Darold Edwards

We are living in a world that has gone completely berserk, and though our leaders; politicians, judges, or whatever title the various leadership positions may fall under, give us all sorts of answers for the reasons, which usually is the fault of the other political party, none of them seem to know or have the courage to address the cause of all humanities calamities, or able to give the solution to all this chaos and misery. Without beating around the bush about it, I’ll directly address the problem which basically is “sin” in all its many manifestations throughout our world, America included. However sin is not the whole reason for our many problems. We must accept responsibility for our own embracing it and indulgence in it which gives it life and strength unto our own destruction, [James 1:14-16], “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth bringeth forth sin; and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. Do not err, my beloved brethren”. [Romans 6: 23], “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord”. This is not limited to the individual, but expands to include any and all groups including nations. None are exempt from this truth. Israel, even as God’s chosen people, suffered much because of the transgressions of the individuals who made up the multitudes, and thus, the nation. We all have to share the blame in some way for America’s problems, however some much more than others. Some who, as leaders, have ignorantly caused the problems and others who just as ignorantly stood by and watched it all take place without offering any opposition.    

Having been informed by God’s word concerning sin, it consequences, results, wages, etc, call them what you will; and experiencing some of these in a mild way, yet viewing these horrible consequences in a lost and dying world in rebellion against God and his solution, Jesus Christ: as the eternal sacrifice for our deliverance from these sins, I have decided that to indulge in them would be the height of stupidity, idiocy, and ignorance. However, this present attitude was not as cut and dried in my younger years, and as a result I experienced a few of the retributions that sin carries with it: which tends to reinforce my present attitude about sin, as well as does the witnessing of the results of it in others and what it is doing to my homeland as well a the rest of the world. Based on God’s word of counsel and deliverance from sin through the shed blood of Jesus, I can no longer view sin as something beyond my control to which I am bound without hope of being free from it. I thank God through Jesus Christ my Lord and Saviour, that sin hath no more dominion over me, I have however, been given dominion over it, which works quite well for me with God’s amazing grace picking up the slack for my occasional failures along the way, which failures are not as serious, and fewer than they used to be, as I slowly learn some lessons along the path of life, and with some difficulty, apply them.  

This is not to say I will not suffer because of an occasional transgression, or from the transgressions of others, [Matthew 10:36], “And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household”. It would be quite accurate to say that every family in our great nation bear the marks of sin and iniquity somewhere within their family, in lives of those whom they love dearly whose rejection, rebellion, or just plain neglect of God and his message of salvation causes considerable concern, heartache, and pain to be endured while prayer and hope are offered up on their behalf. Families are broken up, some destroyed; some individual’s are even incarcerated because of the stupidity of indulgence in sinful pursuits. Because of a nation’s transgressions and idiocy in rebellion against God, there is never ending warfare, [James 4:1-2]; local, national, and international, where multitudes are killed while involved in senseless wars that prove nothing and accomplish less, contributing nothing but a dubious method of population control while it bleeds the nation dry of its resources in both human life and materials, including its wealth. And the people continue to suffer; and if the thought of “a man’s household” is expanded to include his neighborhood, his homeland, and “his own countrymen”; then the idea of “his foes being of his own household” is expanded with it.

[Psalms 127: 1], “Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain”. If our “house” is our own home, or “homeland; in our case America”, we have labored in vain to build it beyond its foundation as God is being increasingly rejected and neglected after being cast out by governmental decree through the separation of church and state idiocy, and he has not been continually consulted in its construction processes and even less in its maintenance and management programs and procedures. [Hosea 4: 6-7], “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law “Word” of thy God, I will also forget thy children. As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame”.

In an effort to escape God’s requirements of thought and ways, people have historically tried to make him irrelevant as America has done: this in an effort to make their own rules for conduct and behavior. This has failed in every nation since the beginning of creation, and America is no exception. Today America is wallowing in the pit of her own rebellion against God. Every part and facet of our once great nation is contaminated and corrupted with the insidious leaven of sinfulness and abomination. It has even invaded many of our churches causing devastation and destruction in hearts and lives of many congregations. The reason for this is attributable to many causes among the people, many of whom were commissioned, called, or ordained, and even elected, for the protection and growth of these churches. There could be much discussion on this, with no doubt many disagreements, arguments, and differences of opinions during those lengthy discussions. But the final outcome depends solely on God’s opinion, his word, wherein he has given us his specific requirements for righteousness, peace and holiness, “without which no man shall see the Lord” [Hebrews 12:14]; “what thus saith the Lord”.  [Matthew 24: 35; Mark 13: 31; Luke 21: 33], “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away”.

Mans opinions, thoughts, ideas, and concepts, formed without Godly counsel and input, are not worth the breath it takes to voice them, and will invariably lead to great difficulties, failure and lifestyles spent and wasted “laboring in vain”, [Psalms 127:1]. Thought man has and undoubtedly will continue to accomplish great, grand, and noble exploits because of God’s designing him in his own image and likeness, enabling him to do these things, yet because of his despising and disregard for God’s counsel for righteousness and holiness; in the final analysis it is all for nothing, [Jeremiah 26: 3] “If so be they will hearken, and turn every man [we all fit in this category] from his evil way, that I may repent me of the evil which I purpose to do unto them because of their evil doings”. [2 Chronicles 7:14] comes to mind to reinforce this.

Many of my own Christian countrymen will disagree with me here saying that this is a message to the Jews, which is true; but the subject of the message is what must be considered which is the subject of their evil and wickedness which is common among all men, in all places, at all times that   must be dealt with according to God’s methods, beginning with profound repentance. It may have been given the Jews then but certainly includes us Gentiles today, [2 Timothy 3: 16], “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works”. God’s attitude toward the annihilation of sin and iniquity and his hatred for it has not changed nor diminished over the centuries past, and is an attitude, as the followers of   Jesus Christ, that we would do well to adopt, embrace, and practice, destroying it through the declaring and proclaiming of the Gospel of God and exalting of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ unto redemption and reconciliation to the Father, [2 Corinthians 5: 17-18], “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new”. And all “these new” things are of God who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation”.