God's Message to our Nation (Prov. 14:34)

God's Message to our Nation

(Prov. 14:34 - “Righteousness exalts a nation, But sin is a reproach to any people.”)

This statement here in the book of Proverbs is not just made to the nation of Israel, it was made to all nations. I believe that this statement is what God would say to the USA, if He spoke audibly to us on this Forth of July holiday. We celebrate this holiday that in 1776 the USA declared independence as a nation from Great Britain. That we became a sovereign and independent nation and established our own laws, freedoms, privileges, and these rights were fought for and won by our forefathers. One thing our forefathers did was to acknowledge and seek God's divine hand in founding this nation. Although our nation began seeking independence from a oppressive nation and government to self-rule, our forefathers made sure we did not have independence from the mighty hand of God that allowed them to found our nation. Those men who were instrumental in the foundation of this nation saw from history the nations have fallen and failed and recognized unless God blessed the establishment of this nation that it would fail also. Today, we will see if we still heed to the word of God or if we have declared independence from God also.

I. The Righteousness of a Nation (“Righteousness”).

Let's look at the first word of this verse, “righteousness”. This is a word that we don't often hear outside of a Bible-believing church. You won't hear it from the news media or uttered by one of our politicians on Capitol Hill and certainly not from the White House. This word makes this world uncomfortable because it brings up ideas of right and wrong and that there are consequences for our unrighteousness. There are three implications of the word righteousness that our sinful nation does not want to consider.

A. 1^st implication: Sovereignty – to say there is such a thing as righteousness means that there is a Sovereign God that has determined what righteousness is and means. If righteousness was only a human idea and concept then we would still be fighting over what is righteous and unrighteous. God has declared what is righteous and He alone is the authority on righteousness. Ps. 71:19 says, “Your righteousness, O God, is very high, You who have done great things; O God, who is like You?” and Ps. 98:2 says, “The LORD has made known His salvation; His righteousness He has revealed in the sight of the nations”. If righteousness is considered by our world then it must acknowledge God is the One who has determined what is righteousness.

B. 2^nd Implication: A Standard – to say that there is a right and wrong, good and evil, or righteous and unrighteous is to say that there is a higher standard or a higher law that determines this. It says that there is a God who has given a standard of righteousness. We have that standard and you can hold it in your hands and read it whenever you want to, it God's written Word, the Bible. Today's society doesn't want to have a standard because if reveals their sins and unrighteousness. It declares their condemnation in the eyes of God. That's why our nation rejects God and His Word. Our founding fathers held the Bible and Christianity in high esteem. Sadly, today this nation despises the Bible, God's righteous standard and wants to attack Christianity and silence it's voice.

C. 3^rd Implication: A Straightness – even if our nation admits there is a standard of righteousness, unless they make it their own standard that admission is useless. The word for righteousness in Hebrew in this verse indicates a personal righteousness, a personal morality. Our forefathers chose to believe and follow the righteousness of the Bible in the founding of our nation.

II. The Reward of a Nation (“...exalts a nation”).

Here God is saying that if a nation regards and follows His righteousness then he would exalt that nation. To look at our history, we can see the hand of God blessing on us. That we were once exalted as a nation. We once were blessed with greatness because we were good (in the moral sense). Our churches grew and shined the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the whole world, at home and abroad. We used to acknowledge that God was the reason for our greatness but now our nation glories in the ingenuity and determination of the people and it's government. We as a nation must again turn to God and acknowledge that the birth and growth of this nation rests on His divine goodness and mercy for it was by the power of His hands and providence that this nation came into being. Because of God we have been blessed, prosperous, and mighty. His presence has kept us safe and strong during war and disasters, (Ps. 20:7 - “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God”), some believe “In Government we trust” instead of “In God We Trust”. But now, for our so-called governmental leaders to ignore and even try to outlaw God's words from being placed or spoken in the places of government buildings is to ignore the humble and righteous beginning of our nation and in the hearts of our nation's founding fathers. The height of blessings for this nation was when they sought to live out the righteousness of God. “Righteousness exalts a nation.”

