to God.  That's the answer.  Think God might react?  He said...I love this, verse 14..."I would quickly.." you like that word?  Isn't that a good word?  I don't get the picture God's dragging His heels here.  "I would quickly subdue their enemies, I would turn My hand against their adversaries and it would be so great that even the people who hate Me would pretend to obey Me."  And then I love this, I love verse 16, "And I would feed you with the finest of the wheat and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you." That's metaphoric, I would just drown you in blessing.

God only wants one thing out of a nation.  Listen and believe this book.  I really get grieved even when I hear evangelical people in the media and the public eye kind of equivocating about the clarity of the gospel.  It's all we've got.  Or about the clarity of what Scripture says.  Your prayer and mine has to be that God would raise up faithful preachers and people who would proclaim His Word across this land.  Pray for this generation of young men that God will call and shape and send, pray for pastors everywhere.  Pray for lay people, for Christians to be bold.

There's only one solution and that's the truth...the truth by which God saves, by which God sanctifies, and if this nation will respond and listen to His truth, God will open the flood gates.  We might be the greatest recovery story in history.  But there's no other way than that people listen to Me and walk in My ways.  It's not going to happen if there's a famine of the hearing of the Word of God.  Pray that the Word, as Paul said, would have free course and that it would run with all its power across this land.  With all its beauty and magnificence, all its power and grace, that people would hear and believe and be saved and be obedient, all that to the glory of God.  I don't know what God's plan is, I just see here what His heart is.  "O, that My people would listen to Me," that's the heart of God.

Our Father, we thank You for simplifying things, as You always do even in the midst of what is so profound.  It all comes down to the truth again, the truth...the truth...the truth...the truth.  Make us people of the truth.  May we trust the truth, unleashing it in all its power, knowing that we...we have no..no other weapon but the sword and it is sharper than any other.  So, Lord, we just plead with You that Your Word in all its saving and sanctifying and transforming power would explode across this nation, that the truth would replace the lies that abound everywhere, not for us but for Your own glory.  This we ask in the name of our Christ.  Amen.
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Manhattan Declaration - Wish List for a Christian Utopia

Evangelical, Orthodox and Catholic leaders unveiled the "Manhattan Declaration" on Friday, November 20, insisting that the document is not a political ploy.  Rather, it is a testament to their common Christian witness as they stand to uphold what they believe are the three most foundational issues in society – the sanctity of life, the historic understanding of marriage, and religious liberty.

In the works for around eight months, "The Manhattan Declaration: A Call of Christian Conscience" was drafted last summer by Dr. Timothy George, Dean and Professor of Beeson Divinity School, Samford University; Chuck Colson, founder of The Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview; and Dr. Robert George, director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University.  The declaration has been signed by more than 125 religious leaders who commit to defending fundamental truths about justice and the common good, no matter what, and who refuse to compromise their proclamation of the Gospel – particularly in the areas of human life, marriage and freedom of conscience and religion.  (Excerpt from press release announcing the Manhattan Declaration)

Something Very Important is Missing

The Project Manager has read the Manhattan Declaration (MD), once to get the general thrust of the document, a second time with pen in hand, underlining key points and writing questions, and a third time with his Scriptures beside him; checking every questionable statement made.  The PM takes his example from the Bereans every time he reads a "religious" or "Christian" document, taking nothing for granted and checking everything against the word of God.  In the case of the MD, the Project Manager found a serious lack of the gospel, some questionable assertions and one that has no biblical basis whatsoever.

The thrust of the MD is that the writers and signatories want the secular world to agree with "Christians" that there should be a moral code, but the document reads like a wish list for a Christian utopia.  The ideals of protecting the biblical definition of marriage and the sanctity of life are laudable, but impractical.  The secular world has another code of conduct, one that we Christians cannot accept, but it is not our responsibility to agitate for, or attempt to force, change. Our responsibility is to preach the gospel of Christ crucified.  The Project Manager explains the biblical foundation for this in great detail in the four-part series "Christ and Protest" (Part 1) (Part2) (Part3) (Part4).

Jesus and the Apostles also lived in a world that was in serious moral decline, in a nation that was ruled by a foreign, pagan power.  Jesus was given opportunities to speak against the prevailing political culture, but each time He turned  the point of the conversation to the real problem; sin (Luke 13:1-5).  The MD never addresses the reason for the downfall of biblical marriage and the reason for the culture of death; the reason, again, is sin.  Nowhere in the MD is a call for the world to call upon the name of Jesus as their Savior, that they may repent of their sins and be saved.

Frankly, that would be impossible in a document with such a disparate group of supporters.  When one writes a document to express the beliefs of a large group of people with different opinions (in this case, "Christians"), by necessity one must leave out beliefs strongly held by one group and just as strongly dismissed by another.  Since a large part of the signatories are Roman Catholics, the reason that the gospel is not included in the declaration is clear.  Roman Catholics preach salvation through works (a seven-step program called the sacraments) and not in the atoning, substitutionary death on the cross by our Savior, Jesus Christ.  There can be no compromise of the gospel, so the writers simply left it out in order to maintain "religious unity".

Servants Seeking to be Greater than the Master

The greatest problem that the Program Manager has with the MD, however, is the denial of Scripture that is necessary for the writers to make the claim that Christians should be at liberty to practice their faith without consequence from the world.  This concept is in direct contradiction with what Jesus said regarding the practice of our faith.  The authors and signers of the MD are looking for a free pass in the practice of their religious convictions, while maintaining a happy, friendly relationship with the world.

Quoting from the Manhattan Declaration:
Christians confess that God alone is the Lord of the conscience.  Immunity from religious coercion is the cornerstone of an unrestrained conscience.  No one should be compelled to embrace any religion against his will, nor should persons of faith be forbidden to worship God according to the dictates of conscience or to express freely and publicly their deeply held religious convictions.  What is true for individuals applies to religious communities as well.

Allow the Project Manager to translate this.  The writers are saying; "We want to practice our faith as we see fit, without suffering any worldly consequences".  Do these people think that they can ask the world to like them and treat them nicely, perhaps because they are such nice, well-meaning people, and the world will listen?  That mindset is completely against what the Lord Jesus Himself said in regard to what His diligent followers can expect the reaction of the world to be.

Jesus specifically tells His disciples that the world would hate us for following Him.  "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.  If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of this world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you" (John 15:18-19).  There isn't anything in that statement that indicates that the diligent followers of Jesus can expect favorable treatment from the world.

In fact, the fate of the diligent Christian is persecution.  "Blessed are you when men cast insults at you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on account of Me" (Matthew 5:11).  Jesus speaking to the members of a worldly sect said, "the wisdom of God said, 'I will send to them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill, and some they will persecute' " (Luke 11:49).  Those who follow the Lord Jesus will be persecuted.  Those who believe that they can follow the Lord and the world will treat them like everyone else are deluding themselves.

The Book of Acts is full of instances of persecution against the saints; two examples will suffice.  Peter and the early church fathers had been preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ in the temple, and were thrown into prison.  This was not exactly the "freedom of religion" that the writers of the MD are claiming for themselves.  After Peter and the others had been released from prison by an angel, they went straight to the temple and began to preach some more.  This time the authorities had them beaten, and afterward the disciples went on their way, "rejoicing that they had been found worthy to suffer shame for (Jesus') name" (Acts 5:41).

Compare the attitude of the disciples to the "we should be able to express our faith without coercion" attitude expressed by the writers and signers of the MD.  The early church was grateful to suffer, counting it as a sign of worthiness; the church today wants to avoid suffering at all cost, to the point of diluting the gospel, or even eliminating it completely.

In a second example of our heavenly Father expecting His children to suffer for His sake, the Lord was speaking of the apostle Paul: "...he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and sons of Israel; for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name's sake' " (Acts 9:15-16).  What does Jesus say about those who would think that they somehow should be exempt from suffering and persecution? "A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master" (Matthew 10:24).  What are the writers and signers of the MD asking?  That they be exempt from suffering for their faith.  They are attempting to put themselves above their master! 

Conclusion

The Project Manager read the Manhattan Declaration with hopes of finding the gospel of Jesus Christ given prominence, as that is the only hope of salvation for a fallen world.  Instead, he found a document devoid of the gospel, but full of pious-sounding, self-serving religious platitudes and a blatant disregard of the word of God.  The authors and signatories of the MD are seeking to be accepted by the world, and in so doing are putting themselves above the Lord whom they claim to love and serve.  For these reasons, the Ecclesiastes Project does not endorse the Manhattan Declaration, and the Project Manager will not put his name to that document.  Please join the PM in prayer for the authors and all those who signed the MD, that they may come to love the Lord so much that they, too, will be grateful to be counted worthy to suffer for His sake. Read More »

A Tale of Two Attitudes

The Project Manager frequently visits Christian message boards in order to see what people are saying about various topics.  One of the biggest subjects, of course, is politics.  What goes on in Washington, DC affects all of us.  The subject of politics is of special concern to the PM because the Ecclesiastes Project was formed in part to inform others of the biblical perspective and the true Christian response to politics.

The area that concerns the PM more than any other is: do we respond to secular situations and people in a way that honors and glorifies God?  Our current president is a polarizing person, some people love him, others are virulent in their opposition to the man and his policies.  Whether we like him or not, however, is not the question.  Scripture commands us to respect those in authority, because they are placed there by God, to do His will.  But do we believe that, and do we act in accordance to Scripture, or in accordance to our flesh?

The following is an exchange that was on a Christian message board; let us read and then compare and contrast the attitudes expressed by the authors.  The initial post was a prayer for our elected officials, reprinted here and edited for capitalization and to remove redundancies:

Heavenly Father, I raise up our president and his entire cabinet, and the Congress, before You today and ask that You bring about the circumstance that will cause them to hear Your full truth so that they can make an informed decision as to what they will do with Christ.  I also pray that You use this administration to bring about Your will for both this country and the world at large.  There is a crown to be had for not complaining, so I pray that You help us to remember that You are at work here, and that You help us to recognize that help.

Father, I pray that You bring this administration to the realization that You are in control, and help them to see their need for You.  I pray that the current administration come to know You in spirit and in truth.  We know that the man in office is the man of this hour and that You have ordained it to be so.  May Your perfect will be done.

Father, I pray that You continue to restore the USA to Your perfect will, using our president as You see fit.  I pray that You will cause each of our leaders to hear Your truth so that they can make an informed decision to come to know Christ on a personal basis.  Father, I pray that You guide Obama in any decisions he makes today and this week in general.  I continue to pray for all those in office and that You challenge each of them with Your truth.

The Project Manager as a rule does not comment on the prayers of others, and puts up this prayer for two reasons; to show a godly example of praying for our elected officials, and to contrast it with a comment that was posted as a response.  The person who put up this prayer shows humility before God, love for unbelievers, respect for God's sovereignty, and a willingness to accept and follow God's will.  Let us now read and explore the attitudes expressed by the person who replied to this prayer (the response is unedited):

You know folks, I can understand where ya'll are coming from in wanting to pray for Obama.  But, just me, I can't.  That would be like praying for Hitler or Stalin.  What we need to remember is that God "raises up" certain individuals to do "His" work.  Like Judas and Pharaoh.  Yes, even Hitler whom we think is the ultimate destroyer.  But was he?  Didn't Stalin massacre almost twice as many people as Hitler did?  But then Stalin was a Communist, a "darling of the liberals".  Hitler was a Fascist - a so-called "right-winger" by todays press.

Just me, but I don't feel we should be praying for any of these "pure evil" men.  Or nowadays, women too, like Nancy Pelosi.  IMHO, if we are to pray for these evil people, it is to have God remove them.  Destroy them!  But then I doubt that will happen as God is using "certain" people in these last days to ensure that prophesy is fulfilled.  Let us NOT go against Him.

What we should be praying for, is like in the "Lord's Prayer" where we are told to pray for "His will be done on earth as it is in Heaven".  Pray for Obama, and his stinking "ilk"?  Not this guy!! Sorry...

Goofus and Gallant

The attitudes expressed by the person who posted the prayer, and the other person, remind the Project Manager of the old Highlights Magazine feature; "Goofus and Gallant".  Gallant was a polite, considerate person, while Goofus was a selfish knucklehead; the feature compared and contrasted their behavior and attitudes toward others.  Let us examine the respondent's attitude and then do a compare/contrast of our own.

You know folks, I can understand where ya'll are coming from in wanting to pray for Obama You understand, but you don't approve, because you don't like the man.  But, just me, I can't.  That would be like praying for Hitler or Stalin The Project Manager supposes this means you only pray for people whom you like and agree with.  The Lord does tell us, repeatedly, to "love your neighbor as yourself"; the PM always assumed that his neighbor was everyone, not just those whom he liked and approved.

What we need to remember is that God "raises up" certain individuals to do "His" work True, but why are you fighting the Lord over His choice?  You say remember, but you act as if you forget that the Lord chooses those who serve in authority, not you.  Like Judas and Pharaoh Yes, the Lord can and does use evil people for His purpose.  Yes, even Hitler whom we think is the ultimate destroyer And God sovereignly used him as the conduit to bring about the formal recognition and borders for the nation of Israel.  We may not see God's hand at work, but rest assured, He is there.  But was he?  Didn't Stalin massacre almost twice as many people as Hitler did?  And God sovereignly used Stalin for His purposes as well.  A man's degree of evil is not an indicator of how God will use a person.  Or have you forgotten about the Apostle Paul (Acts 8:1-4)?  But then Stalin was a Communist, a "darling of the liberals".  Hitler was a fascist - a so-called "right-winger" by todays press HUH?! The PM has no idea where that came from, and isn't sure he wants to find out.

