Are we too far gone? Is there still yet a hope for repentance and revival in our land? We can see such things in the history of our country, but the times now are incredibly dark. In the Scriptures we see a national repentance take place in Nineveh, and such things give many people hope, but there is a great difference between that people from our own. They were a nation with nothing but Pagan roots, without the light of the Word, the testimonies of the Fathers, or a voice from the Prophets. One could well see how they had progressed so far into wickedness. But when just one Prophet entered their midst and proclaimed their impending judgment they immediately repented in sackcloth and ashes. They did not know the Word of the Lord, but when it was brought to them they heeded it, and the Lord relented of the disaster He would have brought upon them.
But our nation has rather had much access to the Word. It began with men who brought that Word with them. Its institutions were built upon its principles, and its morals and laws were regulated in its light. But there has been a systematic removal and rejection of such things. The will of the people towards sin and self has supplanted the Word. And such things are not merely the secular movings of unbelievers – But individual professed Christians, churches, and whole denominations have also relegated the Word to the back seat. Everyone goes their own way, and they reject the rule of the Word. The old ways of morality determined by the Word, beliefs derived from the Word, and a devotion to know the will of God in the Word are paths taken by fewer and fewer people. And even for those that might seek to know those paths, endless heresies and falsehoods have sprung up to misdirect and confuse people as to which way to go.
The path to eternal life is narrow and few find it… The road to damnation is broad and many travel upon it, but that broad road is made up of many supposed alternatives to the narrow path. People end up thinking that they are on the narrow path leading to life, but the course they are on is actually just a branch off the broad road, a branch born in distortions of the truth. The narrow path, the old way, is nothing short of an absolute and faith-filled surrender to the sovereignty and Lordship of Christ. It requires a repentance from sin, a denial of self, and a genuine love for Christ that shows itself in obedience to His Word. Jn. 14:15 – “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” (NASB)
The frightening consideration is that in our country we began with those who came here seeking to obey that Word. And since then, that Word has been disregarded and distorted by the majority, and we have had ministers who have capitulated and propagated those errors in their various forms. Thus we are not like Nineveh who had no access to the light of the Word, but who responded righteously upon receiving it. Instead, we are more akin to Israel just before its destruction – Because they too had the Word, but had turned away from it. To them, God said in Jer. 18:7-8 – “The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it, if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it.”
But if a nation has already turned its heart from obeying the Word, what are such warnings to them? And so we read in Jer. 18:11b-12 – “…‘Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I am fashioning a disaster and devising a plan against you. Return now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings good.’’ And they said, ‘That is hopeless! So we will walk according to our own plans, and we will every one obey the dictates of his evil heart.” This led to the Lord’s lament in Jer. 18:15b – “…My people have forgotten Me, they have burned incense to worthless idols. And they have caused themselves to stumble in their ways, from the ancient paths, to walk in pathways and not on a highway” And because they had turned their back on God, the Lord, in turn, says according to Jer. 18:17b – “…I will show them My back and not My face in the day of their calamity.”
All things considered, evil leads to God’s judgment. His Word, which is His call to faith, repentance, and righteousness is the only saving response. If that Word is trampled, ignored, or despised it will further accentuate their demise. And once the calamity has come, it is too late to seek His favor. Thus today is the day for repentance, today is the day to seek, heed, and return to the Word. Today is the day to turn away from the false teachers of our time, and to seek out the old paths and the narrow way. The Lord is the only one who can save us from the wrath of the Lord! So as 2Cor. 6:1-2 – “We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For He says: ‘In an acceptable time I have heard you, and in the day of salvation I have helped you.’ Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” We can’t miss this, today is the day of our hope. We can’t look for repentance and revival in some future hour, but it is today we may have his pardon if we repent and turn to Him. Calamity will soon engulf this world, and His judgment will be poured out upon it, but on such a day, as it was in the days of Noah, it will happen suddenly and it will be too late. So then, whatever is the case of the world around you, won’t you put on the sackcloth and ash, repent in dust and ashes, and flee to the Ark that is Christ this very hour!