- Jan 1, 2024
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(This is from a sermon given by John Newton in 1794 addressing his native England at the time. It is a timeless message and certainly pertains to America in 2024. I am also pretty sure America has crossed the line as Manasseh in 2 Kings, for the shedding of innocent blood and idolatry. That means judgment shall come sooner or later.
Billy Graham wrote in 2012, "Some years ago, my wife, Ruth, was reading the draft of a book I was writing. When she finished a section describing the terrible downward spiral of our nation’s moral standards and the idolatry of worshiping false gods such as technology and sex, she startled me by exclaiming, “If God doesn’t punish America, He’ll have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah.”"
billygraham.org
I have said same before I even knew of this. I recently read someone who wrote that Billy Graham said it, but it appears his wife did. Regardless of who said it, it is a universal truth, and now 12 years after this conditions are even worse than they were then. Would that people in America repent and turn to Christ, before He comes and asks "Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:8)
I. The Imminent Danger
How great is the power of God over the hearts of men! Nineveh was the capital of a powerful empire. The inhabitants were heathens. The many prophets who, during a long series of years, had spoken in the name of the Lord to His professed people of Judah and Israel, had spoken almost in vain. The messengers were often mocked, and their message despised. The inhabitants of Nineveh, it is probable, had never seen a true prophet till Jonah was sent to them. If they had reasoned on his prediction, they might have thought it very improbable that a great city, the head of a great kingdom and in a time of peace, could be in danger of an overthrow within forty days. But it is said, they “believed God” (Jon 3:5). The awful denunciation made a general, universal impression. The king arose from his throne, laid aside his robes, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes (3:6). A sudden cessation of business and pleasure took place; he proclaimed a strict fast, the rigor of which was extended even to the cattle. His subjects readily complied and unanimously concurred in crying for mercy, though they had no encouragement but a peradventure, “Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?” (3:9).
It appears from this, and other passages of Scripture, that the most express declarations of God’s displeasure against sinners, still afford ground and room for repentance. Thus in the prophecy of Ezekiel 33:14-15, “Again, when I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if he turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right...he shall surely live, he shall not die”; and again, in the prophecy of Jeremiah 18:7-8, “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.”
The Lord God speaks to us by His Word in plain and popular language. He condescends to our feeble apprehensions. God cannot repent; He is of one mind. Who can turn Him? Yet when afflictive providences lead men to a sense of their sins and to an acknowledgement of their demerits, and excite a spirit of humiliation, repentance, and prayer, He often mercifully changes His dispensations and averts from them the impending evil. Such was the effect of Jonah’s message to the Ninevites. The people humbled themselves and repented of their wickedness; and God suspended the execution of the sentence which He had pronounced against them (3:10).
My brethren, may we not fear that the men of Nineveh will rise up in judgment against us and condemn us, if we do not imitate their example and humble ourselves before God? They repented at the preaching of Jonah immediately, on their first hearing him; and they sought for mercy upon a peradventure, when they could say no more than, “Who can tell, whether there may be the least room to hope for it, after what the prophet so solemnly declared?”
If our sins are no less numerous, no less of a scarlet dye, than those of other nations, and exceedingly aggravated beyond theirs by being committed against clearer light and the distinguished advantages we have long enjoyed; if we I have not only transgressed the laws of God in common with others, but daringly trampled upon the gracious tenders of His forgiveness, which He has long continued to propose to us with a frequency and energy almost peculiar to ourselves; if all the day long He has stretched out His hands to a disobedient and gainsaying people (Rom 10:12), and hitherto, almost in vain; if neither the tokens of His displeasure nor the declarations of His love have made a suitable impression upon our minds—who can tell if He will yet be entreated? May we not fear, lest He should say, My Spirit shall strive with them no more (Gen 6:3). They are joined to their idols; let them alone? “When ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear” (Isa 1:15).
Where are now the mighty empires, which were once thought rooted and established as the everlasting mountains? They have disappeared like the mists upon the mountaintops. Nothing of them remains but their names. They perished and their memorials have almost perished with them. The patience of God bore with them for a time, until the purposes for which He raised them up were answered; but when the measure of their iniquity was full, they passed away and were dispersed, like foam upon the waters. What security have we from such a catastrophe? Or what could we answer if God should put that question to us, “Shall I not visit for these things...and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this” (Jer 5:9)?
Where are now the churches which once flourished in Greece and Asia Minor? When the Apostle Paul wrote to the former, and when our Lord indicted his epistles to the latter, most of them were in a prosperous state. If there ever was a time when the commendations given to them were applicable to professors of the Gospel in our land, I fear we can hardly claim them at present.
