Expect the Evil

“Never open the door to a lesser evil, for other and greater ones invariably slink in after it.” - Baltasar Gracian

For a long time, America could have been safely considered what we still are: a unique experiment in freedom and liberty under a republican government. Even during the nation’s formation, the founding fathers warned against a good and moral society having the capacity to devolve into mob rule and a form of self-destruction. From a Christian perspective, this kind of change should not come as a surprise. We should expect this evil. All societies suffer the same burden of sin regardless of their form of government. Inevitably, they all will seek to eliminate biblical truth and consolidate power to achieve control over people.

As a nation, we are at the point where we have removed as many biblical references as possible - with predictable results. The foundation of our nation is crumbling visibly but is not yet gone. It was not just the removal of prayer from schools. That was just the beginning of the thousand cuts we suffer that are draining the spiritual life out of America.

We are now a nation adrift, lacking a rock upon which to stand. But there is hope; there always is.

What then should Christians in the United States expect as this evil continues to infect our nation?

·         We who cling to God and the Christian faith will be a remnant, the true minority.

·         We will be under constant attack for holding on to our faith.

·         We will pay a heavy price for the truth and should be willing to.

·         Those who do not know God will not care that God guarantees our individual rights. They will replace God with the government and let fallible, sinful human beings work to usurp those rights no matter what the U.S. Constitution requires.

·         Lies will be made to look like truth, and truth will be mocked, even ignored.

·         God’s true church will suffer a constant attack. The fake church will thrive, for they are no threat. Just as false witnesses and pastors will thrive as they conform to the world.

·         The true church will grow rapidly as it always done when under direct attack.

·         Society will increasingly divide over what is false and what is true. Few will stand in truth; the majority will follow lies.

·         Language will be twisted more each day.

·         Symbols and their history will disappear to be replaced by something else. After Mao's revolution, look at what China did: an army of revisionists rewrote the nation’s history. The Marxists in America are working hard to replace our history of Judeo-Christian values.

How else does evil manifest in America today? From a biblical perspective, it is important to know that Paul addressed many culturally specific problems in his letters to the churches in the New Testament. If he were to write these letters to the American church today, there is no doubt he would address many of the topics below.

·         Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), a.k.a. “wokeness” and critical theory.

·         The LGBTQ agenda and its focus on the destruction of the nuclear family.

·         The pursuit of globalism under the guise of false crises. Such as climate change, pandemics, and overpopulation. Tied to these are social credit scores (Environmental and Social Governance) and efforts in keeping with the philosophies behind COVID-19 passports.

·         Easily accessible viewing of perversions, which Artificial Intelligence will make much worse than today’s online pornography as AI will make it interactive and realistic.

·         Open borders that come with a massive expansion of human trafficking and the illicit drug trade.

·         Terrorism and uncontrollable crime also because of the open border.

·         The collusion of government, media, and big business, which is the universal indicator of impending tyranny. One result is the censorship of truth on social and mainstream media platforms.

·         Government creates the problem, then highlights the issue they created, but we can do little about it as the warnings come too late. The government suddenly proposes the solution, inevitably shreds even more of what is left of the constitution.

·         The division of Americans into tribes while pitting them against each other. Using bad history like the 1619 Project to foment racism and hatred is but one example.

·         The adoption and mass spreading of the greatest lies in history will continue. One is that no God exists, and we are not God’s creations. The constant pushing of the false theory of evolution is another.

·         The phrase “Christian Nationalism” will continue to be used in a negative light and as a label placed on any who profess and hold to our nation’s founding principles.

What should we do? It is easy for some of us to identify the problems plaguing America today, and my list is not exhaustive. Most of them are only versions of the same kinds of evil under which humankind has suffered throughout history. We can still do something, though.

·         Repent of our individual and national sins.

·         Love our neighbor regardless. Real love means being willing to tell hard truths.

·         Remember that God is the only one who will eternally judge all people. We must be willing to show Christlike grace and mercy when warranted.

·         Seek to model the fruits of the spirit regardless of our circumstances. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, self-control.

·         Stand firm in the truth no matter the cost and dare to speak it in any situation.

·         Expose evil everywhere it is manifested while acknowledging this is a spiritual battle first.

·         Do not passively observe the world’s evil; get involved, do your sacred duty out of obedience, and leave the results to God.

·         Act like the Black-Robed Regiment pastors during the days of the American Revolution. They knew they had a biblical responsibility to stand up for our LORD and Savior and to protect the freedoms and liberties granted to moral people. Their dedication led to an America founded on Godly principles and a divinely inspired U.S. Constitution.[i]

·         Know that the circumstances of your life do not determine whether you belong to God. One example of the many lies out there is the prosperity gospel. This false gospel teaches that if you lack good health and some measure of wealth, it is because something is wrong in your relationship with God. God’s Word never teaches this. In fact, it is often because we are following God’s will that we suffer on earth, knowing our rest will come in eternity. If wealth or health, poverty or sickness were indicators of whether we are following God’s will, Hebrews 11 would make no sense. This chapter is about the power of faith. Some of the faithful completed great deeds and led long lives, and others were tortured, mocked, chained, and imprisoned. All did what faith, trust, and obedience required of them. The presence or absence of health or wealth had nothing to do with their destination.

In movies, we are often moved by scenes of final battles that seem lost, but the sun rises in the east to a glorious victory. May we all remember that the sunrise is coming someday, and it will be because of Christ’s inevitable return and gathering of His people. The greatest thing we can do as Christians in America is to cling to the only real hope of eternity and be at work to share the gospel’s truth with as many as possible so that others may know real hope.

Expect the evil, fight it while adhering to God’s word, embrace the true hope of the gospel, and share it with others. Nothing else matters.

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“[i] The time has come that we must now arise and awaken to the danger of this hyper-progressive agenda that so permeates every aspect of our political, legal, and educational systems. It is time now to educate ourselves and push back against the erosion of our freedoms and liberties and restore the constitutional authority back to all aspects of our governance. It will take the leaders of our churches to shepherd their flocks as did their predecessors during our first fight for liberty.” 

http://www.blackrobereg.org/