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America is not dead. America is not finished. America is still “the greatest nation on God’s green earth,” as one prominent talk radio host says. America still has more true Christians than any other nation. America is still a friend of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and their seed. America is still a land of liberty, though her priceless freedoms are being lost bit by bit, day by day. America still has great strength, and petty dictators would do well not to arouse her anger.
America has turned from the true and living God in a most terrible way. She mocks the fear of God. She despises God’s holy laws. She glories in everything that is abominable before God. She retains a “form of godliness” even while denying the power thereof, that power being a born again converted life and an infallible Bible and an omnipotent God. As a whole, America is grossly ignorant of the Bible, but if she knew it, she would not like it.
The root problem is the preachers. We got to this place because of the pulpits. As in Jeremiah’s day in Israel of old, it is from the prophets that profaneness has gone forth into the land (Jeremiah 23:15).
America’s preachers stopped looking for the born again salvation experience that we see everywhere in Scripture and accepted an empty “sinner’s prayer,” even from children, thus filling up the churches with unconverted people whose worldly lives are merely slathered with a bit of religion.
America’s preachers stopped rebuking sin and error and turned to preaching smooth things (Isaiah 30:10). Instead of the rebuking preachers of 2 Timothy 4:2, America has the “itching ear scratching” teachers of 2 Timothy 4:3-4. Those are the preachers she wants.
America’s preachers stopped enforcing God’s standards of holy living by discipline; they have refused to purge out the old leaven of wickedness (1 Corinthians 5:6-8), either not believing or not caring that “a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.”
America’s preachers stopped making true disciples of Jesus Christ after the fashion of the servants of Christ we see in Scripture, and instead have devoted themselves to an enthusiastic pampering of the lukewarm that turn Jesus’ stomach (Revelation 3:16). Toward that end they have converted the holy church of God into a vain entertainment center. (For evidence examine the average church’s calendar.)
America’s preachers stopped building up the people in the holy faith of God’s Word, stopped training them in the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27), stopped teaching and exhorting them to be skillful in the word of righteousness (Hebrews 5:12-14), and instead have fed them a diet of 2% milk, at best and been content to pastor perpetual spiritual infants. The writer of Hebrews sharply rebuked those who were unskilful in the word of righteousness, but America’s pastors honor them as good Christians.
America’s preachers stopped roaring against worldliness as spiritual adultery after the fashion of a James, a John, and an Enoch (James 4:4; 1 John 2:15-17; Jude 14-15) and instead have exalted the worldly crowd to be deacons, Sunday School teachers, choir directors, and youth leaders.
Many Americans still want to consider themselves Christians, but they want to live after their own lusts, which is the very strange kind of Christianity described in 2 Timothy 4:3-4. In Israel of old most prophets bent to the people’s will and softened the message of God’s Word and preached smooth things (Isaiah 30:10). Likewise today most preachers have wickedly compromised due to pressure from church members and society at large. They fear the people more than they fear God. They are terribly afraid of losing even the most carnal pew sitters and tithers. So they don’t preach against rock music or country rock music or pop music stars or raunchy movies or vanities such as professional sports or immodest dress or whatever else the their worldly people might like. They give the people the music they love and the standards they love. They preach whatever the people like to hear and they preach in such a way that the people aren’t offended by truth and righteousness. They might preach some truth, but they have learned to do it in such a way (e.g., preaching in generalities) that most people aren’t offended and don’t stop attending the services and paying the bills.
America is apostate and the preachers are to blame.
I’m sad because of this, but in no way am I discouraged. I know preachers in America and in many countries who don’t fit this sorry description, and I know of churches that aren’t compromised by the spirit of the age. We are seeing God raise up such preachers through our own missionary work. We are currently working with nearly 20 such preachers. We are training such preachers. We are seeing them go out and start discipling churches rather than mixed multitudes and entertainment centers. These are men that don’t skip over repentance or soft sell the truth or ignore discipline.
Our earnest prayer is that God will raise up 1,000 more men who fear God more than man, who love Scripture more than tradition, and who will build and lead sound New Testament churches as bright lights in a dark age.
Will you join me in that prayer every day? If so, I would like to hear from you.
“For both prophet and priest are profane; yea, in my house have I found their wickedness, saith the LORD” (Jer. 23:11).
“Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets; Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall: for from the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness gone forth into all the land” (Jer. 23:15).
“They say still unto them that despise me, The LORD hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you. For who hath stood in the counsel of the LORD, and hath perceived and heard his word? who hath marked his word, and heard it?” (Jer. 23:17-18).
“Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing! O Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes in the deserts. Ye have not gone up into the gaps, neither made up the hedge for the house of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the LORD. They have seen vanity and lying divination, saying, The LORD saith: and the LORD hath not sent them: and they have made others to hope that they would confirm the word” (Eze. 13:2-6).
“Because, even because they have seduced my people, saying, Peace; and there was no peace; and one built up a wall, and, lo, others daubed it with untempered morter” (Eze. 13:10).
“Because with lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him life” (Eze. 13:22).
“Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits: Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us” (Isa. 30:10-11).
“But ye gave the Nazarites wine to drink; and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not. Behold, I am pressed under you, as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves” (Am. 2:12-13).
“Prophesy ye not, say they to them that prophesy: they shall not prophesy to them, that they shall not take shame” (Mic. 2:6).
“Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables” (2 Ti. 4:2-4).
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