Lukewarm

These are the Words of the Lord Jesus Christ to the Church in Laodicea. They appear in the Book of Revelation Chapter 3, Verses 1-19. These words also describe the Church in America today. The emphasis added is mine:

“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:

The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this:

‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot.  So because you are LUKEWARM, and neither hot nor cold, I WILL SPIT YOU OUT OF MY MOUTH. Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.  Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and REPENT.”

My dear readers…. This is a dire warning issued by the Lord of all Creation. A warning that all of us should heed. The Church in America has indeed grown lukewarm.

The United States has become wealthiest, and most powerful nation the world has ever seen. And She has forgotten that all this this wealth and power came through the blessings of the Almighty.

“I conceive we cannot better express ourselves than by humbly supplicating the Supreme Ruler of the world”. (Samuel Adams; The Writings of Samuel Adams; Vol. IV, p. 407, March 20, 1797)

“The blessing and protection of Heaven are at all times necessary but especially so in times of public distress and danger. The General hopes and trusts that every officer and man will endeavor to live and act as becomes a Christian soldier, defending the dearest rights and liberties of his country.” (George Washington, The Writings of George Washington, Vol. 5, p. 245, July 9, 1776 )

As you can see dear readers, there were those involved in the founding of our nation who believed strongly in the blessings of the Almighty.

So the question now becomes… How did we get here from there? The answer lies in the fact that this nation has turned it’s collective back on the Lord God. And that God has been withdrawing His blessings from us as punishment for our disobedience.

I think the most precipitous decline in our nation began with the “Sexual Revolution” of the 1960s. A period where “free love”, and sexual immorality abounded.

It progressed from there to the landmark January 22, 1973 Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade. The Court decided 7-2 that abortion was legal in the United States. That’s right, seven men in black robes decided that the murder of innocent unborn children was legal.

In 1839, the novelist and playwright Edward Burton-Lytton wrote “The Pen is Mightier Than the Sword!”. I submit that he had no idea just how prophetic those words would be. With the stroke of the pen, millions of innocent unborn children have been legally murdered.

The excess and unbridled greed of the 1980s left their stamp upon the heart of American society. The concept of “he who dies with the most toys wins” is a fallacy that has been discredited by the Scriptures. (See Matthew 6:19-20; Matthew 19:24; Luke 12:16-21; Luke 16:19-31)

Fast forward to June 26, 2015. Once again, the Supreme Court decided to overturn the laws of God in favor of those of man. In yet another landmark case, Obergefell v. Hodges, the Court ruled 5-4 in favor of redefining marriage. With another stroke of a pen, the Court decided that marriage was not simply between one man and one woman as God had designed (see Genesis 1:27; 2:21-24). They ruled that marriage was also to be defined as between two persons of the same sex.

These specific things I have listed here are a microcosm of the overall decline of American Society. America has gone from a nation who followed the Word of God, to one that celebrates sin and sinful lifestyles.

So where has the Church been throughout all of this? Well, they have been declining right along with society in general. Long gone are the days of the “fire and brimstone” preachers. They have been replaced by conformists who spew pablum for the masses. Those who are more concerned with putting “butts in the seats” and raising funds, than preaching the Truth of the Word.

These preachers are so afraid of the world they neglect to stay within the Word of God. And they preach what Dietrich Boenhoeffer referred to as “cheap grace”. That is, the grace and forgiveness of God without repentance. They hit all the high points of how God is love, which is a great thing. But they neglect to address the fact that God is also holy and just. And He will punish unrepentant sin.

To bring all of this to a close, I would like to say three things. All clichés notwithstanding: Wake up America! Your Church is in Trouble! Repent before it is too late!