Can it be justly said of us, that our faith and love are every where spoken of (Rom 1:8; 1Th 1:7), and that we are examples to all that believe? That our works and service and faith and patience are known and the last to be more than the first (Rev 2:19)? Or rather, may it not be said of too many, that while they profess to believe in God, in works they deny Him (Ti 1:16)? That they are neither hot nor cold, that they have a name to live, and are dead, that they have at least forgotten their first love (Rev 3:15-16; 2:4)? When these defects and declensions began to prevail in the first churches, the Lord admonished and warned them; but instead of watching and repenting, they gradually became more remiss. At length their glory departed, and their candlesticks were removed out of their places (Rev 2:5). Many regions which once rejoiced in the light of the Gospel have been long over spread with Islamic darkness.
Let us not trust in outward privileges, nor rest in a form of godliness destitute of the power. It will be in vain to say, “The temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD are these” (Jer 7:4), if the Lord of the temple should depart from us. When the Israelites were afraid of the Philistines, they carried the ark of the Lord with them to battle (1Sa 4:3). But God disappointed their vain confidence. He delivered the ark of His glory into the hands of their enemies to teach them, and to teach us, that formal hypocritical worshippers have no good ground to hope for His protection.
Alas, then, who can tell? Appearances are very dark at present. Besides what we may expect or fear from the rage and madness of our foreign enemies, we have much to apprehend at home. A spirit of discord has gone forth. Jeshurun has waxed fat, and kicked (Deu 32:15). Many seem weary of liberty, peace, and order. Our happy constitution, our mild government, our many privileges, admired by other nations, are despised and depreciated among ourselves—not only by the thoughtless and licentious, and those who, having little to lose, may promise themselves a possibility of gain in a time of disturbance and confusion, but they are abetted and instigated by persons of sense, character, and even of religion. I should be quite at a loss to account for this, if I did not consider it as a token of the Lord’s displeasure. When He withdraws His blessing, no union can long subsist!
“Because thou servedst not the LORD thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things; therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the LORD shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things” (Deu 28:47-48). These words of Moses to rebellious Israel emphatically describe the former and the present state of many nations who have been spoiled, insulted, and glad if they could escape (great numbers could not so escape) with the loss of their all, and at the peril of their lives, to a more hospitable shore. May their sufferings remind us of our deserts! Who can tell if the Lord may yet be merciful unto us, and exempt us from similar calamities!
Billy Graham wrote in 2012, "Some years ago, my wife, Ruth, was reading the draft of a book I was writing. When she finished a section describing the terrible downward spiral of our nation’s moral standards and the idolatry of worshiping false gods such as technology and sex, she startled me by exclaiming, “If God doesn’t punish America, He’ll have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah.”"
Billy Graham: 'My Heart Aches for America'
"My heart aches for America and its deceived people," writes Billy Graham in a new prayer letter. "The wonderful news is that our Lord is a God of mercy, and He responds to repentance."
The Imminent Danger and Only Sure Resource of Our Nation
“Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger that we perish not?” - Jonah 3:9I. The Imminent Danger
How great is the power of God over the hearts of men! Nineveh was the capital of a powerful empire. The inhabitants were heathens. The many prophets who, during a long series of years, had spoken in the name of the Lord to His professed people of Judah and Israel, had spoken almost in vain. The messengers were often mocked, and their message despised. The inhabitants of Nineveh, it is probable, had never seen a true prophet till Jonah was sent to them. If they had reasoned on his prediction, they might have thought it very improbable that a great city, the head of a great kingdom and in a time of peace, could be in danger of an overthrow within forty days. But it is said, they “believed God” (Jon 3:5). The awful denunciation made a general, universal impression. The king arose from his throne, laid aside his robes, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes (3:6). A sudden cessation of business and pleasure took place; he proclaimed a strict fast, the rigor of which was extended even to the cattle. His subjects readily complied and unanimously concurred in crying for mercy, though they had no encouragement but a peradventure, “Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?” (3:9).
It appears from this, and other passages of Scripture, that the most express declarations of God’s displeasure against sinners, still afford ground and room for repentance. Thus in the prophecy of Ezekiel 33:14-15, “Again, when I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if he turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right...he shall surely live, he shall not die”; and again, in the prophecy of Jeremiah 18:7-8, “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.”
The Lord God speaks to us by His Word in plain and popular language. He condescends to our feeble apprehensions. God cannot repent; He is of one mind. Who can turn Him? Yet when afflictive providences lead men to a sense of their sins and to an acknowledgement of their demerits, and excite a spirit of humiliation, repentance, and prayer, He often mercifully changes His dispensations and averts from them the impending evil. Such was the effect of Jonah’s message to the Ninevites. The people humbled themselves and repented of their wickedness; and God suspended the execution of the sentence which He had pronounced against them (3:10).
