When We Turn Away From God

 


“I really can’t understand how people can live without God. Our American culture has grown increasingly Godless, and as people no longer have a relationship with their Creator, as they once did in this country, our nation is becoming more violent, more perverse, and more evil and wicked.
 
It’s not like people don’t know about God. But today, fewer and fewer will even acknowledge Him, much less seek to learn of Him, know Him and serve Him…” [1]
 
 
Say the beginning lines of a piece written by Rob Pue for a publication called News With Views, and like him, I can’t really understand it either.  I had always believed in God, but before I actually began reading the Bible for myself, God seemed like a being distant from and uninvolved in the affairs of His creation including man, leaving all things to chance, but when I began reading the Bible for myself, I read about a God who was far from being distant and uninvolved, but about a God actively involved in the affairs of men---of which I and many others can testify personally---and a God full of love and mercy towards those willing to receive it, as well as a God of deliverance and justice; a God to be adored and praised as well as feared and revered.  I found nothing unfair or unjust about His moral standards, but I also discovered that I could not fully live up to them no matter how hard I tried and I knew that it was going to take more than my own merit to place me in right standing with my Creator but that only by His grace and mercy could I ever through repentance be delivered from what would otherwise be an eternity filled with an unrelenting torment which then in short led me to place my trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, calling upon His name in all sincere faith and repentance, trusting in His redemptive work on the cross on my behalf for my sins and believing that He rose from the dead so that I would be saved by my faith in Him alone and not in anything that I could do.  The Gospel message was an easy message for me to receive and it is the most simple way to God and yet so hard for many to receive and for several reasons that could range anywhere from an honest skepticism to taking pleasure in sin instead of righteousness and loving the things of darkness more than the light.  And there is also such a blindness that has been cast over multitudes by means of various philosophies, creeds, doctrines, religions, as well as lies, misunderstandings, and misrepresentations concerning the faith and if their eyes would be open to the truth of God, then they would be without any excuse for their unbelief and unrepentance.
 
And once more how could anyone in their right mind willfully reject the love and mercy that God offers to us all except that somehow, whether he is honest enough to admit it or not, he is in his heart and soul at enmity with God and takes too much pleasure in his sin to seek redemption.
 
Pue then goes on to tell of a time when the people of this nation once loved, adored, revered, and feared the Lord God Almighty:
 
 
 
“But there was a time in our American history when God was first and foremost in the lives of almost everyone. Even in the public schools, children were taught to read from the Bible. The famous “McGuffey Readers” used in public schools were filled with Scripture lessons as well. Pastors preached the whole Word of God from their pulpits and they taught and led their flocks with courage and conviction. Families prayed together and stayed together. There was a reverence for God. It seems those days are gone now.” [2]
 
 
 
And how it is that we as a nation would turn to the worship of a God by whose goodness and grace we have so benefited is, what can I say, something that cannot be fathomed any more than the people of Israel turning away from the God by whose goodness and grace they had also benefited, who had chosen them to be His representative nation to the world on the earth entrusted them with the teachings and instruction of His written Word and revelation to all the world, and who walked among them as a man, performing miracles undeniably proving His claim to deity and Messiahship and yet the same ones who listened to His teachings and witnessed the miracles He performed handed Him over to be cruelly scourged, beaten, and then finally put to death on a cross.
 
With the rejection of the Creator comes a rejection of truth and with that comes a spiritual decline and with a spiritual decline also comes a moral decline, an increase in corporate greed, civic corruption, media and academic deception, depraved entertainment, social unrest and instability, and hypocrisy within the religious establishment.  The rejection of our Creator leads to the rejection of His moral standards and to the embracing of everything that is sinful and evil in His sight and eventually, wickedness will reach a measure at which point, it must be judged and punished and that includes the judgment of those who take pleasure in those things sinful and evil in the sight of the Lord.  Only sincere and heartfelt repentance will delay the day of judgment but an increasingly unrepentant rejection of God and His moral standards will only hasten that day.  The sooner that we began to seek the Lord God who made the heavens and the earth and that we do so in all sincerity, the better.
 
