The world is in shock once again to the senseless, horrific deaths of little children at yet another school shooting. Just only to imagine the broken and lifeless bodies of those little children at the Sandy Hook Elementary school in Connecticut make it difficult to write this article. As my heart aches and my spirit cries I feel compelled once again to write about the consequences of a society who has turned its back on God. For the past 24 hours law enforcement and our nation’s leaders have been frantically looking for a motive for another tragic mass murder. What triggered it? What caused a quiet young man considered by his peers to be brilliant do the unthinkable? Computers are checked, emails are scanned, and countless people interviewed to determine what drove this man to do the unconscionable. As the investigation enters its second day it’s now being leaked that the shooter may have suffered from an obsessive disorder. I must ask again whatever happened to sin?
The Bible says, “Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. But you know that he [Jesus Christ] appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him” (I John 3:4-6). Yet we live in a world that has all but rejected Jesus Christ and His message of a new life in Him. They have rejected the good news of transformation that frees us from the old life and bondage to the old sin nature. When a country rejects God and His Son Jesus Christ by expelling Him from its public schools then they have also rejected the notion of sin in every man. Sin can no longer be called sin. Satan has risen up a counter religion in an attempt to explain man’s bad behavior and his horrific acts of lawlessness. Through many years of indoctrination the world is being led to believe that all bad behavior is an emotional or psychological problem caused by your parents, your upbringing, or your environment. In the midst of the great apostasy the world is no longer trusting in God to deliver them from their sin, but now turning to the professionals of psychology to solve their many problems. Presently in Marcia Angell’s review of Psychiatry, she wrote: “We are seeing an apparent epidemic of mental illness. 46% of adults are diagnosed with mental illness at some point in their lives.”
When will the world realize that by expelling God and denying sin they have allowed Satan to keep them in captivity to the old life and prone to every manner of lawlessness? As lawlessness increases around the world and the man of lawlessness (Antichrist) makes his appearance are you ready to stand firm against the greatest lie ever unleashed upon humanity. To stand firm my friends it is absolutely essential to have a solid theological belief system. Do you really believe in the transformation? Do you really believe in the sufficiency of the Bible? If not then you along with the rest of the world will be taken captive by the devil and conditioned to worship the coming Antichrist. Transformation is not just theoretical but a reality. The Bible says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (II Corinthians 5:17) Stop believing the lie of Satan and start believing the truth that God has freed you from your old life by shedding His blood on the Cross. His atonement has forgiven you of all your sins and step by step will make you into a beautiful new creation. We put off the old life by dying to self and put on the new life through our obedience to His commands. The power of sin is real. Psychology cannot deliver you from your sin, but trusting in Jesus Christ alone and following His way will deliver you from its power.
To keep us in captivity the devil has also attacked the sufficiency of the Bible. The Bible says, “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness” (II Peter 1:3). Remember what Jesus Christ said, “I have much more to say to you, more than you can bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth” (John 16:12-13). And so He did! All truth, much more than His disciples could bear was written down and later published as our modern day Bibles. So if we know that’s where the knowledge is located to give us everything we need for life and godliness, then I think we would want to spend an enormous amount of time learning and applying that truth to our lives. As the world lines up at the counselor’s office in an attempt to fix their emotional and psychological problems, Christians need to dust off their Bibles and discover how to overcome the power of sin and how to extinguish the fiery darts of depression, anxiety, loneliness, doubt, so called obsessive disorders, and all the other sins that keep us from experiencing the new life in Christ. As our hearts remain deeply grieved over the latest tragedy to strike our country I am convinced that things will never change until our country returns to our only Savior, Jesus Christ who alone has given us the ability to overcome the power of sin.
Copyright © 2012 Rev. Daniel W. Blair – All content (blog articles) have been published in my new book: “Revelation Truth” available in our bookstore or at a bookstore near you.