An Article of Faith

A chorus of voices from all sectors of our society has begun to sound an alarm. The path America is on cannot continue economically, socially, politically and morally.
This current course can’t be fixed by rearranging government programs or implementing new policies. It isn’t ultimately about combating violence or cleaning up the streets or even protesting the evils of society. No, the answer is spiritual. The answer is to call out for God’s mercy, for the hope and transformation that only He can bring to a prodigal nation.
Is it possible then that the greatest threat America faces may be God Himself as He withholds His mercy and exercises His righteous judgment?
Consider these words from the heart of God to the nations:
“If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey Me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it” (Jeremiah 18:7-10 NIV).
The principle in these verses is undeniable – God not only blesses people and nations, He judges them as well.
As Dr. Erwin Lutzer puts it, “The God of the Bible will not endlessly tolerate idolatry and benign neglect. He graciously endures rejection and insults, but at some point, He might choose to bring a nation to its knees with severe discipline.”
So how urgent are the days in which we live? Scholar and revival historian Richard Owen Roberts writes: “When the people of God sin against Him and do not repent, He judges them. While some of these judgments are final and consist of death and destruction, the more standard form of judgment is both remedial and gracious and consists of withdrawal of certain evidences of His manifest presence and merciful favors. In the absence of God’s manifest presence, there is always an immediate and extensive increase in iniquity. ... God has judged America with the remedial judgment of withdrawal of certain manifestations of His gracious presence and mercy.”
America is in a state of spiritual emergency. It’s not just because of how the world is acting, but how the church is behaving. Where does judgment begin, after all, if not in the house of God? (Taken from: OneCry: A Nationwide Call for Spiritual Awakening. For more information see: www.ONECRY.com.)
“So be happy when you are insulted for being a Christian,” exhorts the apostle Peter, “for then the glorious Spirit of God rests upon you. If you suffer, however, it must not be for murder, stealing, making trouble, or prying into other people’s affairs. But it is no shame to suffer for being a Christian. Praise God for the privilege of being called by His name! For the time has come for judgment, and it must begin with God’s household. And if judgment begins with us, what terrible fate awaits those who have never obeyed God’s Good News” (1 Peter 4:14-17 NLT)?

Jessie J. Charpentier Sr. is pastor of Jenkins Memorial Baptist Church in St. Martinville.