The Lord God gave the following admonishment through the prophet Jeremiah:
 
 
 
At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it; If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them.  And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it; If it do evil in my sight that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good wherewith I said I would benefit them. (Jer. 18:7-10)
 
 
 
Thousands of years later, Puritan leader John Winthrop also warned:
 
 
 
…if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken , and so cause him to with draw his present help from us, we shall be made a story and a by word through the world. We shall open the mouths of enemies to speak evil of the ways of God, and all professors for God's sake.
We shall shame the faces of many of God's worthy servants, and cause their prayers to be turned into curses upon us till we be consumed out of the good land whither we are agoing. [3]
 
 
 
But we have dealt falsely with our God upon whose laws, precepts, counsels, and principles our nation was founded and to whom its establishment was credited.  As commentator Mike Huckabee observed:
 
 
 
we've systematically have attempted to remove God
from our schools, our public activities, but then at the moment we have
a calamity we wonder where He was...It's far more than just taking
prayer or Bible reading out of the schools; its the fact that people
sue a city so that we aren't confronted with a manger scene or Christmas carol,
and lawsuits are filed to remove a cross that's a memorial to fallen soldiers.
Churches and Christian owned businesses are told to surrender their values
under the edict of government orders to provide tax funded abortion pills.
We carefully and intentionally stop saying things are sinful and we call them disorders;
sometimes, we even say they're normal, and to get to where we
have to abandon bedrock moral truths:…we've escorted Him right out of our culture
and we've marched Him off the public square, and then we express
our surprise that a culture without Him actually reflects what it's become. [4]
 
 
 
Should it then be any coincidence that as Laura Hollis, writing for the Epoch Times pointed out, that we should be faced with such a rejection of truth that many are led to reject even the most basic of facts?  She states:
 
 
 
Where we once had a society that held science in the highest esteem, we now hear that men can become women and vice versa by sheer force of will (whether or not assisted by drugs or surgery). But this is impossible as a matter of chromosomal biology. We once believed women needed distinct, safe spaces for themselves and that they deserved equal opportunities in sports. Now biological males who “identify” as female are permitted to expose themselves to girls and women in bathrooms and locker rooms and are taking women’s places and awards in sporting events. Anyone who dares raise objections rooted in biology or basic fairness is denounced as a “hater” or a “transphobe.” [5]
 
 
Also the increase in lawlessness and injustice.
 
 
 
...our cities are cesspools, literally, with puddles of urine and piles of feces on the sidewalks. Hundreds of thousands of homeless people—many suffering from addiction and mental illness—live in garbage-ridden clusters of ramshackle “tents,” if they have any shelter at all. Citizens who object to the filth, the crime, or the public use of drugs are told that homeless people have the “right” to live where and as they do or even that it is more “compassionate” to leave them to their fate.
 
Criminals, too, are now released back onto the streets without even the need to post bail, where they are free to continue victimizing others, while citizens who defend themselves or others find themselves arrested and prosecuted… And the myriad cases being brought against Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump are shocking examples of conflicts of interest, abuse of process, and arguably unconstitutional double standards of selective prosecution by corrupt and partisan attorneys and judges. [6]
 
 
 
And if the evil and corrupt powers that be think they can get away with doing that to Donald Trump, Rudy Guliani, Mike Flynn and other high profile and influential figures, how much more so with people like you and I.
 
Furthermore, the minds of students, starting at a very young age are being poisoned with the most preposterous and toxic forms of indoctrination, and they are being exposed to moral filth and depravity in our schools to which they ought not, but it needs to be noted that students at every level of academia have been lied to and deceived for roughly a century; it just so happens that the lies and the deception grows worse and more blatant with each passing generation.
 
First, teachers and professors started lying to our students about the origins of life.  Then they began to lie to them about history.  Then they began to poison them against the values, morals, principles, and precepts by which we have greatly benefited and which are necessary for the preservation of societal order and stability as well as for the protections and preservation of civil rights and Constitutional liberties.  They then proceed to corrupt the innocence of the children and convince students at every grade level to reject even the most basic of facts.
 
Hollis then goes on to list another manifested consequence of the spiritual and moral decline of our nation:
 
 
 
Our federal government does not protect the integrity of our borders or the citizens residing within; it allows millions of people to pour into the country illegally and even sues border states trying to enforce immigration law. Despite the number of U.S. citizens victimized by crimes committed by illegal aliens, the government does nothing. [7]
 
 
 
The perils from within are endangering us to the perils from without and are purposely doing so.
And the consequences of the spiritual and moral decline in our nation that Hollins list is but a fraction of the consequences that we are experiencing and the dangers that we are facing.  We are also faced with an astronomical amount of debt which, if not reversed, is going to bring about an economic catastrophe of the likes not ever seen in the history of our nation, a constant undermining and assault on our God-given liberties, excessive taxation and regulations that either hinder our ability to access our own resources or prevent us from doing so altogether making us dependent upon foreign resources which includes resources from nations hostile to our nation, and which also inhibit our ability to be as self-sufficient as we possibly can or prevent us from doing so altogether and thus force us into a state of dependency which will inevitably lead us into a state of bondage and captivity under the rulership of tyrants and oppressors.
 
And it is all because we have abandoned the very source of the principles and virtues from which stability, order, liberty, justice, and prosperity are produced.  These things do not come from our government, academia, the media, or even our respective places of worship and religious organizations.  They do not even come from within us nor are they a product of happenstance, but rather they come, as is observed in our own Declaration of Independence, from the God who made us [8] for as He is the source of all life so is He also the source of truth, law, justice, and morality for He is the way, the truth, and the life; (Jn. 14:6) apart from Him is lawlessness, injustice, lies, falsehood, deceit, treachery, chaos, disorder, unrest, instability, misery, darkness, evil, corruption, and oppression at every level, branch, and sector of society.
 
But in the Creator comes liberty, order, stability, rest, peace, contentment, and the principles necessary for the establishment of stable households, religious establishments that faithfully serve as the spiritual and moral conscience of society, a trustworthy academia, a reliable media, a principled private sector, and a just form of government with the best interests of the public at heart.
 
Though times may change and generations and authorities come and go, there are certain things that remain unchangeable and yet it is those things that are fixed and unchangeable that are abandoned and rejected in favor of that which is relative and subject to change with the times starting with truth and as Hollis points out, the abandonment of truth leads to the moral decline and increasing social unrest and instability we are witnessing today:
 
 
 
Worse than all of these—indeed, at the root of all of these—is the abandonment of truth. Without truth, all arguments collapse like sandcastles. But for many of today’s most visible and vocal intellectuals, academic theorists, and thought leaders, there is no such thing as objective truth; there is “my truth” and “your truth”; or “power” and “patriarchy” and “class warfare” and “systemic racism” and “heterosexism” and “ableism” and other “isms” that replicate like bacteria. [9]
 
 
 
And with the rejection of truth comes its suppression.  As Rob Pue states in his piece:
 
 
 
I’ve never before seen a generation that is so adept at suppressing the truth. Suppressing the truth has become commonplace, not just in public and private life, but even mandated by social media, news media and our government, to name just a few. [10]
 
 
 
In order for lies to prevail in the hearts and minds of men, truth must be suppressed and silence by any and all means possible.  In America, the suppression of truth often comes in the form of ridicule, intimidation, discrimination, ostracization by friends and family, divorce or threats of divorce by spouses, loss of jobs and careers especially in fields of science, academia, media, and the entertainment industry, destruction of livelihoods, censorship by social media platforms, boycotts of businesses that dare to preach and stand for that which is truth, but that is where it all begins.
 
In other nations, the suppression of truth takes on more severe forms such as fines, confiscation of or destruction of property, imprisonment, torture, violence, and even death at the hands of both government and fellow citizens and not only to them, but also to the friends, supporters, and family members of those who dare to speak any truth.
 
But truth need not forcibly suppress or silence lies in order to prevail.  It prevails by providing a strong case and defense of itself founded in reason, logic, and in the presentation of infallible evidences by which it is vindicated in the hearts, minds, and souls of men.
 