III. The Revolt and Reproach of a Nation: (“But sin is a reproach to any people.”).

We now come to the worst part of what a nation chooses over God. If righteousness exalts a nation then sin destroys it. Where America once denounced sin and evil in it's society has turned around 180º. Today, people seek out false religions and false gods, they want a religion and a god of their own choosing. One that will fit their definition of a lifestyle and accommodate their particular pet sin. They view God, if they believe in one, as a loving merciful Being that doesn't condemn anyone or their lifestyle. They honestly believe that God grades on a curve and surely would not send anyone to Hell for a sin. Some really want a God that is loving, merciful, and kind and the God of Christianity fulfills that desire. But, the true God of the Bible is merciful and loving but He is also a holy God of wrath, judgment and condemnation. Our society today wants the first part but not the second part. The true God of the Bible is a holy God that must judge sin and the sinner. God does not look over someone's sins, He judges and punishes sin and this world wants nothing to do with that. So now they worship false gods and goddesses and find a tailor-made religion that condones their sins. To admit we are sinful is to admit we have done wrong and cannot live up to the standards of God's holy moral law. His standard for righteousness and holiness is His own. The Bible says in Rom. 3:23 that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”, there is no one who has or will live up to that standard (except Christ). Our nation has decided to not pursue moral greatness anymore. In fact like I just previously said, our society does not honor what is good and right but has turned 180º and now glorifies the sinful and the perverted. We now honor and reward evil. What was good and moral is now considered evil and what is sinful and perverted is now the good. Look at our culture, our music glorifies sex outside of marriage, it glorifies murder and rape and drug/alcohol abuse as a mark of greatness and criminals as being heroic. Our churches once frowned upon and denounced women having children out of wedlock are now just glad that if they don't listen to society and murder their unborn child through abortion. Homosexuality was once seen as the perverted sin as it is but now our country has gay pride parades and the worst thing about it now women are the ones leading those perverted parades forsaking the God given role of being moms to act like men and men acting like women. Don't take God's mercy as God being weak, it says this in 2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance”, that promise that Peter mentions is God's judgment on a sinful, evil world; it says that He is “longsuffering” which means that He is mercifully extending the time until His judgment so that more sinners have the opportunity to repent and turn in faith to salvation in Christ. God will judge sinners and those who refuse His Son will eternally burn in the Lake of Fire. America is committing the act of murder of the unborn and has established a law that gives sinful, silly women that godless right to do so; there are approx. 4,000 abortions a day in America (that's a lot of innocent blood crying out for God's justice). America glorifies in it's sins and justifies it by calling it “tolerance”. In God's eyes it is still sin and America will have to answer for it. Sin brings reproach that means that one becomes disgraced, dishonored, and defeated. We can say that about America today. The disgrace of our supposed leaders both politically and spiritually caught in adulterous affairs, homosexual perversions, embezzling, and taking bribes. We are a disgrace to other nations and we are lost honor and status to other nations. If it continues, I fear that the course we are on will cause our fall as a nation and defeat at the hands of other nations. From all that has happened in just the last 10 years to our nation testifies of a coming defeat. Because this nation and it's leadership openly defies God and seeks to go on without His help, God will abandon this nation to it's sins. The church in America can also be blamed for not making a moral stand against the evil that is taking over this nation. Instead of the church changing the world, the world is changing the church. Now, I know that not all churches have compromised and I thank God for that but we must stand in the gap for this nation, praying like we never have before, that America will turn back to the one, true God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Looking at the news about our economy, disasters (oil spill in Gulf, Katrina, 9/11, wild weather, etc.), and the no-win war in the Middle-East; I believe God is giving us a taste of what it can be like without His presence and blessing on our nation.

Can we be blessed again by God as a nation. Yes, we can, but we have to turn our hearts again to God in repentance and seek Him to heal our land. I'll end with this verse from 2 Chronicles 7:14 - “if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land”. I believe it's time to pray!

Man’s Sinfulness: Doctrine of Total Depravity (Romans 3:10-17; 23)

Man’s Sinfulness: Doctrine of Total Depravity

(Romans 3:10-17; 23)

As we continue in our study of Romans, we see that we have looked at the wrath of God. We have seen that God’s judgment will be against all of those who do not receive Jesus as Lord and Savior, who are still bound in their sins. The question we want answered today is: how sinful is man; How does it affect us? Today we will look at man’s sinfulness and how it affects his character, conversation, and conduct.

