When must it be declared that a generation is under the judgment of the Almighty? Such an awesome declaration must not be made hastily. Yet, God's servant must not fail to faithfully warn men of his judgment and instruct them in times of spiritual famine.
The single greatest cause of Divine judgment is idolatry (Rom. 1:25-26). When those who are supposed to be speaking for God "change the truth of God into a lie and worship and serve the creature more than the Creator," leading men away from God, they lead them to destruction. Idolatry is not just the worship of images. It is the worship of any god other than the true and living God. Any religion that makes man great and God small, makes salvation the work of man rather than the work of God, and makes any way of access to God other than, or in conjunction with Christ, is idolatry. In a word, all free will, works religion is idolatry! It is the worship of the creature, not the Creator! What is the result of idolatry? Judgment! This judgment is manifest in three particular areas.
1. Spiritual Blindness (II Thess. 2:10-11) - When God gives people over to a reprobate mind he sends them spiritual blindness so that they cannot believe the gospel. Free grace, sovereign election, substitutionary redemption, effectual calling and infallible preservation are stumbling blocks to them. A generation under the judgment of God is a generation that loves religion, but hates God.
2. Moral Perversion (Rom. 1:27-28) - Nothing more evidently manifests the wrath of God upon a people than the reversal of roles between men and women. Effeminate men and domineering women are destructive, never beneficial to society. Those two things always lead to homosexuality and lesbianism. These are not alternative life styles. They are reprobate life styles.
3. Self-serving Chaos and Rebellion (Rom. 1:29-32) - A generation under the judgment of God is one filled with rebels, people who despise every form of God ordained authority and live only to fulfill their own lusts, sensual and material. Consequently, deceit, fornication, murder, and barbaric cruelty become common place. These things are the result of religion which debases the character of God and exalts the dignity of man!
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