America/Sodom/Gomorrah
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
************
I
began writing this piece on "Good Friday," the day upon which we
Christians remember the crucifixion, death, and entombment of Christ.
Christians have waited since for the sun to rise on this Sunday, Easter morning.
Today, Easter Sunday, we rejoice as we celebrate Christ's resurrection,
his victory over death, hell, and the grave. The Christian faith is
founded upon the events of the period from Christ's arrest until his
ascension.
Sadly, today the tenets of the Christian faith have been turned and are
now being used by those of little or no faith against the Christian
Church.
Where are the Christian warriors? (Maybe we need a modern day
Knights Templar organization to confront those who have turned America
on its head. Just a thought.)
America used to be a Christian nation. She can not lay claim to that title any longer.
Look. The very word "Christian" means "Christ-like." There is very
little in America that could be classified as Christ-like today. In
fact, America reassembles Sodom and Gomorrah more than a nation that subscribes to the teachings of Christ.
The scriptures tell us that God destroyed the cities of Sodom and
Gomorrah by raining fire down from heaven and incinerating both towns
-- and all within them.
As I write, America is under a threat from North Korea to rain down fire from the heavens upon our nation. You don't suppose there is a connection -- do you?
America's culture is a carbon copy of the wicked culture of Sodom and
Gomorrah. The leaders of our nation have sanctioned the very same
culture, for which Sodom and Gomorrah paid the ultimate price.
Let's be clear. Those two ancient cities were NOT destroyed by God
because of bad hospitality (inhospitality) . They were destroyed by God
for the sin of practicing every kind of vice imaginable -- including
the practice of homosexuality. The scriptures are exceedingly clear
about that.
"America, is like a healthy body and its resistance is threefold:
its patriotism, its morality, and its spiritual life. If we can
undermine these three areas, America will collapse from within." ... Joseph Stalin
Uncle Joe was spot on with that assessment. His accuracy is evident all
around us today. America is, indeed, collapsing from within.
Practicing Christians know this. They see the evidence, they recognize
it for what it is, for they live, like everyone else, in the muck and
mire of the degenerate decadence that is modern America. It is all
around us day in and day out. America's indulgence in sensual pleasures,
its excessive and immoral activities involving sex, alcohol, food, and
drugs has swamped our beloved country much like a tsunami embracing a
beachfront village. We are awash in hedonism. We have created a society
that values the pursuit of pleasure as the highest good.
The perversions of Roman Emperor Caligula can barely hold a candle to
the "egalitarian" hedonistic escapades of we Americans. We have even
gone so far as to urge our Supreme Court to decree such behavior as
constitutionally protected.
This behavior by a people, a nation, is nothing new. Thousands of years ago a prophet wrote: "The
look on their faces testifies against them; they parade their sin like
Sodom; they do not hide it. Woe to them! They have brought disaster upon
themselves." -- Isaiah 3:9 . Read that short piece of scripture again and then turn on a TV news channel and observe as "they parade their sin as Sodom."
I ask you: How much farther can America fall before she hits the
bottom. Instead, maybe the question ought to be how much farther MUST America
fall before she hits the bottom. I pose the question because our
arrogance, our stubbornness, will not allow Americans to recognize and
then accept our enslavement to a death wish. For, believe me, it is a death wish.
No less an authority that the Scriptures tells us flat-out that: "The wages of sin is -- death." (Romans 6:23 -- The Bible)
There has been a complete moral breakdown in American society. Since
the 1960's there has been a spiraling descent of Americans into the
depths of hedonistic squalor. "Moral relativism," in my
opinion, has greased the rails leading to chaos, ruin, and eventually,
to perdition for our once great country. We know it by another name
today -- political correctness --and -- at least SOME of us can see the hefty price tag.
Social conservatives championing "family values" were mocked and shouted
down just a bare few years ago. It was reminiscent of those who laughed
at --and derided -- a fellow named Noah as he sweated profusely to
build a huge float-able barge in the heat of a dry, dry, desert. The
laughter and derision ended abruptly when the water began to rise. By
then, of course, it was too late.
Thomas Huxley once said: "It doesn't take much of a man to be a Christian, but it takes all there is of him." In America today Christians are fighting a holding action. We hear often of the war on Christianity. It IS real and no quarter is given by the opponents of Christianity.
I had not intended to deliver a sermon when I began this piece. It just sort of evolved into, well, whatever you may chose to call it.
To America's Christian community, I offer encouragement. But -- we MUST take a stand. In fact, those are our instructions: "Therefore,
take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in
the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm." (Ephesians 6:13 -- The Bible)
As we look around us, there can be no doubt THIS is the EVIL DAY.
As Brother Martin Luther, the Great Reformer, was on trial for his life,
he refused to recant and he left us with words that echo down through
the ages. As he refused to recant he said: "Here I stand, I can do no other, God help me. Amen."
So, I would call upon my fellow Christians to "stand". Don't give an inch. And may God help us. Amen.
© J. D. Longstreet
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