Church Lost Fear of God Nation Went to Hell — E.A. Johnston

America's Defiance of God in the Last Days

We are living in the last days, where there is already a spirit of Antichrist in the land. This generation thumbs their nose at God and lives in defiance of him and dares him to do anything about it. We have become a godless nation that has done everything in its power to outlaw God from this country.

The Church's Silence and Moral Compromise

Meanwhile, the church is silent and soundly asleep on pillows of conformity and compromise. It grieves my heart. It saddens me to see how bad our situation has become in a society that has no moral boundaries and is fast spinning out of control.

A Pastor's Denial of the Fear of God

I guess it was about 25 years ago when I was sitting in the congregation of a big Baptist church listening to the pastor, who at the time was the figurehead of his denomination, and he made the following comment, which was broadcast all over the world through his big television ministry.

Replacing Biblical Fear With Comfortable Religion

He said, listen friends, when you see the words fear God in the Bible, that does not mean to literally have a fear of him. That was just for the Old Testament. What that means for us is we are to have reverence for him.

The Loss of Fear and the Church's Irrelevance

That's what the old boy said, but he was dead wrong. The trouble is, everyone agreed with him. As our churches in this country exchanged the God of the Bible for a God we felt more comfortable with, but the day we lost our fear of God was the day our denominations became both irreverent and irreverent, and that's where we are today, friends.

National Decline After the Loss of Reverence

We don't have anything relevant to say to this lost generation that is fast on its way to hell. But in America, in the 1950s, there was still a fear of God in the land. We were still thankful to God for giving us such a victory in World War II, but that was then and this is now.

Self-Satisfied Christianity and National Judgment

Today we have a generation of self-satisfied church members that the only thing they fear is that Starbucks will run out of their favorite beverage. When the church stopped fearing God, the nation went to hell.

And that's the title of my message today, friends. Because we lost our fear of God in America, because the American church lost their fear of God, this nation no longer has a fear of God in the land because there's no fear of God in the church.

False Salvation and a Life of Sin

Listen to me, friend. This stuff we call salvation today won't keep you out of hell because you live like hell. The proof is in the pudding. Go stand in front of the mirror. If you feared God, you wouldn't live the way you do.

Jesus' Warning to Fear God

But Jesus said to fear God in Luke 12 and in verses 4 and 5. We read,. And I say unto you, my friends, be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear.

Fear him which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell. Yea, I say unto you, fear him. Until we, as a people of God, recapture our holy fear of God, we will not live lives of holiness unto God, but we'll continue to live unto ourselves.

Repentance Before the Holy God

And you can see where that's getting us. Listen to me, friends. Jesus never taught a sinning religion, and he was nailed up on a bloody cross for sin to save us from sin. Until the church repents and falls on her face in brokenness and humiliation before thrice holy God and recaptures something of the holy fear of God, we will continue to play church on Sunday while the nation just goes on to hell.

Solomon's Conclusion: Fear God and Keep His Commandments

In the book of Ecclesiastes, we see how King Solomon tried and tasted everything in the world, only to discover it did not satisfy. Maybe it's high time we paid attention to the word of God, which has some advice for us today.

King Solomon summed it up in these words. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil.