One of the most difficult things for American Christians is the moral slide taking place in our nation. For so many generations we have had religious freedom in the US and now it appears that some of that freedom is eroding away. We used to be able to speak out against sin in an area without fear of reprisal but that is clearly changing before our eyes. So what are we going to do?
Many will relocate themselves into another state that seems to be more friendly toward their faith and still others will isolate themselves from everything and everyone in the hopes of delaying the world's influence on them and their children. But are these even biblical options? Paul lived in an ungodly world and yet he remained faithful to his Lord.
Many years ago I was taught a valuable lesson about applying scripture to my life. The lesson was to find a godly person in the Word of God whose life situation is similar to mine and then do what the godly person does. As an example, I have been asked a few times “Preacher, my spouse had left me for another person and now wants to come back. What do I do?” My response is, "Do what Hosea did when Gomer left him…take them back." Or another example is how do we answer a person trying to trap us in our words? Do what Jesus did and show them scripture. You can never go wrong by mirroring what a godly person does in scripture.
With that said I have been reading my Bible looking for a clear example to follow and finally I have found what I believe to be the exact example I needed. Jeremiah 15 tells of how the prophet was lead by God in though the nation around him was falling apart spiritually. Here are the lessons we can learn:
- Accept that judgement will always come to rebellious hearts. In verses 2-5 God shows Jeremiah that He is will bring judgment upon Israel for their sin. God cannot keep holding back His wrath from America forever. His holiness requires judgment to fall at some point. So know that this nation will see the hand of God at some point. You can count on it! No nation or person is going to rebel and get away with it. We serve an omniscient holy God.
- Believers will feel discouraged and even like a failure when they see their nation falling apart. We try to preach the message and still the nation slides into the abyss of immorality, taking many Christians with them as well. Unfortunately so many Christians see this slide and become defeated by the failure of others. In verses 10, 15-18 Jeremiah reminds God of his suffering even though he sought to be faithful. We must know that the moral slide of the nation is because of their decisions not ours. Too many Christians get discouraged because they are doing what the Bible commands and still the nation drifts further and further away from God. Why? Because the people’s hearts are hardened and desire the sin they are living in.
- Every Christian must stay prepared themselves for the day when America morally completely falls apart as there will still be people who will seek to turn to God from their sin and will be looking for someone to give them answers. Jeremiah was told by God that there was a remnant and that the the enemy would one day look to these faithful few to entreat for them. In a practical way let me illustrate this - have you ever had a family member or friend who was antagonistic toward your faith, but then they had a tragedy and they asked for your prayers? That's what God was telling Jeremiah in chapter 15. Be prepared for to help those who fall apart. But what are Christians going to do, if/when America falls apart and the people around them come looking for answers and they cannot give them answers beaus they have succumbed to the sin or discouragement?
- Finally we must accept that living for God is always going to be unpopular. Christians will always be in the minority. God told Jeremiah in verse 20 that he (Jeremiah) would be like a “fenced brasen wall” which the people “will fight against.” Yet God told Jeremiah, and by default us I would say, to “take forth the precious from the vile.” In other words, see God’s hand as good even in the midst of the moral decline. We can be faithful in spite of the condition of our nation.
We do not have to fall apart with our nation. We can still stand for what’s right because we do it for our God and not just our nation. I love our nation, but I need to love my God more!
