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| Why do the Heathen Rage? These essays were written over a period of thirty years and originally appeared in more than sixty newspapers nationwide. The author, who chose to remain anonymous, was a prominent Christian businessman in the Atlanta area. He entitled his columns "Why do the Heathen Rage?" and used this question from Psalm 2 and Acts 4:25 as a basis to comment on the events of the day. He believed that Psalm 1 promised blessings to the faithful in Christ, but Psalm 2 and Acts 4:25 asked a critical question and answered it with a prophecy of cursings and judgments upon the heathen; those who rebelled against the laws of God. Truly a prophet in his own time, the author received thousands of letters from his readers. However, at times, newspapers would refuse to print his column or prefer to edit it because of his outspoken condemnation of evil in government, literature and individuals who supported unbiblical practices.
Bob Hill, Editor Evangelical Review  TOPICAL INDEX
Applied Christianity DECEMBER 07, 1963 On a certain day two sermons had been preached, one by Martin Luther and the other by a friend and his co-laborer we will call Doctor B. Luther said to his friend:
"Well, Doctor, I will acknowledge your superiority." "No," replied Luther, "that is not it. The reason I liked mine better than yours is that every child and illiterate servant present could understand mine and knew what I was talking about, but much of yours was only understood by the learned and the scholars."
"What did he talk about," asked his friend.
The "heathen rage" to get rid of God's Moral Law, Ten Commandments, and The Almighty holds them in derision, laughs and vexes them with all adversity. We have also in these articles continually talked about the fact that God sent His Son to the earth to keep His Commandments perfectly, and that He will impute that perfect righteousness to every soul that sincerely accepts and believes on Jesus Christ, and will write His Commandments in their hearts, or in other words, fix them up where they will want to "obey God, and keep His Commandments, which is the whole duty of man." "It is singular how long the rotten will hold together, provided you do not handle it roughly." Picture a rotten apple hanging on a tree or elsewhere. It holds together a long time unless it falls or is handled a little roughly, and then you have "rotten apple sauce." One meaning of "corruption" is "rottenness." The earth became corrupt, or rotten in the days of Noah. God handled it rather roughly. It went to pieces and there was none left except for the man who found grace in God's sight, the man who feared God, and obeyed Him! Some have estimated there might have been 480 billions of people in the earth when the flood came! The Jewish nation as a whole became corrupt, rotten. God has handled them roughly through the centuries and behold their history, suffering, and how they have been scattered. There is much rottenness and corruption in the home and family life of our nation; there is much rottenness and corruption in the political life of our nation; the main cause of the corruption and rottenness in the family and governmental life of our nation can be traced to corruption and rottenness in our Protestant Christian Church life, and every one of us who have taken such vows are especially responsible! Did not God handle us roughly when He permitted our President to be assassinated? No doubt in our mind but that this "permissive providence" of The Almighty is a rebuke to the entire nation! Generally speaking, The Church refuses to "get rough" with its own rottenness of unbelief, apostacy, rejection of God's Laws and Word, and so the corruption holds together and increases; the civil powers of government refuse to "get rough" with murder, robbery, vile immorality -- I have heard it said time and again that the City of Washington, the seat of the great power of this nation, is the worst "sink of sin and cesspool of iniquity" of such crimes in all this great land, and therefore, corruption and rottenness "hold together." What can one man do? He can do the "one thing needful," read what it is in Luke 10:41, 42:
Applied Christianity MAY 31, 1975 In the First Psalm, God says the man that delights himself in "The Law of the Lord" shall be like a tree planted by the riverside, his leaf shall not wither and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper."
"The lapse of Church discipline was a certain symptom of political and social anarchy," said the English Historian, Terry, as he looked across centuries of experiences of the English people. Church anarchy in doctrine and conduct produces political and social anarchy. Neglect and unbelief of God's Book, The Bible, produces Church anarchy! If you are a Church member you can do something to correct this situation by being faithful to your vows to serve God.
This quote is from the old and beloved Christian Hymn:
"The wages of sin is death; but the Gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ Our Lord." Death does a mighty big business every day! Probably all over the world at this moment there are between 150,000 and 200,000 dead bodies waiting to be buried. And tomorrow there will be an additional like number, with you and me included in one of those tomorrows! If just one day's "crop of death" was gathered in one place, what a territory would be covered! Great nations, great institutions, companies, unions, and concerns of all kinds also die, perish off the earth, John Bunyan said, give a little thought every day to your own funeral in order that you might be prepared! "O Death --!" The Lord Jesus Christ is the Mighty Conqueror of Death! He raised the dead! He raised Himself from the dead! Don't neglect and reject Him and His "Wonderful Words of Life." Surrender! Submit! -- We deliberately use the word "Submit" rather than "Commit", as it appears to us there is quite a difference. In Mark 1:15, Jesus said, "--The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand; repent ye and believe the Gospel"
Applied Christianity JULY 14, 1973 "Heathen" are those who do not "believe in the God of the Bible." The second Psalm identifies them as people "who imagine a vain thing" and support kings and rulers who set themselves to break the Bands and cast away the Cords of restraints of the Laws of the Commandments of God Almighty and His Anointed, Jesus Christ! Consider the broken Bands and cast away Cords of restraint regarding God's Commandments for His people to "Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy."
