A reprobate nation
by Merrill Olson
The Bible says, “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased [depraved] mind, to do those things which are not fitting” (Romans 1:28). There are Bible teachers that believe God has also turned America over to a reprobate mind. And with careful thought and contemplation, one cannot help but believe that this is very true. Especially with the spiritual darkness that is invading this country. This may sound pessimistic, but how can it not be such with the reality of what has been happening in the past few years?
The word “debased” or “depraved” is adokimos and was a term used of rejected metals because of their impurities. They never stood the test. Therefore, the refiners discarded them. They are treated as useless and worthless. So, the unsaved with their depraved minds, say to God “…Depart from us, For we do not desire the knowledge of Your ways. Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him? And what profit do we have if we pray to Him”? (Job 21:14-15). Thus, it goes back to the description “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased [depraved] mind, to do those things which are not fitting.”
The description surely describes America that has gradually, for decades, abandon its moral and spiritual foundation upon which it was built. The decisions of its leaders were first based on God’s objective truth. Now many of the present ones do not want to admit the difference between a man and a woman. If asked, the response may be “I am not a biologist to answer that.” What darkness! There was no question regarding this ever since God created them. Scripture states, “So God created man in His own image in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:27).
Now, certain people who sit on the highest court in the land will not admit the difference between a man and a woman. This is truly insane! All of us know that there are male and female in the animal kingdom. If anyone said a bull was a cow and tried to milk him, the results would be disastrous! I grew up on a farm; and if I said to my father, “Let’s put the bull in the barn next to the milk cows to milk him too,” he would have wondered what has mentally happened to me. And yet, this same bizarre thinking is taking place among leaders who pass laws with the intent that we follow them.
However, this absurdly leads further into darkness where people are fired from their jobs for calling a man “him” and a woman “her.” This is totally beyond reasoning. It despises common sense. No matter how people want to be looked at personally, they still remain man or woman, “him” or “her.” When a person takes a shower, it shouldn’t be too hard to determine what God given gender is seen. Yet, people still seek to cram this ungodliness into the lives of school children along with the category of the “transgender” that is not reality. How did God create people? They are either “male or female” (Genesis 1:27). To believe otherwise is “depraved” thinking! How do they walk? The Bible describes it “…in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardening of their hearts” (Ephesians 2:18).
Therefore, these people desperately need Jesus and His saving grace. They need to become reconciled to God by being spiritually born again (John 3:3, 7). Only through the Lord Jesus can people be taken “out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9). Without it, a horrific afterlife awaits them with no end! (Rev. 20:11-15)
Merrill Olson served as a senior pastor for thirty-four years. He received a B.S. from Minnesota State University-Mankato, an M. Div. from Bethel Theological Seminary, and a D. Min. from Columbia Evangelical Seminary. He is currently involved as an interim pastor along with a teaching and writing ministry. His emphasis is on apologetics and training believers to defend their faith in Christ from God’s Word. He is well versed in Bible prophecy as it pertains to end times. He is a gifted speaker with the conviction that only by the Word of God can people experience inward transformation by the Holy Spirit. He and his wife, Jan, reside in Minnesota and have two daughters and four delightful grandchildren.