I. Sinful Character (vv. 10-12 – “As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one."”)

Paul begins by seemingly answering the question “who is righteous” and the answer is very clear, Paul says, “There is none righteous”. No is sinless or righteous in the eyes of our holy God. Paul then goes on to answer another question that will naturally be brought up in relation to his previous answer, “well, what about Mary or Sister Theresa or Buddha or Gandhi or the Pope or Billy Graham, was she or he sinless or righteous” and his answer is an emphatic “no, not one”. There is not even one person there are no human exceptions. The only One ever born without sin was the God-man, the incarnate Son of God, our sinless Lord Jesus Christ. But other than Christ, mankind is universally evil and there are no exceptions. Paul is stating our absolute lack of righteous before God. Because of our sin nature our whole being is corrupt. The Biblical belief that our sin has tainted and corrupted our all that man is physically, mentally, and spiritually is call the total depravity of man. It doesn’t mean that we are as bad as we can be but that sin has infected every aspect of humanity. Sin has tainted and corrupted every thing we are and has made given us an inability to please God. There is no part of our being free from the stain of sin. The first thing it affects is our character. It has made us evil and separates us from acceptance with God. It affects in such a way that even the good that we humanly do is not even acceptable before God. The word ‘righteous’ that Paul uses is being understood as being right before God. Our evil, depraved nature robs us of pleasing God even in the best that we as humanity does. We have unsaved people that live pretty moral lives and that give help to the needy (like those helping in Haiti or Chile right now) but even in the best that humanity has to offer is still corrupted by our sin nature. There are great differences among people as to their love, kindness, generosity, honesty, etc. But even among the best there are none that come close to Christ’s righteous perfection. That is the standard that God demands, the righteous that God possesses, a righteous that was found only in Christ. Jesus Himself said in Matt. 5:48 – “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect”. For man this is an impossible task. Our depraved, sinful nature prevents us from being perfect. Our inability to save ourselves from sin, to be able to be in a relationship with God is best seen in Rom. 3:23 – “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. It’s like trying to jump from the Hawaiian islands to the coast of California. There are some athletes that can jump 25-30 feet; there are more people that can jump 10-15 feet, or someone like me that are out of shape that can barely jump 3 feet. Although many can do better than me it remains that we are all incapable to jump thousands of miles to the coast of California. Even though there are those who might be morally better people than others, good hearted sinners that have done great things from humanity, the sad fact is that there is none righteous, not even one; all people fall short of the glory of God. It evens says that we are spiritually ignorant (v. 11a), we don’t even have the ability on our own to know the way without God’s guidance (“But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” – 1 Co. 2:14). It also makes our character rebellious, spiritually useless (“dead in trespasses and sins” – Eph. 2:1), and morally corrupt. We are totally lost, blind, and spiritually dead in our sins. We are doomed and there is nothing humanly possible that can change that fact, apart from a saving relationship with Jesus Christ.

II. Sinful Conversation (vv. 13-14 – “Their throat is an open tomb; With their tongues they have practiced deceit; The poison of asps is under their lips; Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness”.)

There is so much more we could say of man’s character but what reveals it best, is his conversation. Jesus said in Mt. 12:34, “for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh”; and in Prov. 10:31-32, “The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, But the perverse tongue will be cut out. The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable, But the mouth of the wicked what is perverse”. There are so many, many more verses just on conversation that we don’t have time to quote them all but it suffices to say this that a person’s real character will certainly be revealed in their conversation. We can see the result of this in the filthy conversations and slanderous gossip on TV and radio. We can also see the results of depraved conversation in the deception of false teachers of cults and false religions. No other time in history has deception been more prevalent than in our times. Jer. 9:3-5 bests describes the deception on our land in these verses, “And like their bow they have bent their tongues for lies. They are not valiant for the truth on the earth. For they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not know Me, says the LORD. Everyone take heed to his neighbor, And do not trust any brother; For every brother will utterly supplant, And every neighbor will walk with slanderers. Everyone will deceive his neighbor, and will not speak the truth; they have taught their tongue to speak lies”. Today, even politicians are noted for their lying and commercials lie about the products they sell. People openly talk of their sins and immorality and talk of the need of people to accept their perverse lifestyles. Corrupt hearts always will produce corrupt conversation.

III. Sinful Conduct (vv. 15-17 – “Their feet are swift to shed blood; Destruction and misery are in their ways; and the way of peace they have not known”)

If sinful mankind’s character and conversation are corrupt then most certainly their conduct will be the same. The conduct of this lost and sinful and godless world is seen the daily news of the evils man has done against man and God. In the United States 3.2% of our population is incarcerated in our prison and jail systems, 1 out of 31 people, that equals roughly 22 million people in jails, prisons, or on parole/probation. That’s just against the laws of the land, the percentage of those sinful before the laws of God are 100%. We have seen great evil committed in wars (ex. Hitler), oppressive governments (Communist China, Muslim countries), and in the daily news (murders, rapes, robberies, etc.). Our own country has made killing unborn children legal, they say that woman have the right to murder their own unborn child. Three states have made it legal to have physician assisted suicide and some have made same-sex marriage legal. Our president on his inauguration day had a homosexual clergy pray for him and also had openly homosexual choir to sing in it. He has overturned by presidential powers the ban against gays in the military. The conduct of the people of this nation shows sins corrupt influence from the top down. The conduct of our nation and other nations are against the God of heaven whose Word condemns them all. God’s judgment is against all who profane and violate His holy Law. God will warn nations and people to repent before it is too late. I just hope that people’s hearts will turn to God in repentance. God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

The picture of mankind’s sinful heart is reveled in three ways: their character, their conversation, and their conduct. It’s true that the entire world is born into total depravity and a total inability to reach God in our own strength and righteousness. But through the work of salvation by Christ, we have the remedy for a sinful heart. The blood of Jesus Christ can cleanse us from all sin and deliver us from the eternal judgment of sin.