Milestones of Depravity

Berean Baptist on January 23, 2017

They have cast fire into thy sanctuary, they have defiled by casting down the dwelling place of thy name to the ground. (Psalms 74:7)

Recently I was listening to a podcast of The Briefing, which is a daily commentary on current events by Dr. Albert Mohler the president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. Dr. Mohler reports these events from a Christian perspective and usually has some very enlightening comments. In this particular podcast, he was discussing the issue of homosexuality and how the moral viewpoint of this subject has turned completely around. My purpose in this article is not to discuss homosexuality, but rather to comment on how much has been given up in moral values in general with our new worldview.

I was reminded of this while reading Psalm 74. If the subject matter of the Psalm is difficult for you, please be aware the psalmist is writing about the destruction of the temple by the Babylonians. His lament is over the devastation of this sacred edifice, but more importantly over God’s refusal to protect Judah when the Babylonian army descended upon them. Especially important is verse 9 as he says there is no sign or prophet any longer, and none of them knew how long they would be without word from God.

What impressed me in my thoughts about this psalm was the reason that Israel had reached this point in their history. Years of immorality and idolatry were the culprits. I think it is interesting that when the Babylonians came the temple was nothing like it was during the glory days of Solomon. The magnificence of the costly articles of gold were gone having been given away through the years by kings that appeased their enemies by paying tribute from the treasures of God’s house.

This caused me to think about the slow selling off of our moral values in America. The sexual revolution has not been an immediate affair. There was much groundwork laid for many years that brought us to this point. In 1973, the Supreme Court blasted a hole through our moral compass when it decreed abortion rights in the Roe v. Wade decision. We can hardly believe that a seared conscience has not been the ultimate result of that decision. If human life itself is not sacred, then anything you do with that life must be fair game. There are no boundaries for how low we can go if we decide the lives of the most innocent are worthless.

One by one the cognizant moral values that separate men from animals is disappearing. Since men are rational beings, we can actually sink lower than animals because we have the ability to choose to go lower. An animal cannot be sub-natural, but humans can. Rather, we might say that humans can explore the depths of their depravity and it seems we will not stop until we find bottom. Unfortunately, for those who choose to explore, there is no bottom. So, we descend past the value of human life and as we go we pass the depth markers of pornography, pedophilia, child abuse, homosexuality—and deeper and deeper we go.

One day we will turn around and discover the Babylonians have destroyed the temple. There is no preacher here and God’s help is nowhere to be found. When this time comes, we can look back and see how we slowly gave it all away. The country will be gone with no one to blame but us.

 

Pastor V. Mark Smith

The Light of the Nations

Berean Baptist on November 14, 2016

Psalms 67:1, 4

God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us; Selah…O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth. Selah. (Psalms 67:1, 4)

Once again in the psalms we are brought to a message about the millennium when our God shall rule the whole earth in a literal, physical kingdom. Verse 4 speaks of this kingdom as one in which all nations will be able to enjoy the righteous judgment of Jesus Christ.

There is a sadness to this psalm, however. It should have been written about the condition of Israel at the time of its writing. Through Israel the world should have already seen that salvation was not only for the Jews and that Jehovah was not just the God of Israel. He is to be worshipped and glorified by all people. When Jesus was taken to the temple for His circumcision, there was an old man named Simeon who was guided by the Holy Spirit to take the baby in his arms and pronounce a blessing. Simeon was overjoyed to see the Christ child and he said: Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word:  For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. (Luke 2:29-32)

At the time of this prophecy, Israel had long been in unbelief. The world had not been influenced by them—and even worse, there were hardly any believers in Israel at all. It is small wonder this should be the case since the nation had previously been in serious idolatry. The northern tribes had been assimilated into the peoples of Assyria and the southern tribes had been oppressed by the Babylonians. Even though the captivity was over, they had never since been free to rule themselves. This was God’s punishment for not guarding their trust to be a light to the Gentiles.

We needn’t think God’s purpose of salvation for all people would fail because of the Israel’s unbelief. Paul explains in Romans that Israel’s failure and their temporary chastisement was the opportunity for the salvation of other nations. As long as the Jewish laws and customs were enforced, they would be a serious hindrance to the gospel. God moved them out of the way, but He never intended to leave them set aside.

During the tribulation, God will resume His work with His chosen nation. He will raise a remnant of Jews that will recognize the Messiah. Under divine protection, they will preach the gospel until a vast company of Israel has received Him as Lord. They will also become a light to the Gentiles until there is a great multitude ready to enter the millennial kingdom. This has been our subject for the past two weeks in the morning sermons and will continue next week as we examine the closing statements of the Olivet Discourse.

We are not to look at these psalms as a message only for the millennium, however. Our job today is to show that Jesus Christ is our God, and only by believing in Him can any people be blessed. If we fail to do this, we are also in danger of being set aside. Without obedience to our duty, we will not be counted among the faithful redeemed. How have we been busy to proclaim the gospel message? Who have you spoken to at work or school or in any place where you regularly encounter the lost? Each person is a potential believer, but they will never be so until they hear the gospel. If we proclaim salvation, God will bless us and cause His face to shine upon us. Only then will the world be saved.

Pastor V. Mark Smith