Why Do We Fear the Direction This Country is Headed?

I haven’t written anything on here for quite a while, & I’m not really sure I’ll be able to adequately explain my thoughts on this subject.

But…

When I see conservative media outlets making doomsday predictions about what will happen to this country as our rights are supposedly slowly stripped away or as we slip into greater moral decline, I am not surprised; they are only doing what any good “news” source is supposed to do–keep their viewers (readers, listeners, etc.) coming back for more. However, when I hear Christians spouting the same talking points, it really grates on me.

Don’t get me wrong, I think part of our duties as salt & light is to try to preserve a moral society for the benefit of all & to expose those things that are evil, so I’m not opposed to pointing out & trying to change those things that we see as wrongs or abuses of this country’s laws. But it really bothers me when Christians take a secular-type of end-of-the-world attitude toward things the government & society are doing.

I have two basic thoughts on these matters:

1. (And this, I think, is the more important of the two) Why should we fear doomsday, end-of-the-world, apocalyptic predictions? Do you not realize or remember what the end of this world means?! It means Christ’s return! It means a new heaven & new earth! It means no more sorrows, no more heartache, no more brokenness! It means we will be like Christ & be able to see God face to face without being consumed! Is this not a wonderful thing? A glorious thing? A thing to be desired not feared?

2. If the end is not near (relative to what we can see of time) and the government does begin to openly oppose & oppress Christianity, so what? Yes, I think we should attempt to prevent that from happening if we can. But is the governmental oppression of Christianity necessarily a bad thing? An evil thing, yes, but all that is evil is not necessarily bad for us in this life. The oppression of Christianity in this country, should it happen, I believe would serve to refine the church as a whole as well as Christians individually. I think we would cease to see nominal Christians; those who continued to claim the name of Christ you could be fairly certain were truly Christians. That is not always true today. I think of other countries where Christians are martyred for holding fast to the Gospel, & I see a strength of faith that is largely absent in this countr]y (I include myself in that accusation). I WANT that kind of faith. I DESIRE to be so absolutely secure in Christ that I can completely, honestly say, “If God is for me, who can be against me?” I believe that there are many like myself who will have difficulty reaching that point unless we are forced to it by the stripping of our luxuries & distractions. This does not mean that I don’t believe God’s Word & do not trust in His promises, but it does mean that I struggle to live them out on a daily basis.

“I believe; help my unbelief!”

America will fall. The United States will inevitably disintegrate. The Stars and Stripes will bleed. The White House will turn to rubble. That is certain. We stand like Augustine before the sea. We pray that God will spare our nation. If He chooses not to, we ask for the grace to accep[t its demise. In either case, we look to Him who is our King and to heaven, which is our home. We await the city of God, the heavenly Jerusalem, whose builder and maker is God.

R.C. Sproul