Unlike lies which are subject to change and which are many and diverse, truth never changes but always remains the same, just as the source of all truth never changes (Mal. 3:6) but always remains the same (Heb. 13:8) and all that which is founded and anchored to an unchanging truth will never be subject to change as well.   Lies bring confusion whereas truth brings clarity.  Lies sow mistrust and division whereas truth brings unity.  Lies contradict themselves but truth is always consistent.  Lies obscure but truth exposes all, and most important of all, truth makes us free (Jn. 8:32) and if truth sets us free, then where do lies lead us?
 
If freedom began with truth, then bondage, oppression, and tyranny always began with a lie.
And if God created the world to be a world of freedom, then it is only because truth had once reigned and lies were never present and because truth reigned, so did life, light, goodness, peace, contentment, happiness, and joy and it was truth that maintained a perfect unity and harmony between God, man, and nature and there was nothing withheld from mankind except for one thing.  A tree called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, having been warned of God that in the day that they ate therefrom, they would surely die, (Gen. 2:16-17, 3:3) but what lead the first man Adam and the first woman Eve who was the wife of Adam and from whom all of mankind is descended into doing that which was forbidden to them was a lie; a lie told to them by an evil spirit at enmity with God who beforehand used to serve at the throne of God in Heaven until he was lifted up in pride and thought he could make himself equal to God and claim for himself that which belonged to God alone and as a consequence, he, along with all who sided with him against God, were cast from their positions. (Is. 14:11-21, Ezek. 28:12-19)
 
That evil spirit was known as Lucifer who then became Satan or the Devil and after having been cast from his position in Heaven for attempting to make himself equal to God, crept into the newly created world in the form of a serpent and became the father of lies (Jn. 8:44) when he deceived the first woman Eve into eating of that forbidden fruit who then gave the fruit also to her husband Adam who joined her in the transgression and the lies that led them into that first act of disobedience were that they would not surely die as they had been warned and that they would become like gods; elevated to a state of being superior to the one in which they had first been create (Gen. 3:4-5) but after having eaten of that forbidden fruit, the only thing to which they had become enlightened was the shame of nakedness which they tried to hide (Gen. 3:7) because rather than being made superior to what they already were, they were reduced to an inferior status, and, just as they had been warned, the sentence of death was placed upon them. (Gen. 3:19) to which they eventually succumbed.
 
But the sentence of death did not end with just Adam and Eve, because when they had eaten of that forbidden fruit, something entered into them that resulted in their eventual deaths and what resulted in their deaths is a condition that entered into them that changed their nature into something that it was not before they had committed the transgression and opposite in nature to what God created mankind to be and that corrupted condition which transformed their inward person is what the Bible calls sin and it is sin that not only brought death to Adam and Eve, but it also brought death to the rest of us who are descendants of Adam and Eve (Rom. 5:12) for since we all descend from that first man and that first woman, we have also inherited them that same corrupted nature which causes us to all sin and fall short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23) and as a consequence die, for as it is written, the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23) and what must be understood about sin is that it is not just an act of evil, bad behavior, or ill-spoken words.  It is far more than that.  It is the inward corrupted nature of mankind that doesn’t just influence our behavior, actions, or even our speech, but it also perverts and darkens our thoughts, hardens our hearts, corrupts our motives, and produces within us wrong attitudes which is why it is written that man is not defiled by that which is from without, but only by that which resides from within us because it is that which resides within us that produces the manifested evils that we witness and even experience firsthand. (Mt. 15:11, 18-20)
 
But the effects of sin have not been confined to just man, but have extended to all of creation which is why it is written that the entire creation groans and travails in pain to this very day (Rom. 8:19-22) because every type, sort, degree, kind, and severity of grief, misery, sorrow, suffering, pain, adversity, and hardship are due to the curse brought upon it because of sin.
 
