Mark 8:36
For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
As I look around on all that is happening in our world it is obvious to me that democracy has failed? What do I mean? Well let's look at the facts. We live under the rule of a government where the two main political parties can not agree on anything. We have politicians from both sides who have been accused and sometimes convicted of scandals that have rocked the world. Our country is in a mess and no one can agree on how to fix it. It is obvious to met that democracy (or a republic) has failed.
We can look at other forms of government that have failed. The Roman empire eventually failed as did the Greek and Persian empires before it. The socialist idea of a communal government has always failed as was proven when the U.S.S.R. fell apart. There was a time when most of the countries of Europe were ruled by Kings and Queens and these too failed. Why? The reason is simple. Without God, man's idea of equality and fairness will always fail.
We can go all the way back to the Biblical world for more examples. Israel decided they wanted a king but when they got Saul he was a wicked man and they were soon disappointed. Even the beloved King David fell into sin and betrayed his own friends and fellow countrymen as a whole. Almost every King after David was increasingly more wicked than the ones before him. The idea of a kingdom failed.
But why did they want a king in the first place? Simple. For many years they had been ruled by judges who were supposedly set in place by God. They were tired of judges who claimed to speak for God but served only themselves. They had no voice to oppose what the judge deemed was right or wrong. They somehow thought a king would be better than this. After all, how could anything be worse? But we know that it was indeed worse.
After all these failed forms of government it seemed that the next step would be a government where the people could speak for themselves. But, as we have seen, this too has failed. Failed in its attempts regenerate mankind and make him a better person. Failed in its desire to rid society of crime, racism, and a myriad of other evils. Failed.
With all this failure, is there any hope? The Bible tells us that a man will arise that will claim to have all the answers. He will be the one who knows how to settle the fighting in the middle east. He will know how to bridge the gap between rich and poor, religious and non-religious, people of different religions and so forth. He will seem to have all the answers. Yet we know that the man I speak of is what the Bible calls the anti-Christ. Ultimately, he will turn against the people of God and even fight against God himself. Yet his government too shall fail.
The only true hope for anyone in this world is Jesus Christ. The only safe haven is the church. The church that will taken out of this world when Jesus Christ comes to claim his own. We can build kingdoms and castles here in this life but they will eventually crumble and fall. The only way to be sure of anything is to make sure our hearts and lives are right with God. For what will it profit us if we gain the whole world but lose our own souls?
Trusting in Jesus,
Sullivan Jones
For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
As I look around on all that is happening in our world it is obvious to me that democracy has failed? What do I mean? Well let's look at the facts. We live under the rule of a government where the two main political parties can not agree on anything. We have politicians from both sides who have been accused and sometimes convicted of scandals that have rocked the world. Our country is in a mess and no one can agree on how to fix it. It is obvious to met that democracy (or a republic) has failed.
We can look at other forms of government that have failed. The Roman empire eventually failed as did the Greek and Persian empires before it. The socialist idea of a communal government has always failed as was proven when the U.S.S.R. fell apart. There was a time when most of the countries of Europe were ruled by Kings and Queens and these too failed. Why? The reason is simple. Without God, man's idea of equality and fairness will always fail.
We can go all the way back to the Biblical world for more examples. Israel decided they wanted a king but when they got Saul he was a wicked man and they were soon disappointed. Even the beloved King David fell into sin and betrayed his own friends and fellow countrymen as a whole. Almost every King after David was increasingly more wicked than the ones before him. The idea of a kingdom failed.
But why did they want a king in the first place? Simple. For many years they had been ruled by judges who were supposedly set in place by God. They were tired of judges who claimed to speak for God but served only themselves. They had no voice to oppose what the judge deemed was right or wrong. They somehow thought a king would be better than this. After all, how could anything be worse? But we know that it was indeed worse.
After all these failed forms of government it seemed that the next step would be a government where the people could speak for themselves. But, as we have seen, this too has failed. Failed in its attempts regenerate mankind and make him a better person. Failed in its desire to rid society of crime, racism, and a myriad of other evils. Failed.
With all this failure, is there any hope? The Bible tells us that a man will arise that will claim to have all the answers. He will be the one who knows how to settle the fighting in the middle east. He will know how to bridge the gap between rich and poor, religious and non-religious, people of different religions and so forth. He will seem to have all the answers. Yet we know that the man I speak of is what the Bible calls the anti-Christ. Ultimately, he will turn against the people of God and even fight against God himself. Yet his government too shall fail.
The only true hope for anyone in this world is Jesus Christ. The only safe haven is the church. The church that will taken out of this world when Jesus Christ comes to claim his own. We can build kingdoms and castles here in this life but they will eventually crumble and fall. The only way to be sure of anything is to make sure our hearts and lives are right with God. For what will it profit us if we gain the whole world but lose our own souls?
Trusting in Jesus,
Sullivan Jones