Few in the body of Christ would deny that America has fallen into unprecedented moral depravity. The question is, who is to blame? Is it the politicians? Hollywood? The liberal media? I’m inclined to think that we should lay a big part of the blame on the pulpits of the nation. Let me tell you why.
In July of 2022, the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined a cause of death in socialite Ivana Trump’s sudden death. She suffered blunt impact injuries to her torso from falling down a staircase in her home. According to authorities, her body was found next to a spilled cup of coffee.
Every year in the United States, there are 12,000 deaths that result from falling down stairs. There would be very few if people determined to never let go of the handrail. But, they don’t always hold on to that rail—because they underestimate the power of gravity. It’s an unseen killer.
The fear of God is the handrail of which we must never let go. This is because we are surrounded by invisible forces that have proven to be deadly. After describing the universal depravity of man in Romans 3, Paul gives us the reason for all the wickedness of this world in verses 10-18: “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
Why doesn’t this world understand? Why are they so filled with deceit, cursing, bitterness, and never-ending violence? Because there is no fear of God before their eyes. Sadly, the doctrine of the fear of the Lord is frowned on by many in the contemporary Church. God is love and, therefore, shouldn’t be feared. But Scripture says differently. It tells us that the “fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10). Those who don’t fear God haven’t even begun to get wise. It also tells us that the fear of God is what causes men and women to depart from evil (Proverbs 16:6).
After the Apostle Paul describes the wickedness of human nature, he prescribes the cure. The following verse gives us the answer to the problem of evil that’s caused by a lack of the fear of God. It tells us of the function of God’s Law. Preached lawfully, the moral Law has the ability to put the fear of God into the hearts of careless and sin-loving sinners.
But, modern preachers have failed to do this, and that has resulted in a Church that has no fear of God. That has further resulted in a lack of moral influence upon the nation. We have lost our saltiness. Jesus said that flavorless salt is “good for nothing but to be…trampled underfoot by men” (Matthew 5:13). And that’s the state of the modern Church in America. It has become irrelevant. Meanwhile, the world sinks further into moral depravity.
All this has happened because thousands of the unsaved have entered our pulpits. We no longer suspect this. We now know it to be true. Dr. George Barna, in 2022, released research revealing that at least one-third of senior pastors in the United States believe we can earn a place in Heaven by being a good person. Other pastors said that moral truth is subjective, fornication is “morally acceptable,” and biblical teaching on the slaughter of babies in the womb is “ambiguous.” They have forgotten about the Sixth Commandment.
These findings reveal that these pastors are not regenerated by the Holy Spirit. Their convictions fly in the face of the words of Jesus Himself (see John 14:6). They, therefore, believe in a different Jesus and preach another gospel: “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works. I say again, let no man think me a fool; if otherwise, yet as a fool receive me, that I may boast myself a little.” (2 Corinthians 11:13-16)
May God raise up faithful shepherds who will fearlessly and faithfully preach righteousness in the great congregation.