Just me, but I don't feel we should be praying for any of these "pure evil" men.  Or nowadays, women too, like Nancy Pelosi You are judging according to the flesh, by your own standards (John 8:15); it is not your place to judge unbelievers.  That job is reserved for God and God alone.  IMHO, if we pray for these evil people, it is to have God remove them What happened to "Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven"?  Destroy them! But then I doubt that will happen as God is using "certain" people in these last days to ensure that prophesy is fulfilled If it is His will, yes, God will destroy them.  If the Lord wishes them to remain in power, then that is His will and it would be wise for you to not try to impose your will on the Creator.

Yes, the Project Manager knows full well that King David prayed for the destruction of his enemies and the enemies of Israel.  Yet, even as he prayed against his enemies, David still prayed first that God's will be done, always put himself under God's will, and always accepted God's will, even if it meant hardship and suffering in his life.  We all know that David was no stranger to government persecution, and he still managed to put the Lord's will ahead of his own.  Are you better than King David, a man after God's own heart?  Just asking.

Let us NOT go against Him No, let's just question His wisdom in choosing our leaders, His sovereignty over this nation and the earth, and His commitment to His children by introducing leadership that we disapprove of and might actually cause us to <gasp> suffer.  What we should be praying for, is like in the "Lord's Prayer" where we are told to pray for "His will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven" There it is, a little late, but it's there!  Of course, when you pray that God's will be done, you're actually supposed to mean it. You know, that God's will be done, as opposed to yours.  Or did you just mention this because you suddenly remembered that you are supposedly a Christian and you want people to think that you are "religious" and truly want to serve the Lord? Again, just asking.

Pray for Obama, and his stinking "ilk"? Not this guy! Sorry...  At this point the Project Manager would like to ask a practical question; with the character this person has shown in their commentary, are we supposed to believe that there is good fruit in them (Matthew 12:33-35)?  Their attitude does not suggest anything but intolerance for the people that they dislike, their refusal to pray for those in authority speaks volumes as to their worldly and selfish nature, and their blatant, rebellious disdain of the word of God makes the question of whether they truly love the Lord a legitimate one to ask.

Double-Mindedness 

This commentary, railing against the people whom God raised up to authority, coupled with a disregard for the word of God, yet interspersed with pious-sounding platitudes and lip-service to prayer, gives the Project Manager the distinct impression that this correspondent is a double-minded person, unstable in all their ways (James 1:8).  The Lord has disdain for double-minded people; "Forasmuch as this people draw near Me with their mouth, and with their lips do honor Me, but have removed their heart from Me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men" (Isaiah 29:13).

People who claim to serve God yet continue to live in the world are double-minded, and need to quickly decide whether to serve God or themselves, for "No one can serve two masters; for he will either hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to one and despise the other.  You cannot serve both God and Mammon" (Matthew 6:24).  The Project Manager knows that this is in the context of loving money, but feels it applies equally well to anything that we may love ahead of our Lord, including ourselves and our accustomed lifestyle on earth.

Do you continue to try to serve God and yourself?  Then you need to choose your master: "How long will you hesitate between two opinions?  If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him" (1Kings 18:21).  Baal could just as easily be any idol that we have created in our lives.  Remember, an idol is anything that we give prominence in our lives, ahead of our sovereign Lord.

Still, there is hope for all that try to serve both God and themselves; "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.  Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded" (James 4:8).  The Lord promises us that if we truly repent of our sins and seek Him out, He will allow us to find Him!  That is just one of the many loving, comforting promises that God makes to His children when they go astray.  Please join the Project Manager in prayer for those double-minded people who are trying to serve both themselves and God, that they repent of that sin and devote their entire lives to their Savior. Read More »

H1N1 and You

The Project Manager has been watching the news coverage of the H1N1 vaccine with a combination of amusement and interest.  The PM is amused by the fear-mongering and scare tactics used by one side of the issue, and the near-compulsive denial and repetition of talking points by the other.  The use, by both sides, of the old journalistic trick of taking an extreme example and making it the "norm" is fascinating to behold.  One gets the impression that the H1N1 vaccine will either cure cancer, or kill you.  It's likely that the H1N1 is not that much different from your standard flu shot.

The Project Manager has great interest in this topic because his work requires a great deal of interstate travel, as well as occasional forays outside the country.  Should the rumors of forced vaccinations actually be true, he will be one of the first on the mandatory vaccination list.  This poses an interesting philosophical question; should the PM take the shot?

The answer is a simple one if the PM looks at the issue purely from a secular point of view; no, he does not take the vaccine because being forced to do so is a violation of his constitutional and civil rights.  However, the Project Manager knows that as a child of God (and thus a citizen of the kingdom of God) he forfeits his civil rights as an American citizen (Philippians 3:20) in order that he should serve his Lord and not himself.

When it comes to the PM's faith, the issue does not become more complicated.  There are two questions that all diligent followers of Christ should ask when forced to comply with a government mandate:
1) Does this force me to sin against God?
2) Does this prohibit me from obeying any of God's commandments?

