What Is America's Problem?

What Is America's Problem?

by Pastor Ed Evans

Scripture:  Jeremiah 17:1-10

¹The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, and with the point of a diamond: it is graven upon the table of their heart, and upon the horns of your altars;

² Whilst their children remember their altars and their groves by the green trees upon the high hills.

³ O my mountain in the field, I will give thy substance and all thy treasures to the spoil, and thy high places for sin, throughout all thy borders.

⁴ And thou, even thyself, shalt discontinue from thine heritage that I gave thee; and I will cause thee to serve thine enemies in the land which thou knowest not: for ye have kindled a fire in mine anger, which shall burn forever.

⁵ Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord.

⁶ For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.

⁷ Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.

⁸ For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.

⁹ The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

¹⁰ I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.

The philosopher Aristotle is quoted as saying, "Life is full of chances and changes, and the most prosperous of men may...meet with great misfortunes."

This nation has been through many changes, and faced great challenges over the years, including two world wars, a civil war that pitted neighbor against neighbor and brother against brother, foreign wars that robbed America's gene pool of who knows how many great leaders, inventors and families of the future. 

Now America faces even more dire problems, including deadly wars in foreign countries, economic threats to families and the nation, religious and political strife that again pit neighbor against neighbor, brother against brother.  It seems like one problem after another, one financial pitfall after another, one horrendous crime after another, one scandal after another.  Does it ever end?

Many blame the disintegration of ethics and moral leadership, many point their fingers at the church, at local, state and federal leadership.  What has become of the land of the free and the home of brave?  What is our problem?

America's problem is not a political problem, not a politician problem. 

It is a sin problem.

It isn't that we don't have the right man or woman in office, not the wrong leadership.  It isn't that we have the wrong friends or allies, not that they fail us.  Not that we have the wrong plans, the wrong machinery and weapons, not that our military has the wrong training.

It's not even that we have the wrong stuff.  Goodness knows America has the best "stuff" in the world, and more of it than anyone else.  Each one of us is probably wondering why we have so much "stuff".  But that's not the problem, either.

Our problem is not that we are polluting our environment, that some of us grow up in bad neighborhoods or in rich enclaves.  After all, Adam and Eve were living in the Garden of Eden when they sinned.

It isn't the color of our skin, it isn't the lost opportunities, it isn't the lack of wisdom or knowledge.

It is sin.  It is sin.

Now, if you will go along with me on that conclusion for a minute, let's take a look at that possibility.

If, indeed, the problem is sin, then there is only one book, one source that has the answer to our problem.  That book is the Bible; the inspired Word of God.

All of the other religions of the world, all the sects and groups and committed ways that man has come up with over the ages, over thousands of years on earth, they are all systems to punish you when you violate their rules.  They are legalistic traps

The Living God who created us is the only one who approaches the sin problem with love, and tells us He has solved our problem.  Because He knows us so well, as our Creator, He gave us opportunity after opportunity to use our God-given intellect and wisdom to find a way out of our problem.

Surely by now we have convinced ourselves that we do not have an answer to our sin problem.  But God does.

God has the answer.  He put that answer into play on a rude hill called Golgotha outside of Jerusalem.  Jesus Christ gave His life for ours, and God the Father accepted His Son's sacrifice in place of ours to solve the sin problem.

And to ensure that we understood, God instituted the ritual of blood sacrifice long before His Son became the lamb of sacrifice, for us.  He wanted us to know the importance and the impact of a blood sacrifice that covered our sins.  That final sacrifice has been made; the blood of THE lamb -- Jesus Christ, one sacrifice for all -- has been made.

Now God has told us that the emphasis is no longer on sacrifice but on obedience.  Early in His history with mankind, written into 1st Samuel 15:22, God told us "Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice."  God prefers obedience to sacrifice.

Once God gave us time and history to understand that the problem is sin, He solved our problem.  Now we have the opportunity put His answer into play in our own individual lives through obedience to His Word.

Our problem is not our society, our environment, our background, our race.....none of the issues to which we point our fingers, for which we blame others, false flags we use to avoid the true problem.  None of those.  Our individual commitment to obedience will solve our individual and national problem; save our own soul, our family, friends, community, town, city, state, our region, our nation, and our world.

The problem is sin.

God solved that problem.

The answer lies in accepting the gift of forgiveness, the gift of life everlasting, through belief and obedience to Jesus Christ.  Notice I said belief AND obedience.  Belief is not enough.  James 2:19 reminds us, "You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!"  Belief is no help to those who will not obey.

It was Jesus Himself who said, in Luke 6:46, " But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?"  It is about sin, and the answer lies in accepting Jesus Christ, and obedience

Pay attention.

There will not be a test, this is the test.

Amen.