Also, consider the broken Bands and cast away Cords of the 5th Commandment:
Those who reject the Word of God and Jesus Christ ought to have the name Christian stripped off them if they have not the honesty and integrity to resign and get out of His Church! The Apostle Peter had just had a revelation from the Heavenly Father as to who Christ was, had been blessed for his faithful and true testimony and told by Christ that Truth would stand forever. But shortly after this, Peter rebuked Christ for saying He must die at Jerusalem for the sins of mankind. Did Christ enter into a dialogue with Peter to straighten him out? No, indeed! He quickly cut the conversation off by turning upon Peter and saying, "Get thee behind me, Satan. Thou art an offense unto me; for thou savorest not the things that be of God, but those of Men!" Matthew 16:23 and Mark 8:33. In Matthew 15:3-9, and in Mark 7:6-13, Christ gave His approval of the death penalty for breach of the 5th Commandment, and later took that death penalty upon Himself in order that those guilty might not die eternally! We have another suggestion for those to spend their concern and energies in a more profitable way than in the effort to save the temporal life of criminals, and that is to testify against and fight birth control. We give a reason or two. That's God Almighty's business, and not fallible men! Thank God such folks did not have control of John Wesley's parents -- John was about the 17th child! Multitudes of other men and women who have been a blessing to mankind have had many sisters or brothers older than themselves. In the 38th Chapter of Genesis we have the account of God slaying two men who deliberately wasted "the seed of human life." One of these men might have been named among those from whom Christ came after the flesh. This chapter also reveals that a woman, Tamar, received that honor because of her desire for the "fruit of the womb," a child. Her rights to marriage according to the customs of the time had been neglected by her father-in-law, Judah, who said of the affair: "She hath been more righteous that I; because that I gave her not to Shelah my son!" Tamar's name is on the first page of the New Testament! What will be the record in "God's Book of Life" concerning those so presumptuous as to decide that some "seed of human life" should not come to fruition! Applied Christianity OCTOBER 30, 1965 The Voice of Retribution:
History makes some singular developments in respect tc the retributive justice of God. Nations, communities, families, individuals, furnish fearful illustrations that "the wicked is snared in the work of his own hand," and that "the way of the transgressor is hard!" Wrong doing, oppression, crime, are, by no means reserved only for a future retribution. They draw after them an almost certain retribution in this world. "There is no peace to the wicked, saith my God!" He may seem to prosper -- riches may increase -- he may revel in pleasures, and shine in honors, and seem to have all that heart can wish; yet there is a canker-worm somewhere gnawing at the very vitals of happiness -- a blight somewhere upon all that he possesses. History bears at least an incidental yet decisive testimony on this point. Perilous it is indeed to a man's well being in this life -- to his peace, his reputation, his best interest -- to do wrong. Possibly the wrong doer may not suffer himself, yet most certainly his children, and his children's children will pay the penalty of his misdeeds. Man is undoubtedly so constituted, whether regard be had to his physical, social, intellectual, and moral nature, as to make him a happy being. The right, the unperverted use of all his powers and susceptibilities would not fail to secure to him a high an(t continual state of earthly happiness and prosperity. And not only is the human machine itself so fitted up as to accomplish such an end, but the whole external world, the theatre in which man has to live, act, and enjoy, is fitted up in beautiful harmony with the same benevolent end. Every jar of human happiness, every arrest or curtailment or extinction of it, is the fruit of transgression or perversion. The violation of a natural law is as sure to be followed by retribution as the violation of a Divine Law. The history of individuals, families, communities, nations, is full of such retributions!
"It shall not be well with the wicked." Ecclesiastes 8:13. "As I have done, so God hath requited me." Judges 1:7. "Oh, that they would consider their latter end." Deut. 32:29. Pharaoh defied the God of heaven and raised his hand to oppress the chosen people, and he perished miserably amid the ruins of his own kingdom. Egypt never recovered from the sock of Pharaoh's sin, but since has been the "basest of kingdoms." David was a good man, yet he sinned a great sin. And his sin was of a domestic character. And how grievously was be afterward afflicted in his domestic relations, his subsequent history remains the sad memorial: The Voice of God announced, "The sword shall never depart from your house!" His son Amnon raped his half-sister Tamar. Absalom, her brother, killed Ammon! Later on Absalom usurped his father's throne and drove him out, etc., etc. Yet David was a "man after God's heart" -- a man after God's heart in the way he repented and accepted the severe judgment of God, reminding one of the words of Job: "Yea, though He slay me, yet will I trust Him!" Adonibezek, who had conquered 70 kings, and having cut off their thumbs and big toes, made them eat under his table, is at length conquered by the invading Israelites, who in turn cut off his thumbs and big toes. He acknowledged the retributive justice of the act when he said, "As I have done, so God hath requited me." Examples crowd upon us from every quarter; every neighborhood furnishes them! Haman was hung on the gallows he built for Mordecai. Dogs ate the carcass of Queen Jezebel, and licked up the blood of her husband, King Ahab. The Herods furnish fearful examples. But consider Pontius Pilate: many of us quote his name every Sunday in public worship: "Suffered under Pontius Pilate!" "Pilate, vacillating between the monitions of conscience and a miserable time serving policy, delivered up Jesus to be crucified. He believed him to be innocent; yet that his own loyalty to Caesar might not be suspected, he did violence to his conscience and condemned the innocent. He must secure his friendship of Caesar, though it be fit the expense of the most appalling crime. But how miserably he failed; and there was in the retribution which followed a striking fitness of the punishment to the crime. He hesitated at nothing to please his imperial master at Rome. Yet but two years afterward he was banished by this same emperor into a distant province, where, in disgrace and abandonment, and with a burden on his conscience which was as the burning steel, he put an end to an existence which was too wretched to be borne!" "Be sure your sin will find you out!" "He that confesseth and forsaketh his sin shall find mercy."  W. M. Religious InfoNet ¤ Box 456 ¤ Forest Lake, MN 55025 Email: kevin@waltermartin.com Phone: 651-307-1507 |