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About Jesus - Steve (Stephen) Sweetman When
God Steps Back From A National People Romans 1:18 reads:
"The wrath of God
is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness
of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness," According to Paul, right
now in this present age, God's wrath "is being revealed" on
godlessness and wickedness. I
admit Paul's usage of the word "revealed" might be open to
interpretation, but as I study the rest of the chapter I understand it
this way. After Paul explained how
humanity consistently rejects God and His righteous ways, he wrote that
God gave, or gives as I believe the context suggests, a wicked people
over to their shameful sins. Romans
1:26 reads: "Because of this,
God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural
sexual relations for unnatural ones." Paul repeated himself in
Romans 1:28. "Furthermore, just
as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so
God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to
be done." In the Greek text, the
verb "gave" in the above two verses suggests a moment in time
when in no uncertain terms God steps back from a wicked people.
Without any interference or restrictions from Him, He gives them
over to their depraved nature. He
lets them become utterly sinful, and thus, as a form of judgment they
reap the consequences of their depravity.
The example Paul gives in verse 26 is that embedded in a sinful
people is an unnatural sexuality, and as verse 32 states, such a sin is
publically approved and deserves death.
"Although they know
God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death,
they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those
who practice them." In our modern-day
context, approving of sin could be understood in terms of the
legalization of sin. Western
nations have certainly legalized certain sins, and as Paul said, that
deserves death, and as I believe, the death of the sinful nation. The West has no excuse.
It has thrown away any knowledge of God it might have had.
Could God be ready to give our western nations over to their sins
as an act of divine judgment, or, has He done so already?
Daniel 2:21 and 4:17 do state that it is God who causes nations
to rise and fall, and I don't believe that has changed in these New
Testament times. I am not a
prophet, but be warned, western nations will not escape God's judgment.
As in times past, the true Christian will stand on the side of
God's kingdom despite the fall of their earthly nation.
Nations come and nations go, but the
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