In the case of the H1N1 vaccine, the answer to both questions is "NO".  Since there is no conflict between the word of God and taking the H1N1 shot, the PM cannot justify disobedience to the government by refusing to take it, and the PM will not allow any government policies or personal feelings about those policies to cause him to react in a sinful way.

The Project Manager sees this situation as a wonderful opportunity to practice his faith by placing all his hope, faith, and trust; not in the government or in doctors or a needle, but in the sovereign Creator.  The PM knows the promises the Lord made to those who trust in Him: "O Lord of hosts, how blessed is the man whose strength is in Thee" (Psalm 84:12); "The Lord favors those who fear Him, those who wait for His lovingkindness" (Psalm 147:11); "The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and He knows those who take refuge in Him" (Nahum 1:7).

Do not fear the results of taking the H1N1 vaccine, because your trust should be in the Lord.  The Lord God is sovereign and already knows what will happen when the shot is administered; you should trust that the Lord will make good on His promise to preserve the faithful: "So the Lord God commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God for our good always, and for our survival" (Deuteronomy 6:24).  Keep close to your heart the promise that "the Lord will deliver me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom" (2Timothy 4:18).  This was written by a man, Paul, that was no stranger to government persecution.

David also was a man who knew government persecution well, yet he was able to tell those who place their trust in God that "no evil will befall you, nor will any plague come near your tent" (Psalm 91:10).  And what if there should be a bad reaction to the H1N1 shot?  Well, again, the Lord is sovereign, and uses all things for the good of those who love Him, even if we don't recognize that in the moment.

So, the answer to the question "does the PM take the H1N1 shot?" is a resounding, confident "YES".  The PM knows that this is a hard truth to accept, but he is secure in the promises of the Lord, secure in his position as a child of God, secure in the Lord's sovereignty, secure in his trust in the Lord God, and secure in the Lord's promise to make all things work out for the good of those who love Him.  The PM prays that you share the same confidence in the Lord your God, and that if you too are facing the question of whether to accept the vaccine, you too will place your faith, hope, and trust in your Creator. Read More »

The Esau Principle

The Project Manager has been observing for some time a trend in American politics; that people who would ordinarily be complacent about government are becoming involved, from rallies to fundraising, even to running for office.  This is great as far as it goes, the citizenry should be informed as to what their representatives are doing; but civic-minded Christians must be careful not to over-emphasize their rights as American citizens.

Why does the PM say this?  Because of something called the Esau principle; where the children of God can trade their birthright, their inheritance in the kingdom of God, for something far less in value.  This principle was named after Esau, who traded his birthright for a bowl of soup.  Today's Christians risk trading their place in God's kingdom for a far less valuable place in a worldly kingdom, without realizing that they are doing so.

The Project Manager wishes to call your attention to the Genesis account of Esau trading away his birthright (Genesis 25:29-34):
(29) And when Jacob had cooked stew, Esau came in from the field and he was famished;
(30) and Esau said to Jacob, "Please let me have a swallow of that red stuff there, for I am famished."  Therefore he was called Edom.
(31) But Jacob said, "Sell me your birthright."
(32) And Esau said, "Behold, I am about to die, so of what use then is the birthright to me?"
(33) And Jacob said, "First swear to me"; so he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob.
(34) Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew; and he ate and drank, and rose and went on his way.  Thus Esau despised his birthright.

This incident happened hundreds of years before Jesus walked the earth, so what relevance does it have for today?  The Project Manager sees a connection between Esau's actions in Genesis 25:29-34 and what Christians in America are doing at this moment.  Long ago, Esau gave up his earthly inheritance, his birthright, for a bowl of soup; American Christians in the here and now are at risk of giving up their heavenly inheritance for something that's worth not much more than that.

There is a common thought among American Christians that their birthright is to have political leadership that shares their morals and beliefs.  They act as if they have a "duty" and a "right" to attempt to change government policies, and the moral direction of the country in general.  This belief is preached from the pulpit in a multitude of churches and has found a willing and receptive audience - even more so in the current political climate.  Like Esau, they see only from their worldly point of view, and are oblivious to the eternal consequences of their actions.


Denying God's Sovereignty

The people who accept that their birthright is to have leadership that meets with their approval, accept the thought that God could never appoint evil people to positions of authority.  This leads to the belief that "evil" leaders are there in spite of God.  This is false because it denies the the Lord's sovereignty over the earth.  God is sovereignly in control of everything on the earth, including politics and politicians; the Lord puts into power those whom He pleases.  "Both riches and honor come from Thee, and Thou dost rule over all, and in Thy hand is power and might; and it lies in Thy hand to make great, and to strengthen everyone" (1Chronicles 29:12).