Furthermore, the disobedience of Adam diminished the dominion over the earth that God had initially given to man as his disobedience gave Satan justification to claim lordship over the nations and kingdoms of the earth (Mt. 4:8-9, Lk. 4:6-7) which is why he is called the prince of this world. (Jn. 12:31, 16:11)
 
So by a lie was man subjugated to the tyranny of sin and with it death, thus making Satan who led man into the eating of that forbidden fruit which brought sin and death into the world not only a liar, but also a murderer as well. (Jn. 8:44)
By that lie did Satan also usurp the dominion that was initially given to man (Gen. 1:26) which is why he is called a thief (Jn. 10:10)
And by that lie was all of creation also subjugated to every kind of misery, grief, sorrow, pain, hardship, adversity, suffering, and evil known to man and not only that but also to a slow decay and death which is why Satan is also called a destroyer. (v. 10)
 
But worst of all is that due to this lie, man, being born into sin by way of the inwardly corrupt nature inherited from Adam and Eve into whom sin first entered, is made estranged from his Creator; separated from the God with whom he would otherwise experience a perfect fellowship and unity and just as lies led Adam and Eve into a bondage and oppression that they had never anticipated, so lies continue to keep men from experiencing the liberty that God had created them to experience and bondage and captivity begins not from without, but from within and the loss of freedom begins within the heart, mind, and soul and once the liberty of the mind, heart, and soul are lost, the loss of external liberties soon follow.
 
And just as the reign of sin and death began with a lie that promised greater things to Adam and Eve than what they already had, so in the same way is a tyrannical and oppressive reign established; through the false promises and deceitful assurances of an offer of something better and more just than the established powers, influences, and system and when the promise of “better things” is embraced, it never turns out to be better, but far worse than what was before and once established, it then seeks to stamp out all dissenting voices, powers, and influences by any and all means possible in order to hold captive the souls that it has lured into submitting themselves to its power and control and the way that a despotic regime holds onto power is by holding captive minds, hearts, and souls and the same spirit that is leading multitudes to reject the unchanging truth that comes from God is also that same spirit that seeks to suppress it by any means it can in order to keep deceived they who have believed its lies and who is the author and maker of despotism and tyranny whereas the source of truth is the author of liberty, first of the soul, then of the body, and finally all of creation itself and who will be the Creator of the utopia for which we have so longed. 
 
The father of lies does not mind that men seek out and attain certain external liberties just as long as they are kept blind to the bondage of the soul for just as he falsely assured that no judgment would befall Adam and Eve from eating of the forbidden fruit, so he falsely assures multitudes that there is no danger of judgment leading many to engage in all by which subjects the soul to eternal damnation and those whom he cannot assure that there is no danger of judgment, he causes to trust in their outward merit to escape the fiery torments and darkness of hell, keeping them blind to the fact that it is not just outward behavior, actions done, and words spoken that will be taken into account, but also the thoughts, motives, and attitudes of the inward man as well for if the eyes of men were open to his inward condition and to its inherently corrupt state, only then might they call upon the God who is able to redeem them out of their sins and rescue them from what would otherwise be an eternity of everlasting torment but the adversary of God fights every day to keep the doors of Heaven shut to men and to suppress all that might lead sinful man to redemption because Satan is not just the destroyer of life, he is also the destroyer of the soul. 
It is not just the body that the enemy of God seeks to hold captive unto destruction, but it is also the very soul that inhabits the body that he seeks to hold captive unto eternal destruction for in his enmity and rage against God, he seeks to bring destruction to all that God has created and he has done this by way of both force and through many subtleties, lies, falsehoods, manipulations, and deceptions by leading as many as he can into the things that bring death and destruction not just to themselves, but to their fellowman, and to the rest of creation and there is coming a day when the sin, evil, and darkness brought into the world by Satan will reach its measure and when it reaches that certain measure, then there will be no other remedy apart from a cleansing judgment that will wipe off the earth all evil and all that is sin, but that judgment will also require the elimination from the earth all who are in sin and who take pleasure in the things of darkness and that are evil in the sight of the Lord and by no means can the Creator of Heaven and earth admit into His Kingdom that which is in sin lest Heaven itself be defiled as earth itself has been defiled because sin, which lives inside every man, woman, and child and which corrupts every heart, mind, and soul, taints, twists, distorts, corrupts, and ultimately destroys all that it touches but nevertheless God Almighty delays His judgment because He is a God of love and mercy and in His love and mercy for mankind, He is not willing that any of them should perish but that all would come to repentance (2 Pet. 3:9) and therefore, He daily offers mercy, grace, and forgiveness to any and all who will call upon Him for it and who will submit themselves to His divine authority and Kingship and thus to all willing to repent of their sins, He has provided redemption but not of our goodness which, due to sin always present within us, falls short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23) but by His own goodness which is perfect which makes Him perfect in love and mercy and in His perfect love and mercy, He on our behalf came to earth to pay the demanded penalty for all sin in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior which was done through the shedding of His blood upon the cross on which He was crucified for since He was without sin (2 Cor. 5:21, Heb. 4:15) He was able to be that perfect and unblemished sacrifice (Heb. 7:26-27) needed to take away our sins and after having offered Himself up to be put to death on our behalf, He was raised again from the dead so that we by faith may be justified in Him (Rom. 4:25) if we will, in sincere faith and repentance, call upon His name for the forgiveness of sins so that we may be saved from what would be an everlasting damnation. (Rom. 10:13)
 
