When does the sin of a nation reach its full measure? Is there a spiritual measurement applied to iniquity that only God knows, or does a nation’s wickedness manifest itself in some form that we can measure as well? If it CAN be measured, then when does the line get crossed and a nation pass the point of redeemability? At what point does God say, “Enough is enough!”?
When does God finally abandon a nation to judgement?
It IS a sobering question. But I believe in the heart of every follower of Christ in America is a growing concern for the status of our nation before Almighty God, the Righteous Judge. Has the corporate spiritual condition of our country taken us past the point of no return? Have we, as a nation, secured our judgement?
The rejection of the Creator is without valid argument. And yet, that is exactly the next step on the road to judgement…REJECTION OF GOD.
21 …but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened
When out of pride the individual rejects the revelation of God (for pride is at the heart of all sin), the sickness of sin will begin to spoil the conscious of the individual so susceptible to its infectious properties. The result of such rebellious thought is a diseased heart.
22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools…
If left unchecked, the sin sickness will metastasize. An unrepentant heart will always seek to employ carnal human logic and reason in an attempt to RATIONALIZE ITS SIN. It is a foolish endeavor to God.
23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles
Once the heart has rejected the revealed Truth of God, and the individual shuns repentance in favor of rationalizing sin, FALSE RELIGION (idolatry) will always follow. A simple theological definition of idolatry would include, “thinking thoughts of God that are not worthy of Him.” Whether that is creating a false God that tolerates sin indulgences, putting faith in a science that worships its perception of the natural and rejects the possibility of the divine, or simply thinking “I am my own God,” idolatry exchanges God’s Truth for evil’s deception.
But does God bring judgement upon a nation as a whole in response to the sins of individuals? When we read of the impending judgement upon the nations of Canaan in Genesis 15 and the fulfillment of their judgement in the book of Joshua, was it simply the result of the collective sin of their inhabitants or was there a visible, measurable manifestation of their wickedness that secured their corporate judgement as well as individual judgement?
A quick word study may shed some light on an answer and put us on the path of discovery.
God decreed that the Canaanites would receive the due penalty of their wickedness WHEN their iniquity was full. The Hebrew word translated in English as “full” or “complete” is שָׁלֵם (adj. shalem ~ shä·lām’) meaning “peaceful”; derived from the root word (v. shalam ~ shä·lam’) “to be at peace with.”
Sound familiar? At the end of process of corruption described in Romans 1, the wicked, unrepentant person will not only approve his sin, but will also promote his sin. When a society begins to tolerate its sin, it will eventually condone and promote its wickedness. What finally follows in this natural progressive order of corruption is a nation that is fully “at peace with” its sin.
When a nation or society is finally “at peace with” its sin, “shalam”, its government and its laws will reflect the heart of its people.
The laws of a society are a reflection of the heart of its people. The spiritual and moral prosperity or decline of a nation can be measured by its laws. The judgement of God is handed down upon a nation when the moral decay reaches the point when iniquity becomes an ordinance, a statute, a LAW of that society – their iniquity has then reached its “full measure.”Unfortunately, I believe the judgement of abandonment has already begun. The future fate of America as a nation does not look promising.
When does God finally abandon a nation to judgement?
It IS a sobering question. But I believe in the heart of every follower of Christ in America is a growing concern for the status of our nation before Almighty God, the Righteous Judge. Has the corporate spiritual condition of our country taken us past the point of no return? Have we, as a nation, secured our judgement?
The rejection of the Creator is without valid argument. And yet, that is exactly the next step on the road to judgement…REJECTION OF GOD.
21 …but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened
When out of pride the individual rejects the revelation of God (for pride is at the heart of all sin), the sickness of sin will begin to spoil the conscious of the individual so susceptible to its infectious properties. The result of such rebellious thought is a diseased heart.
22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools…
If left unchecked, the sin sickness will metastasize. An unrepentant heart will always seek to employ carnal human logic and reason in an attempt to RATIONALIZE ITS SIN. It is a foolish endeavor to God.
23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles
Once the heart has rejected the revealed Truth of God, and the individual shuns repentance in favor of rationalizing sin, FALSE RELIGION (idolatry) will always follow. A simple theological definition of idolatry would include, “thinking thoughts of God that are not worthy of Him.” Whether that is creating a false God that tolerates sin indulgences, putting faith in a science that worships its perception of the natural and rejects the possibility of the divine, or simply thinking “I am my own God,” idolatry exchanges God’s Truth for evil’s deception.
But does God bring judgement upon a nation as a whole in response to the sins of individuals? When we read of the impending judgement upon the nations of Canaan in Genesis 15 and the fulfillment of their judgement in the book of Joshua, was it simply the result of the collective sin of their inhabitants or was there a visible, measurable manifestation of their wickedness that secured their corporate judgement as well as individual judgement?
A quick word study may shed some light on an answer and put us on the path of discovery.
God decreed that the Canaanites would receive the due penalty of their wickedness WHEN their iniquity was full. The Hebrew word translated in English as “full” or “complete” is שָׁלֵם (adj. shalem ~ shä·lām’) meaning “peaceful”; derived from the root word (v. shalam ~ shä·lam’) “to be at peace with.”
Sound familiar? At the end of process of corruption described in Romans 1, the wicked, unrepentant person will not only approve his sin, but will also promote his sin. When a society begins to tolerate its sin, it will eventually condone and promote its wickedness. What finally follows in this natural progressive order of corruption is a nation that is fully “at peace with” its sin.
When a nation or society is finally “at peace with” its sin, “shalam”, its government and its laws will reflect the heart of its people.
The laws of a society are a reflection of the heart of its people. The spiritual and moral prosperity or decline of a nation can be measured by its laws. The judgement of God is handed down upon a nation when the moral decay reaches the point when iniquity becomes an ordinance, a statute, a LAW of that society – their iniquity has then reached its “full measure.”Unfortunately, I believe the judgement of abandonment has already begun. The future fate of America as a nation does not look promising.
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