When we believe that God could not appoint evil people to authority, we disregard that "Whatsoever the Lord pleases, He does, in heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps" (Psalm 135:6), and we forget that God knows full well the character of those He chooses for authority, because He knows every detail of our lives before we do (Psalm 139:1-4).  When we keep for ourselves the decision as to the morality of our leaders, we take on responsibility that is not ours.  We ignore the fact that we do not know the mind of the Lord: " 'For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Neither are your ways My ways,' declares the Lord.  'For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts' "(Isaiah 55:8-9).  We accept the Lord's will, regardless of how we think it will affect us; "Whether it be good, or whether it be bad, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God (Jeremiah 42:6).

Christians who believe it is their "birthright" to control certain aspects of their lives, such as politics, have fallen into the error of self-sovereignty; loving their lives more than they love the Lord.  This has serious consequences, as Jesus explains; "He who loves his father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me, and he who loves his son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.  And he who does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me" (Matthew 10:37-38).

Jesus takes this point even further; "For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's shall save it.  For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?  For what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Mark 8:35-37).  This is the heart of the matter: is having your choice of leader here in America worth losing your inheritance in the kingdom of God?  Is any person on earth worth trading away your birthright as a child of God?

Trading the Inheritance for Soup

The diligent followers of Christ do not set their sights on earthly things because they are secure in the knowledge that their citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20), and know that they are children of God: "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name" (John 1:12), and "You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:26).  They know that God " 'will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me,' says the Lord Almighty" (2Corinthians 6:18).  As children of God, we share in the inheritance of the kingdom of God.

Just as Esau traded away his birthright for a bowl of lentil soup, American Christians risk trading their inheritance as children of God (citizenship in the kingdom of God) for something equally as worthless as soup; their citizenship in the worldly kingdom called America.  Esau is held up as a warning to those who seek to keep their worldly lifestyle; "See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; ...that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal.  For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, thought he sought for it with tears" (Hebrews 12:15-17).

Do you recognize the significance of Hebrews 12:17?  You can lose your blessing, your inheritance; and once you do you will be unable to get it back!  You will be rejected by the Lord, and that means only one thing: your name will be blotted out from the book of life (Revelation 3:5) and you will be cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:15).

This is the Esau Principle: you can lose your place in heaven simply by clinging to your lifestyle in America!  Please do not underestimate the importance of this.  The Project Manager cannot over-emphasize the Esau Principle, and asks that you join him in prayer for all those who are trading away their salvation for what amounts to a bowl of soup. Read More »

Don't Confuse Patriotism with Christianity

Edited by permission from an article originally posted on ApostasyWatch.com. You can read the complete article here.

There are pastors in our churches today that use their pulpits to incite violence against the current president, his administration, and his political party.  These preachers are the "conservative" versions of President Obama's former pastor, Jeremiah Wright.  Those who preach hate for America and those who preach hate for America's current government may be political opposites, but they are absolutely alike in one respect: they are religious liberals, who do not hold fast to the word of God.

God's word states that we are to "be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient" (Titus 3:1), and that all authority is ordained by God (Romans 13:1), though the Scriptures are silent as to the righteousness of those authorities.  Those who complain against God's choice, who do not like the morality or the character of the people God ordained to lead this nation, are complaining against God Himself.  Grumbling and complaining against God is self-sovereignty.   Self-sovereignty is a form of idolatry, and is sin. 

Those who speak against our current president are forgetting that God is sovereign (Psalm 47:8, Psalm 135:6) and that God alone sets up kings and rulers (Daniel 2:21).  The Lord knew full well exactly what our current president stands for, politically, socially, and spiritually when He made His choice (Psalm 135:1-4).

Christians who protest the social and political climate in Washington forget that they are ambassadors of Christ (2Corinthians 5:20).  Christians are to behave as if they were strangers in their own country, because they desire a better country; a heavenly one (Hebrews 11:13-16), and Christians risk forfeiting their inheritance in the kingdom of God by trading their birthright for citizenship in a lesser, earthly kingdom.  Those who disapprove of government policies and advocate violence as a response to them are not the servants of God.

Nowhere in the Scriptures are the followers of Jesus instructed or encouraged to take up arms against (or for) any of the kingdoms of this world.  Jesus rebuked Peter for resisting the authorities who came to arrest Him (Matthew 26:52).  Jesus specifically stated that His kingdom was not of this world, therefore His servants would not fight to prevent Him from being persecuted and crucified by a worldly government: "...My kingdom is not of this world.  If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting, that I might not be delivered up to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm" (John 18:36).