And it is the forgiveness of sins that reconciles us to our Creator (2 Cor. 5:18) and along with it, a spiritual transformation (2 Cor. 5:17) that causes us to no longer desire to follow after selfish and worldly pursuits but after those things that pertain to the Kingdom of Heaven, (Mt. 6:33)
to no longer take pleasure in those things that are evil and displeasing in the sight of the Lord, but in that which is good, right, and pleasing in His sight,
to no longer desire to walk in the lies of this present world, but only in the truth that comes from Christ Almighty, (Jn. 14:6) no longer placing our hopes in the things of this present world, but looking forward to that new and better world to come, (Rev. 21-22)
to no longer rely on worldly resources, men, or even our own power, abilities, skills, and wisdom for our needs and provision but upon God who is able to meet all of our needs, (Mt. 6:25-33) recognizing that the resources of this world and even the people He brings into our lives are but instruments and vessels through which God meets our needs and that the skills, power, knowledge, and wisdom by which we might acquire our provision are provided and instilled in us by God,
to no longer fear what men can do to us, but rather fearing the God before whom we will have to one day give an account for how we lived our lives, (Mt. 10:28)
to no longer look to corruptible institutions within our society for direction and order in our lives but to God who, by His written Word has given us laws and precepts to be applied to our lives and which serve to produce and maintain an ordered life, and who, by His Holy Spirit which comes to dwell within us upon repentance, establishes in our lives a course and direction in our lives to pursue for His glory,
to no longer seek our own glory but the glory of God,
to no longer rally behind corruptible men, but instead behind the incorruptible God in Heaven bearing in mind that those men and women God raises up for our edification are but instruments and servants of His for that respective purpose to which He has called them,
to no longer seek to align ourselves with the things of darkness but only with the things of the light,
to no longer trust in the wisdom of the world but only on the wisdom and knowledge that comes from above, nor depend on corruptible earthly authorities to swiftly administer justice, but only in the power of God to deliver us from evil.
 
And just as our souls are liberated from judgment through the cleansing of our sins, so one day, we will be made free of bodily death as well when our bodies which were born into sin are changed from that which is corruptible and in which sin dwells into that which is incorruptible and in which dwells no sin (1 Cor. 15:51-55, 1 Thess. 4:13-18) for in which dwells no sin, dwells no death and finally, creation itself will be liberated from the curse by which it is afflicted when Satan, who by a lie, brough ruin to it by causing sin and death to enter into it through the disobedience of man, is cast out of the world and faces his final sentence when he, and all who have sided with him, are forever cast into a lake of fire in which they will be tormented for all eternity, (Rev. 20:10-15)  and the creation itself is made anew for when it is made anew, it will be a place in which there will be no sin, no death or decay, no evil, nor any curse, nor any grief, suffering, misery, sorrow, pain, hardship, or adversity, but only peace, contentment, joy, happiness, and harmony before the Lord God Almighty. (Rev. 21-22)
 
If you have not done so already, reader, then I would urge you to embrace the truth that sets all free; free from the condemnation of sin and free from the everlasting torment which you might otherwise face and which will bring you into the Kingdom in which there is only peace, joy, happiness, and contentment before the Lord God Almighty.  It is but a simple sincere prayer of repentance away:
 
 
 
“Lord Jesus I need you.
 
