“Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?” These are the opening words of Psalm 2 and so well describe the raging of our own day. In fact, if you read on in the psalm, it tells us the real root of the raging we see almost every day on the news and increasingly in our own communities and neighborhoods: “The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.”
Though I shouldn’t be surprised, I admit that I sometimes am amazed at how accurately the Bible describes sinful me and the world in which I live. It’s just one more proof of the 100-percent accuracy and truthfulness of the Scriptures, which should come as no surprise to those who accept the Bible’s claim to having the God who created the universe as the real author. But, back to the heathen raging.
“Why do the heathen rage?” Why do people, politicians and the mainstream media rage when someone takes a stand against such things as abortion, euthanasia, same-sex marriage, adultery, divorce, etc.? Why do they employ dishonesty, name-calling, demonstrations and sometimes even violence in an attempt to sway public opinion to their side? The answer of the psalm: they are trying to break and cast off the bands of the LORD God of the Bible and His Anointed, Jesus Christ, from us and our society and nation. They wish to be free of all influence of God and the Bible and they rage against any who hold to the true Christian Faith or to a true Christian view of the Bible as God’s inspired and unerring word.
And, yes, the word “heathen” includes many who claim to be Christian. It includes all who do not live in continual repentance and faith in Christ Jesus and His atoning sacrifice upon the cross for the sins of the world. It includes all who reject the Christ of the Bible, who is true God and true man and held to the accuracy and truthfulness of every word of the Bible and called such things as adultery, fornication, evil words, evil desires and coveting, sin and worthy of damnation. It includes all who would soften the words and teaching of Jesus to make them more appealing to our modern world. It includes all who believe or teach that faith in Jesus and His cross is not the only way of salvation.
Why do the heathen seek to cast off the LORD God of the Bible and His Christ? It’s because they don’t wish to be held accountable to a God who condemns sin. They don’t wish to admit that they are living in rebellion and disobedience against the God who created them and gave them life. They don’t wish to hear that they will all stand before the judgment seat of God’s Son. They don’t wish to repent of their sinful ways, place their faith in Christ Jesus and His atoning sacrifice upon the cross and then amend their thinking and lifestyle in accord with God’s Word, the Bible.
Jesus explained it when, just after the words of John 3:16, He said: “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved” (John 3:19-20).
And the raging against God and His Word is more than just a battle of opinions among people. “We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Eph. 6:12). We need to remember that Satan Himself is behind the raging against the LORD and His Anointed. With his lies and deception, Satan is at work trying to make good look evil and evil look good — that is why the killing of the unborn is described as women’s reproductive rights, euthanasia as showing kindness and mercy to the elderly and terminally ill, homosexuality as an individual being true to his or her nature, etc. It’s all a lie — an appealing lie — of Satan.
This raging against God and His Word is not a new thing even though the battle has become more open and vocal in recent years. The raging was evident in the teaching of evolution in the public schools and the attempts in public education to discredit the Bible. It has been evident in church body after church body with the questioning of the historical accuracy of the Scriptures and with challenges to numerous teachings of the Bible. It was evident in the Roe v. Wade and Obergefell v. Hodges Supreme Court decisions. And, it is evident today in all the wranglings to keep conservative judges from being seated in courts and to prevent states from enacting and enforcing moral laws.
Christians will not and cannot win this battle over the raging by simply electing conservative leaders, because the real battle is not for outward dominion but for the hearts and minds of the people. It is not a battle to be fought with guns and bombs, or even by political maneuvering to get more votes and more earthly power. It is a spiritual battle to be fought with spiritual weapons. Christians will not win or gain ground through compromise or acquiescence. It’s not time to surrender the sword of the Spirit or to put our armor down (Eph. 6:10ff.). Appealing to the raging masses through any compromise of the truth will only give the enemies of truth the entrance and foothold they need to silence the witness to the truth altogether behind good words like “love” and “acceptance.”
Christians must stand firm and teach and proclaim God’s truth — all of it — nothing more and nothing less! And Christians need to be praying that God would use His truth to change hearts and minds from those who rage against the LORD and His Christ to those who submit to the LORD and His Christ and who hear and believe the truth, repenting of their sins and sinful ways and looking to Christ for pardon, forgiveness and for the needed help and strength to amend their lives.
And we do, by the way, know the final outcome. Read on in Psalm 2 for the answer. Those who are raging now would do well to heed the words of the final verses.
[Scripture is quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.]