The Apostle Paul was a citizen of Rome, yet even though he was beaten and falsely accused by the Jewish establishment and falsely imprisoned by the Roman garrison, he never advocated violence against the worldly government. "And when they stretched him out with thongs, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, 'Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman and uncondemned?'  And when the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and told him, saying, 'What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman.'  And the commander came to him and said, 'Are you a Roman?' And (Paul) said, 'Yes.'  And the commander answered, 'I acquired this citizenship with a large sum of money.' And Paul said, 'But I was actually born a citizen.' "(Acts 22:25-28).

Paul's rights as a Roman citizen were violated, yet through all that he never suggested that the answer was to fight in the flesh against the Roman government.  Neither did he imply that perhaps it was time for a change, or call for a revolt against the wicked leaders of that day.  He did not suggest to his followers that they form a political action committee to protest his imprisonment.  In fact, through all the persecution suffered by the apostles and the early church fathers we never see any hint of fighting against the human, worldly governments and kingdoms that were performing the persecution.

Patriotism does not equal Godliness

Too many Christian leaders have falsely equated patriotism with godliness.  Patriotism is not something that is unique to the United States; it is common to every nation and culture.  Patriotism appeals to man's fleshly sense of pride and sectarianism, and causes us Christians to feel no connection or responsibility to our Christian brethren in other parts of the world.  Patriotism also, when mixed with Christianity, has the effect of making us believe that a person is Godly simply because they are patriotic.

The founding fathers were all great patriots, but not all of them were Godly men.  Benjamin Franklin was a lifelong, avowed atheist; Thomas Paine was a radical deist who wrote a pamphlet (The Age of Reason) that listed what he felt were inconsistencies in the Bible.  Thomas Jefferson believed in God, but did not accept Jesus as Lord.  He also did not believe in the virgin birth and created his own version of the Bible by deleting all references to miracles.  Other founding fathers were Christian, but allowed themselves to be carried by the emotions and rhetoric of the day.

Our founding fathers made the mistake of self-sovereignty; determining for themselves which portions of the word of God to obey, and which to ignore.  They decided that their taxes were too high, ignoring Jesus' instruction to "render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's" (Mark 12:17), and they determined that they were not properly represented in their government; so of course they had the "right" to rebel.  Remember that they already had the right to the free exercise of religion, they had the right to assemble and to speak freely, also to own and carry firearms.  They operated businesses and civic organizations, but somehow that was not good enough.  There were many other issues, to be sure, but self-sovereignty - the belief that they knew better than God what was best for their lives - was the true driving force.

Today we see the same sort of carnal, worldly reasoning among many of our Christian leaders.  Some have become quite adept at folding, spindling and mutilating the Scriptures to the point of interpreting  something other than their true meaning.  Romans chapter 13 is a perfect example: "Let every person be in subjection to the governing authorities.  For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.  Therefore he who resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves" (Romans 13:1-2).

That seems fairly straightforward; all authority is ordained by God, who is sovereign over the affairs of men.  If the diligent followers of Christ find themselves under the authority of a tyrannical government it is because God ordained it (or at least allowed it).  Even in these cases we are admonished not to resist authority lest we bring judgment upon ourselves.  This interpretation is entirely consistent with the actions of Jesus and all the apostles in their dealings with worldly kingdoms.  However, some Christian leaders think they have found a "loophole".

Continuing in Romans chapter 13: "For rulers are not a cause for fear for good behavior, but for evil.  Do you want to have no fear of authority?  Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same; for it is a minister of God for you for good.  But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who bring wrath upon the one who practices evil" (Romans 13:3-4).  To make sense of this, let us use the analogy of a traffic cop.  Drivers always seem to slow down when they see the police, and why?  Because they are breaking the law (speeding), and they are afraid of the penalty (a speeding ticket).  If they are law-abiding citizens (obeying the speed limit), they would not have to fear seeing the blue lights in their rear-view mirror because the police are not after them.

Today's pulpit proponents of self-sovereignty see Romans 13:3-4 differently.  They tell us that our obedience to authority is contingent upon the goodness of the authority.  Who decides whether a government is good or evil?  Why, we do, of course!  With this simple stroke of human, worldly reasoning we rather than God become sovereign over our lives.  Of course, this train of reasoning completely ignores the fact that God knows in advance the thoughts and deeds of men (Psalm 139:1-4), and conveniently forgets that the Scriptures are silent as to the righteousness of the leaders that God ordains. One only has to look in the book of Judges, or read about Pharoah (Exodus), Nebucchadnezzar (Daniel), Ahab (1Kings), Herod (Matthew, Luke, Acts) and Nero (Acts) to know that God can and does appoint evil men to authority.

