April 19, 2024

Every old man complains, of the growing depravity of the world, of the petulance and insolence

of the rising generation.

-Samuel Johnson-

I am an older man, but this is true no matter what age you happen to be. This should not surprise us given what the apostle Paul stated in Romans 1:16-23.


For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes to the jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "But the righteous man shall live by faith." 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 understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For 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.


The downward spiral of moral decay is clearly connected to man’s decision to worship the creature rather than the creator.


Today, man seeks to replace God in being the divine creator and determiner of humanity in every category. However, as Tolstoy reminds us, “Wrong does not cease to be wrong even if the majority believe it.”


We are watching the perversion of justice and the subversion of society. Judicial decisions, that rule against godliness and righteousness signal the beginning of the end for a society.


Confusion of spirituality and theology also corrupts a culture. The evangelical church in America is leaking truth and leaning toward compromise. It finds itself hard- pressed to decide if homosexuality is a sin or an alternative lifestyle that should be allowed and tolerated, if not celebrated. The church finds it difficult to parse the difference between social justice, biblical justice, and socialism. A significant reason is that the church does not know the biblical definition of love, and so it settles for some form of civic religion or some form of social gospel.


Forty-five years ago, I asked Dr. Charles Ryrie what he thought would be the greatest issue facing the church in the near future. He said, the church needs to understand its role in culture and how to live in society. I guess he was right. He often was.


Serving Him with you

Until He comes for us.

Fred