A recent article entitled “The End of Christian America” in the widely read American magazine “Newsweek” contained a number of disturbing statistics concerning the decline of Christianity in the U.S.A. This has had predictable consequences and is associated with other disturbing trends. A number of states have already passed legislation legalizing same-sex marriages, and others are poised to follow suit. In some cases, the clear statements of Scripture have been labeled as “hate literature,” and there has been an increasing tendency to liberalism of all kinds. People are saying, “I don’t want to be told what to do with my life,” and as one commentator remarked, “We are now seeing a generation that listens with its eyes and thinks with its feelings.” We talk about how we feel but do not deal with knowledge. Really deep knowledge is moral knowledge, but moral feelings are very unreliable. The end result of all this is not merely what some would call freedom, but an amoral society with no absolute values at all. Similar trends are present in Canada and have also been eroding morality in Western Europe for some time.
The Amoral Society
In discussing these trends, many of the news media are clearly elated and remind us that “religion” should not be a factor in the politics of a country. In the U.S.A., references are made to the “founding fathers” and their desire for the separation of church and state. But let us make no mistake; those who gloat over the decline of Christianity are not merely interested in ensuring that minority groups and unbelievers have an equal voice. Rather, their mission is to remove any vestige of Christian principles from the country and replace it with a diluted, humanistic, and amoral spirituality that encompasses everything from paganism to New Age philosophy. It is one thing not to insist on doctrinal agreement; it is quite another to seek to remove any moral basis for human thinking and behavior.
We can be thankful for the Christian influence that continues to exist in the traditional bastions of Christianity, such as Western Europe and North America. Fully one-third of Americans still say that they are “born again,” although the term may mean different things to different people. There is still total freedom to read and preach the Word of God in the areas mentioned, and for the most part, Christian principles still undergird most of the laws. However, some comments can be made concerning the trends we are witnessing.
God’s Prediction
First of all, believers need not be surprised or dismayed by such things. God has told us in His Word that “evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse” (2 Tim. 3:13), and that there will be “mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts” (Jude 1818How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. (Jude 18)). The final end of Christendom will be judgment, not revival and blessing. Some dear believers are vainly trying to turn the tide, and in turn experience increasing frustration when things get worse instead of better. But it is only “when Thy judgments are in the earth” that “the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness” (Isa. 26:99With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. (Isaiah 26:9)). Our part is to obey the “powers that be,” seeing they are ordained of God, but our time to rule is in the future, not in the present.
Persecution for Our Faith
Second, it is clear that the freedoms that believers in Western countries have perhaps taken for granted for so long may not be ours indefinitely. As evil continues in the ascendancy, we may well experience what our brethren in other parts of the world have taken for granted for many years, namely, persecution for our faith. If the persecution does not always take a serious outward form, it may still show itself in more subtle ways. It may become increasingly difficult for parents to raise their children according to the truth of God’s Word and to educate them in a right way. For example, in some countries of Western Europe it is already illegal for parents to spank their children, and a number of Christian parents have been jailed for it. It may become increasingly difficult for us to find suitable employment that allows us to work with a good conscience before God. It may become more and more difficult to carry out even the basic matters of business connected with buying and selling, without compromising our Christian testimony. It may become harder to worship according to God’s Word, as Satan takes more and more control. But let us also remember that God is ultimately in control and will never give us truth in His Word that is impossible to carry out. The path may be difficult and a narrow one, but that path will be there until our Savior returns for us. He has promised this! In the midst of outward failure of every kind, Paul’s word to Timothy was, “Continue thou,” and so it is for us today.
Self-Centeredness
Third, we will see an increasing emphasis on self in the world around us, in every way. As secular humanism replaces the worship of God and men call themselves “spiritual” instead of “religious,” man will become more and more the focus, with serious consequences. Already authorities are complaining about the “narcissism epidemic” and the sense of entitlement that characterizes young people (and often those not so young!) who have an exaggerated sense of self-worth. The result of this is discourtesy at every level of everyday life and disaster in more serious areas such as the working environment and marriage. The distortion and ultimate abandoning of Christian principles has encouraged this, rather than correcting it.
A Sign of the Lord’s Coming
Finally, on a brighter note, we can take courage as we see that “the coming of the Lord draweth nigh” (James 5:88Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. (James 5:8)). God has told us ahead of time that all these things will come to pass, so that His own need not be dismayed as they see the condition of this world. Our hearts should be burdened for the lost, and all this should make us redouble our efforts to spread the gospel, but our feet can indeed be “shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace” (Eph. 6:1515And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; (Ephesians 6:15)). The soldier who wears the whole armor of God will at the same time be a man of peace, for He knows the end of the battle and does not need to live in uncertainty or alarm.
W. J. Prost r