How Complicity and Moral Relativism in Politics Lead to a Nation’s Spiritual Decline
In the law, there is a crime known as an “accessory before the fact.” Essentially a person or entity guilty of this crime has complicit knowledge beforehand of a crime that is to be committed and, in some way, facilitates the crime in a tangible way though they may not necessarily be present at the time of the crime. A prime example might be the driver of a getaway car, a lookout for the actual perpetrator(s), or even someone who encourages in a real way the devilish deed. As it applies to punishment for such an offense, an accessory is usually considered to be equally responsible and is apt to receive the same punishment as the person who eventually commits the crime.
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Regardless of the part played in a crime, the reality is that most criminals are not necessarily repentant of the crime that has been committed so much as remorseful about their being caught along with the punishment that follows. There is an old adage in the courtroom that admonishes would-be offenders, “Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time.” As a sitting judge, many times I have been told by defendants who have just been sentenced for a heinous crime that they just do not believe they can fulfill the prison time that has been imposed. On most of these occasions, my advice has been to simply “just do the best you can. If you happen to die in prison before your sentence is fulfilled, the state will understand.”
God’s Economy & Earthly Criminal Law
God’s economy is different from our earthly criminal laws, however. From God’s viewpoint, there really is no distinction at all between various responsibilities regarding the violation of His law. In fact, Romans 6:23 plainly states that “the wages of sin is death,” so it really makes no difference in culpability whatsoever when it comes to sinful acts of any kind. There is also a clear distinction between the law of God and a man-made law. Because humans are fallible, their laws may also be fallible — fallible not only in the sense of what is determined to be a crime, but also in what is allowable and free of punishment. As a result, when it comes to the law of God, which is or should be written on the heart of every man, woman and child, our morality should be based on the principles laid out in God’s Word and not on the whims of a governmental entity including that of the United States Supreme Court. When we allow our culture to dictate our responsibility to a holy God, we are in grave danger as individuals or as a nation. Unfortunately, that is exactly where America finds herself in this clear moment of unrest and decision in the election year of 2024.
Before I go further, let me be plain. There is simply no greater violation of God’s law at this moment in the history of our nation than that of the premeditated murder of an unborn child simply for the convenience of the child’s mother or father or to somehow curb the population growth of a perceived undesirable segment of our nation. Yet that is exactly what happened right on the doorstep of the Democrat National Convention activities in Chicago this past week. From day one of the convention, Planned Parenthood has placed a mobile abortion unit across the street from the host arena. During its tenure in Chicago, where abortions are allowable under most circumstances and at any time, estimations of as high as 25 children have been murdered. Shockingly, though the crimes against nature are being committed by the demon-filled minions of the so-called Planned Parenthood, they were also being promoted and applauded in the convention hall just a few feet away.
Weaponizing the Justice Department
While the serial murderous intentions of the ungodly proceed unchecked in Chicago, there is another ominous cloud that hangs over our nation. As much as they deny the facts, the Biden administration has methodically weaponized the Department of Justice to literally attack those who openly oppose abortion. Make no mistake; our current Vice President and Democrat presidential candidate is directly in the middle of this travesty of justice carried out in the name of reproductive rights. Since the case of Roe v. Wade was overturned and the abortion issue was returned to the various states, there has been an unprecedented attack on abortion foes. This wave of persecution emanates from a law passed under the Clinton administration known as the FACE Act. While on the surface, the law was intended to protect both abortion centers as well as pro-life pregnancy centers and even churches, it is now being used as a bludgeoning tool on anyone who would speak for the unborn who have no voice.
Under the Biden-Harris juggernaut, prosecutions for alleged offenses have skyrocketed to 211. Of these, a recent CBN article indicated that 97% have been directed at pro-life individuals or entities. Alternatively, little attention was ever diverted to the bombing and burning of pro-life centers just after the Supreme Court acted in Roe. Eireann Van Natta, a reporter with The Daily Caller, told CBN News that the Biden-Harris DOJ “is responsible for over a quarter of all FACE Act prosecutions in the law’s 30-year history . . . and is also responsible for about 24% of the cases targeting pro-life activists” in that same time period.” Van Natta went even further in saying, “What pro-lifers and conservatives have long claimed is that, actually, this act is really just a cudgel that’s being used to target pro-life activists. . . . for the longest time, we didn’t have the data to really substantiate that — and now we do.” Adding to the claim, Attorney Erin Hawley, with Alliance Defending Freedom, calls this new data, unearthed at the Justice Department, troubling. “After the fall of Roe, there’s no question that FACE Act prosecutions, FACE Act investigations, have ramped up exponentially,” she stated.
Our Response as Christians
So, with abortions performed by Planned Parenthood, being not only welcomed in the City of Chicago and the state of Illinois, but were openly being celebrated on the floors of the Democrat National Convention, what should be our response as Christians? First, we need to be aware, even before horror and indignancy set in, that not only is there blood of precious children on the hands of the Democrat Party and Planned Parenthood, but it also is staining the collective hands of America. God does not sleep, nor does He slumber, and He will not withhold His wrath forever. The United States of America is on the threshold of disaster of our own making, and we should not expect God Almighty to intervene in any way on our behalf to protect us. Planned Parenthood is mocking the law of God to His face and so is the Democrat Party as well as President Biden and would-be President Harris. At the same time, when it comes to the slaughter of innocent children, there is more than enough sin to go around, and all of us in America are in line to face the consequences of the devilish atrocity we have allowed to flourish in our midst.
Jonathan Edwards, an early American revivalist preacher and leader of the American Enlightenment period, delivered on several occasions his famous sermon titled “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” It was said that as his audience listened to the words, he was saying that they could almost smell the brimstone of hell and feel the intense pain of the torment that awaited them. As a result, the folks who sat under his preaching would literally rush to the altar in repentance of their sins so as to avoid the calamity of the eternal damnation that they so richly deserved.
God Loves Us Through His Sacrifice
At Southern Evangelical Seminary (SES) we teach and proclaim a God who loves us so that He gave His only Son Jesus to die as a penalty for the sins of the world including mine and yours. Though we all deserve death, we can escape hell by full repentance for our sins and the acceptance of this same Jesus as the Lord of our lives. John the Revelator plainly tells us that all of us will one day acknowledge that He is Lord either as we enter the portals of heaven as forgiven children of God, or as we deliver ourselves to the eternal torment of hell itself. It is this choice that is now facing America. The blood of our children, murdered for the sake of convenience, is crying out to God. He will not tarry long in His righteous judgment. So, those of us at SES simply want to say we love you, and with every fiber of our being, we call on the leaders of our nation including Mr. Biden, Ms. Harris, and yes, even Mr. Trump, to repent before it’s too late and turn to the everlasting arms and protection of Jesus Christ. It is Jesus alone who offers to each of us His own cloak of righteousness along with the forgiveness of our sins. In the final analysis, even in the face of the horrendous epidemic of abortion that is flooding our nation, it is the Gospel message that is the only truth that matters.
