Hardened by Sin's Deceitfulness

America is gospel hardened. Ease of life has created an atmosphere of complacency. The early church had persecution--Christians around the world are still suffering persecution for proclamations of Jesus Christ, and the gospel spreads.  Yet, here in America there may be churches on every corner, however, hearts are separate from God.  

There is an air of pomposity.  We have wrought the freedoms by the work of our own hands--wrong.  Sure, we worked, and that we have done hard and consistently, but nothing happens outside the will of God.  It is He who grants the freedoms and it is He who takes them away.  Not we humans.  Yet, take a look around.  Open your ears and what do you hear?  Mouths gaping wide spewing revulsions of me, me, me.  It is the nature of the prideful beast within us all outside of Christ.

American society has heard the great news of creation's Lord and Savior for generations now.  So much so, we have lost faith.  Hebrews 11:1 states "faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."  The majority of today's America is evidentiary in faith.  We are a nation of doubting Thomas's.  We have become believers of the here and now, the "what-can-you-do-for-me" generation.  But, Christianity is following Christ Jesus--the Suffering Servant (Isaiah 52:13-53:12).  Followers are no better than their masters (Matthew 10:24), yet we incorporate a corporate attitude of going with the flow, of living the life of pleasure, of avoiding strife at all costs.  We no longer are sure of what we hope for and we are certainly leery of placing trust in what we cannot see.  It is evident all around. 

Jesus is God.  He is the Alpha and Omega tabernacled in human form.  He is the Rock upon which Christianity is founded.  Unfortunately, modern and cultural Christianity has twisted views of Christ.  Some dispute the era of grace by enforcing and subjugating regulations, procedures, and intolerances of the freedom Christ provides.  

Others doubt the goodness of God because they are no longer to live as they once lived--thinking, "How can God be good if I can't be me?"  We are not to be the persons we once were--"living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry" (1 Peter 4:3).  And this is exactly the lifestyle preferred among this "Christian" nation.  And when the truth of Scripture is set forth, whether by word or lifestyle, genuine Christians are thought odd, abnormal, and strange while such sincere believers are made fun of, rejected, and reviled (1 Peter 4:4).

America is in a rut of retaliation against Jesus.  We are a nation of carnal Christians.  The lascivious Christian serves the flesh (Romans 8:5), feeds upon milk and therefore is immature (1 Corinthians 3:1).  Such walks are unreliable (Romans 7:19), unfruitful (Matthew 13:22), the joy in Christ is lost (Psalm 51:12), and all rewards will be stubble in the fire (1 Corinthians 3:15).  We as a nation have become flesh-bound rather than whole-souled into Christ Jesus.  We do not live in the Spirit (Galatians 5:25).  We have become preoccupied with the here and now.  Life is but a vapor.  We exist only for a short time on this earth, and what do we do?  We lust after prestige, power, possessions, flesh, and money.  We purse the name of Jesus on our lips, yet we avoid walking in His light.  We either forget His commandments of love or we modify His teachings to suit our fancy.  We are too afraid to stand for Jesus in the face of opposition, because we are terrorized by reactions of the surrounding environment. 

Please, don't get me wrong.  Just because I sit here blogging out the nation's condition, I do not think myself any better than society.  I am guilty of everything I rail against.  How can I not be?  I am a sinner saved by grace.  I live in the moment far too often, forgetting and/or brushing aside the Holy Spirit's weight upon my conscience.  I grieve Him daily.  Thanks be to Jesus Christ for pouring Himself out to issue God the Father's grace to mankind!  But His grace is not freely given--it came at a cost.  Jesus sacrificed Himself.  He allowed His own creation to turn on Him, to beat Him unmercifully, to spit on Him over and over, to humiliate Him, laugh at Him, torture Him, kill Him.  This is grace at it's best.  It is not the "what-can-you-do-for-me" mindset.  It is God's favor given to those who do not deserve it.  It is only received by claiming Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.  It cannot and will never be received any other way!  

If it were not for Jesus and the life I claim in Him, I deserve the worsts of death for offending the Almighty with my past denial and lifestyle of unbelief.  This is why I rail against a nation claiming Christianity.  This is why I am disgusted by a country pursing God upon it's lips, yet refusing God in flesh.  We are going to be punished harshly if we do not turn from our sins and acknowledge Jesus as Lord of all.  If we do not change our sinful, arrogant lifestyles and pull a complete 180, then there is a certain doom which looms on the horizon of time.

We, as a nation, cannot allow ourselves to "be hardened by sin's deceitfulness" (Hebrews 3:13b).  We must soften our hearts, unclench our teeth, loosen our stiff necks and hear the call of Jesus.   But, it is not enough to just hear, we must submit to Jesus as King.  We must surrender our egos to God.  We are not who we think we are--we are not the end all that meets all.  Only in Christ will we receive mercy, grace, and boundless life eternal.