My brethren, may we not fear that the men of Nineveh will rise up in judgment against us and condemn us, if we do not imitate their example and humble ourselves before God? They repented at the preaching of Jonah immediately, on their first hearing him; and they sought for mercy upon a peradventure, when they could say no more than, “Who can tell, whether there may be the least room to hope for it, after what the prophet so solemnly declared?”
III. We Deserve Judgment!
Have we not therefore cause to say, with the Ninevites, “Who can tell?” Is it not a peradventure? Is there more than a possibility, that we may yet obtain mercy?If our sins are no less numerous, no less of a scarlet dye, than those of other nations, and exceedingly aggravated beyond theirs by being committed against clearer light and the distinguished advantages we have long enjoyed; if we I have not only transgressed the laws of God in common with others, but daringly trampled upon the gracious tenders of His forgiveness, which He has long continued to propose to us with a frequency and energy almost peculiar to ourselves; if all the day long He has stretched out His hands to a disobedient and gainsaying people (Rom 10:12), and hitherto, almost in vain; if neither the tokens of His displeasure nor the declarations of His love have made a suitable impression upon our minds—who can tell if He will yet be entreated? May we not fear, lest He should say, My Spirit shall strive with them no more (Gen 6:3). They are joined to their idols; let them alone? “When ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear” (Isa 1:15).
Where are now the mighty empires, which were once thought rooted and established as the everlasting mountains? They have disappeared like the mists upon the mountaintops. Nothing of them remains but their names. They perished and their memorials have almost perished with them. The patience of God bore with them for a time, until the purposes for which He raised them up were answered; but when the measure of their iniquity was full, they passed away and were dispersed, like foam upon the waters. What security have we from such a catastrophe? Or what could we answer if God should put that question to us, “Shall I not visit for these things...and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this” (Jer 5:9)?
Where are now the churches which once flourished in Greece and Asia Minor? When the Apostle Paul wrote to the former, and when our Lord indicted his epistles to the latter, most of them were in a prosperous state. If there ever was a time when the commendations given to them were applicable to professors of the Gospel in our land, I fear we can hardly claim them at present.
Can it be justly said of us, that our faith and love are every where spoken of (Rom 1:8; 1Th 1:7), and that we are examples to all that believe? That our works and service and faith and patience are known and the last to be more than the first (Rev 2:19)? Or rather, may it not be said of too many, that while they profess to believe in God, in works they deny Him (Ti 1:16)? That they are neither hot nor cold, that they have a name to live, and are dead, that they have at least forgotten their first love (Rev 3:15-16; 2:4)? When these defects and declensions began to prevail in the first churches, the Lord admonished and warned them; but instead of watching and repenting, they gradually became more remiss. At length their glory departed, and their candlesticks were removed out of their places (Rev 2:5). Many regions which once rejoiced in the light of the Gospel have been long over spread with Islamic darkness.
Let us not trust in outward privileges, nor rest in a form of godliness destitute of the power. It will be in vain to say, “The temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD are these” (Jer 7:4), if the Lord of the temple should depart from us. When the Israelites were afraid of the Philistines, they carried the ark of the Lord with them to battle (1Sa 4:3). But God disappointed their vain confidence. He delivered the ark of His glory into the hands of their enemies to teach them, and to teach us, that formal hypocritical worshippers have no good ground to hope for His protection.
Alas, then, who can tell? Appearances are very dark at present. Besides what we may expect or fear from the rage and madness of our foreign enemies, we have much to apprehend at home. A spirit of discord has gone forth. Jeshurun has waxed fat, and kicked (Deu 32:15). Many seem weary of liberty, peace, and order. Our happy constitution, our mild government, our many privileges, admired by other nations, are despised and depreciated among ourselves—not only by the thoughtless and licentious, and those who, having little to lose, may promise themselves a possibility of gain in a time of disturbance and confusion, but they are abetted and instigated by persons of sense, character, and even of religion. I should be quite at a loss to account for this, if I did not consider it as a token of the Lord’s displeasure. When He withdraws His blessing, no union can long subsist!
“Because thou servedst not the LORD thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things; therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the LORD shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things” (Deu 28:47-48). These words of Moses to rebellious Israel emphatically describe the former and the present state of many nations who have been spoiled, insulted, and glad if they could escape (great numbers could not so escape) with the loss of their all, and at the peril of their lives, to a more hospitable shore. May their sufferings remind us of our deserts! Who can tell if the Lord may yet be merciful unto us, and exempt us from similar calamities!
