I do believe that our nation is in trouble. However, I believe that it is really our fault, the born again Christians, the children of God. It is too easy to blame our nation’s troubles on the sodomites, or the baby killers, or the bankers, or the anarchists, or the drug dealers, or the socialists, or the pornographers. Who really is accountable and responsible for all this?

 

Peter 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

 

Yet we are the ones who let things go. We are the light of the world, so the world gets it’s bearing thus. Jesus said:

 

John 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

 

So many keep their distance from the light. Then when we become more like the world, and move towards where they are at, they move away farther still – e.g. when the church turned to use prophylactics, the world turned to use abortion – when the church turned to be “sippin’ saints”, the world turned to drugs of all sorts – when the church turned to fornication, the world turned to sodomy. We have pushed the world farther and deeper into sin, by our moving towards the world. How many fiery preachers have blasted the world, and laid sodomy and other sins at their feet, saying that Romans 1 describes the path of the world. Some even say that it is only an historical account of the world in Noah’s day, and therefore not applicable to us. However, Romans 1 starts out talking about us:

 

Romans 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

 

They stop at ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, and claim that this speaks only of the lost. However, it says that they “hold the truth” in unrighteousness – the world doesn’t hold the truth, we do. But it is describing us in a bad light, holding the truth in unrighteousness – it is like the description of the church the Laodiceans or like many in Corinth.

 

Romans 1:9 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.

 

It is more the case, that manifested in the life of the believer, are that which may be known of God, rather than the lost of the world being the ones having that manifest in them. Also it said manifest “in” them, not manifest “to” them. The believer is indwelt by the Spirit of the Lord, and has the word of God in his heart, not the lost of the world. Also it said that God showed it unto the ones being talked about. We are the ones to whom the Lord has given understanding of his word. We are the ones who read his word. The lost won’t let us show them word of God, until they are being drawn and convicted by the Holy Ghost. They therefore won’t let the Lord show them anything, until the Lord is drawing them.

 

Romans 1:21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

 

It can only be said of the believers, that they knew God – the lost know not God. The passage is not simply an antediluvian history lesson or an indictment against lost people, but it is a drastic warning to the Christians, about what will happen when we start to turn from the Lord – it starts with ingratitude on our part in line 21, and it shows the path of the backslider. Some Christians do not believe that they sin, they only admit that they make mistakes, but do not sin – they could therefore never believe that this passage could have any practical application to the child of God, except to be shouted at the lost.

                                                                                   

The church of the Laodiceans were told by Jesus that they are blind. And if that church really is also a prophetic picture of the very last days church in America, then it describes most of us, today. We don’t even realize how messed up we really are. Therefore in hypocrisy we remain in church, worshipping the Lord, while our hearts are in a constant state of sin and ungodliness, oblivious to our real condition, with one foot in the world and another in the kingdom of God, we are the quintessential “gray area” Christians, i.e. lukewarm, and don’t even have a clue that it is talking about us.

 

That believer in Corinth was sleeping with his father’s wife, while the other believers apparently though that they were so spiritual by showing their tolerance toward this, and all this was going on in the church, and they didn’t realize how messed up they were, until the first letter to the Corinthians showed it to them. And like when they read that letter, and realized that it was about them, and to them, and for them – if we realize that which was written to the church of the Laodiceans should also be read by us, that it is also about us, and to us, and for us – as well as realizing that we need to read Romans 1 the same way. Then we can understand how far down the drain we have backslidden. Then we can understand that the sodomy, abortion, drugs, and pornography plagues that have come upon our land are because of us. Then we can finally understand:

 

II Chronicles 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

 

that first ”we”, the believers/Christians/church, need to repent to God – we need to humble ourselves and turn from “our” wicked ways – it’s not saying when the lost are forced by the church, or by the laws of the land, to turn from their wicked ways – but the church first needs to repent to God and turn from our wicked ways (and they are far more wicked than we realize) – only then, after the church repents to God and turns from our wicked ways, only then will the Lord heal our land – and it is certainly not just speaking about healing our land of environmental pollutions, but the plagues of wickedness and judgments, that we, the church have brought upon our own land. The reason America is not getting better, is because the church is not doing this. We refuse to really blame ourselves, we would rather blame it on the lost. We would rather take the shortcut, and try to legislate the wickedness away – that cannot work – we need to repent to God and turn from our wicked ways – then the world will turn form theirs, as they get their bearings by the light of the world, us.

 

                          Gino