Suffering for the Greater Good

Was it good that the apostle Paul was imprisoned on false charges?  By our natural reasoning we would say no, but we do not know what God knows: " 'For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,' declares the Lord" (Isaiah 55:8).  We don't see God at work, yet He is there, using all that happens to advance His kingdom.  Even when governments are doing that which we would call evil, God is using that for His own purpose.  This also applies to all the hardship and persecution suffered by the saints.  If we do what is righteous we have no reason to be afraid of authority, knowing that even if we suffer because of that authority, God's sovereign plan is being carried out.

Jesus tells us; "Remember the word that I said to you, 'A slave is not greater than his master.'  If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also" (John 15:20). Please do not misunderstand; nowhere has it been said that our submission to authority must be absolute.  The whole counsel of God, as well as evidence from church history demands that we resist human authority under two conditions:
1) When any government compels Christians to commit immoral or sinful acts;
2) When any government prohibits Christians from carrying out the instructions of our Lord, such as proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ.
When either of these elements are present we must obey God rather than man.  At this time, however, our government has forced neither of these conditions upon us.

Still, there will be a time (perhaps in the very near future) when one or both of these conditions will be present.  The threat of laws against "hate speech" is very real and may soon be implemented, for the purpose of stifling the proclamation of the gospel.  Rest assured at that time you may continue to speak boldly, as God commands; just be prepared to accept whatever consequences may follow in the same way as what Paul, Peter, James, Stephen, and all the other persecuted saints endured.  Remember also, that you cannot allow government persecution to cause you to react to that government in a sinful way.

Christian Liberty

We Christians must stand for greater liberty than that for which our human forefathers fought.  Our Christian liberty is the true liberty that sustains us, regardless of our temporal circumstances: "Now the Lord is that Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty" (2Corinthians 3:17).  Paul and Silas understood true liberty when they were imprisoned in Philippi (Acts 16:23-25).  Beaten for casting a demon out of a fortune-teller, they were placed in chains and thrown into prison.  Still, at midnight they were singing and praising God while the other prisoners listened.  The Spirit of the Lord, the Spirit of true liberty was there, sustaining them.

Peter also understood true liberty while he was imprisoned.  Peter was imprisoned by Herod, with four squadrons of soldiers guarding him, under a death sentence.  But the Spirit of the Lord, the Spirit of liberty, was with Peter.  He was found asleep, chained between two guards as an angel came to deliver him.  Though he was imprisoned and chained, Peter was still free: "If therefore the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed" (John 8:36).

Jesus was the embodiment of true liberty.  By giving up His life to do the will of the Father, he had true liberty.  Though He was the Son of God, he never challenged any human kingdom or secular authority.  Though He could have single-handedly destroyed His enemies, He submitted to the will of His Father. "Put your sword back into its place; for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword.  Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?" (Matthew 26:52-53).

As Jesus stood before Pilate, He knew who wielded true power: "Pilate therefore said to Him, 'You do not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?'  Jesus answered, 'You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason he who delivered Me up to you has the greater sin' " (John 19:10-11).  Jesus proclaimed the sovereignty of God and His own willingness to submit to that heavenly authority, regardless of the personal cost.  This is the liberty for which we should be willing to stand, suffer, and die if necessary.  This is the freedom we are called to proclaim.

Human freedom is transitory and illusory.  It is always based on the willingness of men to govern themselves, and to allow others to govern them.  Unfortunately, the sinful condition of the human heart will not allow that situation to last very long.  That is why the freedom we have enjoyed in America is such a rare thing in human history.  But our human freedom is coming to an end.

It is obvious to the diligent followers of Christ that the sins of America have brought God's judgment down upon us.  A great part of that judgment will be the loss of many of the human freedoms that we now enjoy and take for granted.  We cannot and will not stop God's judgment with guns, petitions, laws, constitutional conventions, or third-party candidates.  Neither will we delay the coming judgment through prayer, though we should steadfastly pray to the Father that His will be done, on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10).  God has ordained this judgment, and through it He will gauge the depth of His people's devotion to Him, and which people love their lives in this world.

American Christians will soon endure the same kind of persecution that so many of the saints underwent throughout history.  This persecution will bring about a great separation between those who are willing to lay down their lives in this world, and those who are not.  America, for better or worse, has always been one of the worldly kingdoms, and anyone who loves their life in this world more than Christ is not worthy of Him: "And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.  He who has found his life shall lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake shall find it" (Matthew 10:38-39).

Take to heart these words; do not be seduced by carnal reasoning and appeals to our fleshly notions of liberty, patriotism, and freedom.  Stand fast in Christian freedom (in which you've been called) and do not become entangled in the snare of bondage to human kingdoms and governments.  Do not sell your citizenship in the kingdom of God for a lesser life in an earthly kingdom that will be destroyed before the Lord Jesus returns to earth.

A final word of warning: "Do not love the world, nor the things in the world.  If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.  And the world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God abides forever." (1John 2:15-17). Read More »