In general, my impression of our nation
is that it is in moral and spiritual decline. Of course, I am not under any illusion that this world can be a sinless
utopia, for the Scriptures tell us that "the whole world lies in the power of
the evil one" (1John 5:19). However, I
believe that our nation should be better than it is and that it has seen better
days. Sadly, the better days appear to
be behind us. This moral decline has
been a progressive, evolutionary process rather than a sudden revolution. The "evil one" is slow and steady in his work
so that the damage is hardly noticed.
A
new Harris poll released on December 16, 2013, confirms my impression. It shows relatively small changes in the
beliefs of Americans over the last few years, but all of the changes are for
the worse. The trend in moral and
spiritual matters is overwhelmingly away from biblical beliefs. Consider some of the results of this poll:
74% of Americans believe in God
versus 82% in 2009.
68% believe that Jesus is the Son
of God versus 72% in 2009.
65% believe that Jesus was raised
from the dead versus 70% in 2009.
57% believe in the virgin birth of
Jesus versus 61% in 2009.
49% believe that the Old Testament
is the word of God versus 55% in 2008.
48% believe that the New Testament
is the word of God versus 54% in 2008.
64% believe in the survival of the
soul after death versus 71% in 2009.
36% believe
in creation versus 40% in 2009.
Other
results show an increase in unbiblical beliefs and practices. Notice a few examples:
16% are certain there is no God
versus 13% in 2009.
47% believe in evolution versus 45%
in 2009.
29% believe in astrology versus 26%
in 2009.
26% believe in witchcraft versus
23% in 2009.
24% believe in reincarnation versus
20% in 2009.
23% are not
religious at all versus 15% in 2009.
What are we to make of these
numbers? First, let us pray for our nation
and recall God's words concerning Israel from 2Chronicles 7:14, where He said
that if His people "humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from
their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and
will heal their land." Perhaps He will
grant repentance to our nation and heal our land as well.
Next, we need to understand how this
moral and spiritual decline has occurred.
Quite simply, it is a matter of teaching and influence. These trends are no surprise considering that
the minds of our citizens are fed a steady diet of godlessness through many
different avenues -- television, internet, music, governmental institutions,
educational institutions, and more.
Knowing this, we should have two reactions. The first is to protect ourselves, our
families, and the church from godless influences as much as possible. The second is to work to offset these false
messages with the truth of God's word.
Let us commit ourselves to constant study and application of the Bible. No single Christian can reverse these trends
alone, but each one of us can build his own faith and also influence someone
else for good.
These
trends are bad news, but do not be discouraged.
Consider Paul's words in 2Timothy 3:13-14:
But evil men and
impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. You, however, continue in the things you have
learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them.
"Let God be found true, though every man
be found a liar" (Rom. 3:4). We do not
follow the trends of men, but we follow God, who does not change (Heb. 13:8;
Jas. 1:17). His promises are immutable,
and even if men "are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny
Himself" (2Tim. 2:13). Therefore, let us
stand with God even as the world around us turns away from Him.