 
I realize that I am a sinner
who has fallen short of the glory of God
and that my goodness falls short
of your standard of Moral perfection.
 
Please forgive me of all of my sins.
Come into my heart and into my life
to be the Savior and Lord of my life.
Make me into the servant and follower
that you want me to be.
In your name Lord Jesus, I pray.
 
 
Amen.”
 
 
Know that God is not concerned with the words that you use to call upon Him forgiveness, but with the attitude of your heart and if you have, with all sincerity, have asked Christ to forgive you of your sins, placing your trust in Him only for your salvation and in nothing else, then your sins are forgiven and your place in Heaven is certain.
 
 
 
End notes
 
 
 
1.  Rob Pue, “We Are Without Excuse,” News With Views, January 22, 2023
https://newswithviews.com/we-are-without-excuse/
 
2.  Ibid
 
3.  John Winthrop; A Model of Christian Charity, “A Library Of American Literature From The Earliest Settlement To The Present Time Vol I,” pg. 307; Compiled and edited by Edmund Clarence Stedman and Ellen Mackay Hutchinson in eleven volumes; New-York Charles L. Webster & Company, 1892
https://books.google.com/books?id=ugg6AQAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=A+Library+of+American+Literature:+Early+colonial+literature,+1607-1675&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CB4Q6AEwAGoVChMIhZWrxaGAxwIVzIsNCh1Fzg42#v=onepage&q=A%20Library%20of%20American%20Literature%3A%20Early%20colonial%20literature%2C%201607-1675&f=false
 
4.  Mike Huckabee in response to Neil Cavuto’s question, “Where was God?” during the terrible Sandy Hook elementary school shooting that took place in December of 2012; air date: December 15, 2012
http://video.foxnews.com/v/2038135300001/huckabee-where-was-god/?#sp=show-clips
 
5.  Laura Hollis, “The West’s Descent Into Madness,” The Epoch Times, March 21, 2024
https://www.theepochtimes.com/opinion/the-wests-descent-into-madness-5611892?src_src=Morningbrief&src_cmp=mb-2024-03-22&est=AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAauclYV0f3cDG%2F7ELrHdAK6RoxFcBKSQP3M8jYTcq4cYFfi2jto%2BeibP7QXS1vA%3D%3D
 
6.  Ibid.
 
7.  Ibid.
 
8.  The Declaration Of Independence, July 4, 1776
 
9.  Hollis, “The West’s Descent Into Madness,” The Epoch Times
 
10.  Pue, “We Are Without Excuse,” News With Views
 
 
 
Scripture references:
 
 
 
1.  Jeremiah 18:7-10
 
2.  John 14:6
 
3.  Malachi 3:6
 
4.  Hebrews 13:8
 
5.  John 8:32
 
6.  Genesis 2:16-17, 3:3
 
7.  Isaiah 14:11-21
 
8.  Ezekiel 28:12-19
 
9.  Genesis 3:4-5
 
10.  Genesis 3:7
 
11.  Genesis 3:19
 
12.  Romans 5:12
 
13.  Romans 3:23
 
14.  Romans 6:23
 
15.  Matthew 15:11, 18-20
 
16.  Romans 8:19-22
 
17.  Matthew 4:8-9
 
18.  Luke 4:6-7
 
19.  John 12:31
 
20.  John 16:11
 
21.  John 8:44
 
22.  Genesis 1:26
 
23.  John 10:10
 
24.  2 Peter 3:9
 
25.  2 Corinthians 5:21
 
26.  Hebrews 4:15
 
27.  Hebrews 7:26-27
 
28.  Romans 4:25
 
29.  Romans 10:13
 
30.  2 Corinthians 5:18
 
31.  2 Corinthians 5:17
 
32.  Matthew 6:33
 
33.  Revelation 21-22
 
34.  Matthew 6:25-33
 
35.  Matthew 10:28
 
36.  1 Corinthians 15:51-55
 
37.  1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
 
38.  Revelation 20:10-15