What happens when people keep rejecting God?
What happens when a nation repeatedly calls evil good, celebrates what God condemns, and refuses correction?
Does God simply keep restraining the consequences forever?
Scripture gives a sobering answer.
Sometimes part of God’s judgment is not that He immediately sends some dramatic catastrophe.
Sometimes He simply gives people over to what they have chosen.
Romans 1 describes a downward progression.
People reject what they know about God.
They exchange truth for lies.
They worship created things rather than the Creator.
Their thinking becomes increasingly darkened.
And eventually, what God calls sin is not merely practiced—it is approved, defended, and celebrated.
That is what makes Jeremiah’s lament over Jerusalem so sobering.
God had warned His people repeatedly.
They refused to listen.
And eventually He allowed their rebellion to run its course.
But before we point fingers at the culture around us, there is another question we need to ask:
Could the same principle operate in an individual life?
What happens when we repeatedly resist conviction, excuse our own sin, or insist on having our way?
And if we are living in a culture that increasingly rejects God’s truth, how should Christians respond?
With anger?
Fear?
Withdrawal?
Or something very different?
Today we’ll look at what Scripture teaches about restraining grace, the downward spiral described in Romans 1, Jeremiah’s grief over his people, and how believers can remain faithful as salt and light in a darkening culture.
Welcome to “God’s Word Day by Day,” where I blog through the Bible in a Year. I hope you’ll join me every day. If you’re not already signed up, you can do it here or subscribe and watch on YouTube.
Today’s Readings:
Lamentations 1 & 2
Psalm 119.137-144
Proverbs 28.9-10
Titus 3.1-15
How Far Can a Culture Fall When It Rejects God?
Lamentations 1 & 2:
Heartbroken Over Sin & Destruction
The book of Lamentations was written by Jeremiah and was basically a funeral dirge. The prophet was mourning the destruction of Jerusalem, God’s holy city. Even though the people had rejected his warnings and even tortured and imprisoned him for speaking the truth, Jeremiah was heartbroken over their destruction.
Let’s pray that as the body of Christ, we would be heartbroken over the sin and destruction in our nation instead of being self-righteous or angry.
Is God Good?
But why would God allow the destruction of the city and the people He loved? Why would He allow any nation to become worse and worse until it self-destructs? Is He a good God if He does? Look at our reading in Psalms for today:
Righteous are You, O LORD, and upright are Your judgments (Ps. 119.37).
God is righteous, and all His judgments are upright. They are good!
That may be hard to reconcile when we see the events transpiring in our nation today or when we read verses like Lamentations 2.20, “…Should the women eat their offspring, the children they have cuddled?”
It’s easy to think, “How could a good God cause such a thing to happen to innocent children?” First, we must realize God did not “cause” such a horrible thing to happen. James 1.13-15 says:
13 Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.
But part of God’s righteous judgment (Ps. 119.137) is the removal of His restraining grace, which allows the sinfulness of our wicked hearts to be revealed and have free rein. Notice each one is drawn away and enticed by his own desires or lusts. When God’s restraining grace is removed from a nation or an individual, there is no end to the depth of human depravity.
God’s Removal of Restraining Grace
Paul painted a picture of this in Romans 1. First, even though the knowledge of God is revealed everywhere, including creation, men and women refuse to acknowledge Him as God (Rom. 1.20-21), so He gives them up “to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts” (Rom. 1.24). As they continue in their rebellion, they throw aside the truth of God and start believing lies. They stop worshiping God and, instead, worship created things, including themselves and their freedoms (Rom. 1.25). Paul goes on:
26 For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. 27 Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.
28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, 30 backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; 32 who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.
Notice that the bottom of that free fall of sin is not merely the sinful behavior itself (homosexuality, sexual immorality, murder, etc.). People or nations have truly hit bottom when they “approve of those who practice them.”
The Cancel Culture
That is the demand today. Approve, or we will “cancel” you, attack your business, or shame and embarrass you. And sadly, many have already caved in to the culture’s demands.
How Should We Respond?
First, it should give each of us a biblical “fear of God,” drive us to Him, and cause us to ask Him to search our own hearts for secret or hidden sin so we can repent. The psalmist prayed earlier in today’s psalm:
35 Make me walk in the path of Your commandments,
For I delight in it.
36 Incline my heart to Your testimonies,
And not to covetousness.
We can’t simply compare ourselves to others and say, “Well, at least I’m not as bad as those people!” We may not be as bad as we could be, but we are all as bad as we need to be to deserve an eternity in hell apart from His saving grace. Let’s never take it for granted.
But we also need to have God’s heart toward sinful people. Jeremiah and Daniel are two great examples. They prayed and repented on behalf of their people and cried out for God’s mercy and deliverance.
Salt & Light
Finally, like Jeremiah, we need to be salt and light no matter the cost. Jesus said in Matthew 5:
13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.
14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
Be Faithful
Evil thrives in darkness. So, we must continue to hold out the light to those who will listen and believe. Salt is a preservative. God often holds back judgment for the sake of His children. When God told Abraham that He planned to destroy Sodom, Abraham interceded for the righteous in that wicked city:
23 And Abraham came near and said, ‘Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked? 24 Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it? 25 Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?’
26 So the Lord said, ‘If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes’ (Gen. 18.23-26).
And as Abraham continued to intercede, God promised He would even spare the city for ten righteous (Gen. 18. 27-33). When He finally did destroy it, He first sent His angels to remove righteous Lot and his family (Gen. 19.1-29).
But salt also stings. So, we must be prepared when people react to the truth with anger. We need to remember they aren’t rejecting us, but God and His Word. Our job is to remain faithful and trust God for the results.
Today’s Other Readings:
Proverbs 28.9-10:
Abominable Prayers
One who turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination (v. 9).
We should not think we can remain in unrepentant sin in our individual lives or as a nation and expect God to answer our prayers.
Titus 3.1-15:
How Much Do You Trust God?
Like Romans 13.1-7 and 1 Peter 2.13-23, this passage reminds us that we are to have a submissive and respectful attitude toward those in authority over us. One of the greatest tests of our level of trust in God is our willingness to submit to God-given authority and trust God to lead through them. The exception would be if that person is asking us to violate a clear command of Scripture. In those cases, we have a higher authority.
Your Thoughts on Restraining Grace
Share your thoughts on the subject of restraining grace and the other readings in the comments section below.
Coming Up:
In the next few days, we’ll talk about putting your past behind you, truth, politics, God’s standard, why God doesn’t immediately deal with some things, and more.
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Blessings as you grow in Christ,
Donna ♥
Note about this post:
I began blogging through the Bible in 2012 and have done so every year since then. These posts are the product of many edits and additions throughout those years.
A while ago, I read Jen Wilkin’s book None Like Him about the attributes of God. One is His incomprehensibility. In it, she says, “God is incomprehensible. This does not mean that he is unknowable, but that he is unable to be fully known.”
I have found that to be true each year as I’ve gone back through the Bible. Sometimes I find myself feeling as if a passage just appeared there for the first time. I’m reminded that no matter how many times we read through the Bible, we have only scratched the surface. I hope you feel the same.
Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways,
And how small a whisper we hear of Him!
But the thunder of His power who can understand?” (Job 26.14)
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