What Happens to a Nation That Has No Fear of God?

Scripture is filled with warnings and examples of severe judgments which God brings upon a nation that does not fear Him. Here are several examples. I. It will be the victim of its own wickedness. Because there is no fear of God the people decide what is right and what is wrong. Every man does that which is right in his own eyes and the wickedness of immorality abounds. God’s moral standards, however, do not change and He will not be mocked. “For he that sows to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption” (Galatians 6:8). With the onslaught of a host of venereal diseases and the current economic disaster, the warning of Jeremiah 2:19 is coming to pass in America “Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee; Know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, says the Lord God of hosts.” II. It legal system will become unjust. When men’s hearts are set on doing evil, they will reinterpret existing laws and create new laws to justify greed and wickedness. “But this people hath a revolting and a rebellious heart, neither say they in their heart, let us now fear the Lord, yet they prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge” (Jeremiah 5:23-24, 28). III. Its wealth will be controlled by other nations. When our nation trusted in God, read His Word in our public schools, and taught His moral standards in our classrooms, we were the richest nation in the world. We are now the greatest debtor nation in the world. Scripture is clear that the borrower is servant to the lender. We are not only debtors, but citizens of other nations now own and control significant portions of our land, resources, and companies. “The stranger that is within thee shall get up above thee very high; and thou shall come down very low. He shall lend to thee, and thou shall not lend to him: he shall be the head, and thou shall be the tail” (Deuteronomy 28:43-44). IV. What is God’s cure for a nation that does not fear Him? God’s only remedy for a nation that turns from Him is the active presence of righteous and God fearing people. God would have spared Sodom and Gomorrah had there been only ten righteous people in them. Never before has it been so vital for God’s people to be totally dedicated to Him and living testimonies of the principles of His Word. “When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him: (Isaiah 59:19). We will have a strong nation when we have strong churches. We will have strong churches when we have strong families. We will have strong families when we have fathers who know how to be strong spiritual leaders. One of the primary functions of the local church is to teach Christians, the community, and the nation the fear of the Lord. If Satan can hinder the church in carrying out this vital role, He has accomplished a major victory. For this reason pastors are under special attack. Last year in one denomination alone 1,800 pastors left the ministry, most of them because of discouragement. No wonder Scripture exhorts us to pray for our spiritual authorities and to encourage them in every way we can.