The title of the blog today is a quote from the great English statesman, William Gladstone. He was the Prime Minister four different times spread out over a few years. I wonder what Mr. Gladstone would think about his beloved country today. It is a shell of her former self with regular knifings and rape gangs throughout several of its cities. Crime is rampant. The city of London hasn’t changed its name officially, but a lot of Brits, with love of England’s history and culture, sometimes refer to their capital city as Londonistan. Mosques are being built throughout Great Britain, city and countryside, while Christian churches are closing. Parts of London live under Sharia Law, the police don’t patrol them, despite the denials by Islamic officials. The mayor of London is named Sadiq Khan, a Sunni Muslim. According to the Daily Beast news site, he at one time “sucked up to extremist in the past but congratulations for him and the voters are in order.” He has been elected for the third time as mayor because the Muslim population has exploded with immigration and births.
I’m not English, I am an American. I understand the past connection of the Pilgrims fleeing England because of religious persecution and ultimately the influence the British passed along to us. But is America only a few years behind Britain? It sure seems that way as an observer of our culture. This morning, I was reading Romans. The first few chapters are a sobering read about the nature of man. The sinful nature of man is always at enmity against God. Romans 3:18 declares, “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” If that doesn’t hit us in the face as to the condition we find ourselves as a country, we have our heads in the sand.
A description of people and their nature as individuals and nations can be found in Romans 3:13-17, the verses that precede the verse used earlier, verse 18. “Their throat is an open sepulcher” which the Amplified calls “a yawning grave.” One person’s life after another is consumed by the words, metaphorically a yawning grave, not only said privately but touted publicly. “…with their tongues they have used deceit: the poison of asps is under their lips.” I told one of our men two days ago “a lie will be half way around the world before the truth gets its boots on.” Verses 13 and 14 both have the connection of our words and the evil nature of them. The half-brother of Jesus, James, wrote in this little letter which bears his name that the “tongue is set on fire of Hell.” Verse 15 changes from the mouth to the feet. The evil that lurks in the natural man doesn’t confine itself to words. It moves into action. “Their feet are swift to shed innocent blood:” The actions of these wicked don’t seek to find the wicked and hurt them they seek “innocent” blood. As much as we hear that abortion has been overturned, that’s simply not true. It simply has been returned to the states to decide for themselves. Some states have limited the atrocity while others openly embrace it. Pharmaceutical companies have stepped up though. Now instead of having to actually go to a facility to terminate the baby, they have made it so much easier. They have a pill you can take without any hassle. No fear of God in the taking of innocent life. “Destruction and misery are in their ways.” That’s how 3:16 describes what is left in their path. In ancient warfare, think Assyria for one, when conquering an enemy barbarianism was the operating procedure. The Assyrian’s would take little children by the heels and sling them against rocks, killing them instead of dragging them back as slaves. That is what the word destruction is a picture of. A friend and mentor of mine is named Bil Monroe. He pastors in Florence, SC. Dr. Monroe, said to me over thirty years ago, “He would rather build the lives of boys and girls than mend the lives of men and women.” The emphasis at the Baptist Temple was on kids. As much as he wanted to save the kids from heartache, he knew that mending destroyed men and women were still a part of what they had to do. Evil that dwells in the heart knows no restraint or remorse unless the Spirit of God convicts. A good Bible word is “reprove.” A place it is found is John 16. “The way of peace they have not known.” Always looking for a conflict. Is it any wonder that Jesus spoke about “wars and rumors of wars?” Why all this evil, destruction, hate, and misery? Why does it look like mankind looks for new and greater ways to sin? Go back to verse 18. “No fear of God before their eyes.”
For the Christian what is the benefit of fearing the Lord? Three quick things.
1. Fearing the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Proverbs 1:7. The greatest thinkers of all time in my opinion feared God. Even unsaved men and women that did great things had a fear of the Lord.
2. Fearing the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Proverbs 9:10. You want to get wise and have great discernment? It all begins with the Lord.
3. Fearing the Lord means we hate evil. Proverbs 8:13. We don’t hate people but we also do not white-wash sin and evil deeds.
Solomon closed Ecclesiastes with an admonition as an old man. He had lived, not always as a wise man even though he’s called the wisest. After going hard after things men seek such as money, fame, women and honor, he heads toward the end of his life by writing, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments.: for this is the whole duty of man” (Ecclesiastes 12:13). So, how do we fight against the fear of the Lord dying? We begin with us. It starts with me. I must live life with the fear of the Lord. I can’t make another person fear the Lord but I can live it personally and I should live it personally. You should do the same. If enough of God’s people lived with the fear of the Lord it would make a huge difference in their community, their county, their country and ultimately the world. Will this happen? Probably not. Hope doesn’t spring eternal in my heart that it will happen. But I can make it happen in my life and so can you.