Facing the Future by Dr. Clay Nuttall
Our nation is
in big trouble. Every area of life has been affected. Nothing has
escaped the impact of humanistic socialism with this tidal wave of decay and
destruction. Our education system has been a major tool in turning the
culture to atheism, and the economy has fallen so deeply into debt that the
average person cannot even begin to perceive the danger. Our government
has left the rule of law for the whim of the individual, and the flawed courts
leave little hope for even the law-abiding citizen. Moral standards have
sunk lower than those of Sodom and Gomorrah. Like it or not, this nation
stands on the verge of civil war if something isn’t done soon to rein in the
lawlessness of our high national leaders.
WAIT JUST A MINUTE…
Is it really that bad? It is probably even worse, because we
haven’t yet mentioned the rapid rise of Islam and the daily growth of hate
speech and anger toward true Christianity. Now that I have your
attention, let me take a guess at your response to such strong language.
There are three possible responses: one would come from the optimist,
another from the pessimist, and a third from the realist.
The optimist would say “It’s not that bad; things are
pretty much like they have always been. There are some good things, and others
are getting better.” That is actually denial, apathy, or ignorance; and
it doesn’t respect reality at all. Some believers would say, “It really
doesn’t matter; God is in charge, and everything will come out all right in the
end.” Their thinking is that such things are not our responsibility, that
all we need do is to love people and share the gospel. The problem with
that view is that it is derived from only a small part of scripture. The
Bible's answers and important truths are always supported by the whole of Bible
truth, not just a part.
The pessimist would wail “All is lost; there's no sense in
trying. I knew it would all fall apart, so what's the use, anyway?”
Or what is even worse is when the pessimist is so filled with fear and an
absence of hope that he decides he will solve the problem himself, and consequently
we end up with another mass shooting. There are probably a lot more
people in our society who hold this view than you could ever imagine.
This part of our culture is a time bomb ready to go off because they
really think that they, along with their friends, can fix it. The problem
with this one is that it is based on philosophy, just as is the optimist's
view.
The realist is the person who sees the problems and seeks
to understand both the problems and the reasons behind them. Liberalism
is not reality, but rather a dream world. The liberals don’t understand
the problem and have no idea how to fix anything. This movement tends to
create problems and then blame them on someone else. The realist knows
that there are some good things going on. He knows that God is in charge
and that in the end true believers will have already won. He knows that
love and the gospel are powerful elements of change. He knows that God is
the only answer to all the evils in this society, and he seeks to know the
whole counsel of God, not just a part that relieves him of responsibility.
Unlike the optimist, he is willing to accept his assignment from God and
His Word and to participate in the answers God has provided. He is not a
coward, nor is he willing to hide truth under a bushel of excuses.
GOD’S ANSWER FOR THE REALIST
Love for the lost and the glorious gospel of grace are
important, and they carry mountains of truth that God intended for us to
communicate in the midst of a pagan culture. Some prefer silence, but
silence isn’t always golden; sometimes it is just plain yellow!
The whole of scripture is clear: God has given us truth,
and it is our obligation to clearly repeat that truth, because it is truth that
will set one free. One cannot be an obedient believer and stay quiet
where God has spoken on an issue. We want sinners to love God, but they
hated the Savior and He warned us that they would hate us as well. God
has spoken on the issues of abortion, infanticide, sodomy, etc. He has
not been quiet, and He does not expect his servants to be silent. It is
our sovereign God who decides what we are to speak about, and not temporary
earthly leaders. That means we cannot abandon the public forum where God
has spoken.
AN ILLUSTRATION
In my book, The Coming Conflict, published by
Faithful Life Press, I point out that The Separation of Church and State is not
a political issue; it is a biblical issue. What God has said in His word
about the relationship between temporal government and the church is the final
word. This is also true of the believer and temporal government.
While our Baptist brothers claim this as a distinctive, there is little
understanding of what the Bible teaches in this area. That lack of
understanding is going to bite us very soon.
Our country is about to come apart, and most churches have
no idea what should be the response of the church and the average believer.
We have our pat philosophical responses, but they are empty. Let me
whet your appetite. How many details do you know about the opening of the
American Revolution? Do you know what part pastors and the churches
played? Do you know where the first battle took place, where the
munitions were stored, or who was the first casualty of the battle? Do
you know that there are philosophers who believe that Americans were wrong to
fight for freedom? (Watch out for their theology!) Are you familiar
with the doctrine of “the right of revolution?” No wonder there are so few
realists. My task is only to make you think.
Does the author advocate armed revolution by "realist" Christians? Is that the point? Do you believe our charge in this dispensation is to affect the culture of the unregenerate? With revolution?
ReplyDeleteI do not take the author to be advocating a call to arms. IMO, with the increasing levels of tyranny coming from the federal government, on-going assaults on our personal liberties and private property, a do nothing, feckless opposition (Republican) party, a hostile media, etc., we may have an armed revolution, an armed defense, thrust upon us.
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