Faith Baptist Church
4258 Botetourt Road
Fincastle, Virginia 24090
(540) 473-2325
There is an answer to our individual, national, and international problems and it is found in this passage of Scripture. It may seem too simple minded to some folks, but the basic truth is that if mankind wants to have peace and prosperity and the pursuit of happiness he is going to have to acknowledge and accept his own sinfulness. Until then mankind will be selfish and either hoard what others have and not share, or mankind will be selfish and wallow in self pity always blaming others for their sad circumstances.
Mankind will need to repent and establish a right relationship to God by turning to Christ for salvation if he expects to find this peace. Mankind will to have to put away his sinful practices and establish an understanding of the person of God and have a righteous respect for God’s word and His wisdom. The outward expression of this relationship with God will be seen, and God will deliver such folks and their nations from their personal and national plight.
“And Samuel spoke unto all the house of Israel, saying, #1. If ye do return unto the Lord with all your heart, then # 2. put away the foreign gods (all beliefs that deny the Lord Jesus Christ) and Ashtaroth (goddess of fertility and sexual fixations) from among you, and # 3. prepare your hearts unto the Lord (learn of Him in the Bible) and # 4. serve him only (outward expressions of obedience to God’s word as coming from the heart) then
# 5 God will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines, (or deliver an individual or a nation from the hand of God’s judgment.) When this change of attitude takes place in our life we start to breathe again; we start to enjoy the important things in life again and we stop putting ourselves and our wants ahead of the welfare of those around us. But when we maintain a selfish disobedient attitude toward God we must expect a lot of personal; national, and international unrest.
Ps.2:1-3 “Why do the nations rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? (here comes the reason why) v.2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed, (Jesus Christ) saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us,”
This prophesy tells the intent of fallen mankind; an intent to strip away all authority of God from the earth as the unsaved work to break their conscience away from God.
The word imagine used in Ps.2:1 is the same as the word meditate as used in Ps.1:2. These words come from the Hebrew word, haga, and it means to think within yourself and then to mutter or speak to yourself. It is confirmation through deliberation. The contrast of thinking among people is evident throughout the world.
The righteous person meditates on God’s word daily, but the ungodly meditate on vain things and the one thing common to the lost is that they meditate on how to rid their conscience of God’s authority and presence. They want to get rid of all signs that point to God so they go throughout the land trying to rid national monuments and public buildings and so forth of the presence of God and his word.
It is also said in v.2 that the kings of the earth set themselves. The word set means to take a stand. The unsaved as a majority of people take a stand against the Lord.
They take counsel together against the Lord and his Christ. This disobedient ebb and flow of sinful human behavior which has gone on for over six thousand years will continue until the second coming of Jesus Christ after the tribulation period.
Notice also that it is not just the rulers and kings that push toward independence from God. The nations, i.e. the masses in humanity; its people, have the same mind-set. Godless leadership is often just a reflection of a Christless people, it is the reflection of their own unbelief in Jesus Christ.
The unsaved may have different religions and different philosophical ideas about government and economics as one author has rightly said, but all in all they still have one thing in common: get rid of God, and especially his Son, Jesus Christ.
Rom.1:21-22 “Because when they knew God (conscious awareness through creation) they glorified him not as God, neither were they thankful, but became vain (aorist passive indicative verb) in their imaginations, and their foolish heart (kardia - the expression side of the soul) was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.”
-Failure of an individual or a nation to put Jesus Christ first will eventually bring both poverty and oppression to a people.
The social injustice in which they live is most unfortunate, but it is also the fruit of a godless person and a godless society in a world in which God’s arms are wide open as displayed on the cross of Calvary.
God cannot and he will not bless an individual or a nation that turns away his Son, Jesus Christ. God’s justice cannot and will not allow his holiness to be associated in any way so as to bless those billions of folks living on foreign soil who worship any other personage or idea than the one found in Jesus Christ. He is the Father’s manifestation of love and righteousness to the world, Rom.1:16-17.
In a society where the gospel message is spurned, freedoms are lost to tyranny and religious oppression. Jesus Christ can only set free those who want him. And for those individuals who receive Christ who live in poor conditions the grace of God will supply their needs as only he knows how.
When enough people who have suffered from oppression and poverty have been set free in their souls by salvation in Christ, then God will provide the means for them to also be set free from political and economic slavery.
The soul must be free before the body is ready to go out and be used as an instrument of God to make a stand to establish and uphold God’s righteous standards.
God will exponentially make good things happen in a nation when he sees enough people who love him and respect him. When God sees enough people who will sustain a work for him, then wonderful blessing follow.
When individuals and nations reap righteous seeds they reap righteous fruits.
We live a nation where it is unfortunate that many people want a great harvest of blessings without first putting forth the effort. We want big returns on minimal investments of blood, sweat and tears.