I was not a history student in high school. I couldn’t see the point in looking backwards, I wanted to be a history maker with his eyes fixed on the horizon of new opportunities! How naïve I was; and how I wasted those years and failed to understand how important it is to learn from the past. Ironically, my first lecture in Bible college was Church History and I remember sighing inwardly and thinking, “How boring this will be, let’s get on with mission and ministry and all the saving-the-world stuff.”
I was 30 years old and still hadn’t worked it out. But Dr Roger Kemp healed me of my ignorance in those lectures, week by week, as he unlocked the past and opened my eyes to the simple truth that history is one of our greatest teachers and the source of many of our most important lessons in life. It would be wrong to say that I became a history buff after that, but I do believe I am far more interested in understanding the past now, before trying to shape the future.
Ancient history was even more boring than modern history when I was young, but more recently, as I have looked back across the ruins and landmarks of antiquity, I have been stunned by the parallels between those societies and our own. For most of us the destruction of Carthage, the rise of the Greek city-states, and the Fall of Rome are just ghosts of the past, history lessons long forgotten (or slept through in my case). Such things as the capture of Constantinople, the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, the collapse of the kingdoms of France and Spain, and the slow withering decline of the British Empire are much less clear and less memorable.
Most of us do not remember much from our history lessons about the French Enlightenment or the issues that led to the American Revolution. But it is vital that we reconsider the nature of life in those earlier times. For within those eras and movements are the seeds of the troubles we face today across all cultures. There are many reasons for the decline and fall of a nation, but an important (and often overlooked) reason is its abandonment of faith. You see, the roots of ‘culture’ come from the word ‘cult.’ In other words, culture (cult-ure) is based upon some form of religious or spiritual worldview. Egypt was a religious society founded on the worship of nature gods and goddesses. Greece and Rome had their pantheon of pagan deities. And nations like India, China, and many other parts of the globe all demonstrate the principle that civilization arises from a spiritual reality.
The opposite is also true. When the traditional beliefs of a nation erode, the nation dies. Our faith provides the set of standards that govern a nation. Historian Will Durant said, “There is no significant example in history, before our time, of a society successfully maintaining moral life without the aid of religious faith.” Unfortunately, this great nation of ours has embarked on a journey to maintain a society without any spiritual foundation. Christian principles are no longer taught in the public schools like they once were and are often ridiculed in the arenas of education and media. One has to wonder what the fate of this country will be in the future. I believe Australia is still the greatest country in the world; I would not want to live anywhere else; but the naivety and ignorance which suggests it will always be that way must be challenged.
We are witnessing decay in our nation at almost every level: socially, culturally and morally. Those who have studied nations and civilisations in the past which have crumbled and disappeared, have witnessed the same patterns.
Social Decay
Three important trends demonstrate social decay. They are ‘the crisis of lawlessness,’ the ‘the loss of economic discipline,’ and ‘a rising bureaucracy.’ History provides ample illustrations of the disastrous consequences of the collapse of law and order. In ancient Greece, the first symptoms of disorder were a general loss of respect for tradition and the degradation of the young. Among the early symptoms was the decline of art and entertainment. The philosophers distorted the medium of communication. Rhetoric became combative and intolerant; intellectuals began to deride and attack all the traditional institutions of Hellenic society. New thinkers in the society argued for ‘fundamental change’ and called for giving the youth a ‘voice in society.’
Without traditional guidelines, the young men grew wild and undisciplined, quickly destroying the old order. Slowly Greece devolved into a disreputable and lawless nation. The Romans conquered Greece in 146 B.C. By placing everything under military authority, they were able to restore order and bring back the rule of law.
In a study of the French Revolution, one historian noted that “Order is not pressure which is imposed on society from without, but an equilibrium which is set up from within.” With regard to ‘a lack of economic discipline’ … we are seeing this in the state of NSW in a big way … we have seen it at the federal level in recent years and could well see that increase substantially following the outcome of the most recent federal election.
We have also seen a huge rise in bureaucracy in our nation over recent years. Apart from the enormous cost to the taxpayer, this has resulted in a gradual watering down of the decisive leadership required by Governments, especially during hard times or when our nation is under threat. The ‘red tape’, as they call it, can completely strangle a nation. When you study many other civilisations and societies in the past, you see that social decay led to their decline and ultimate fall. If we are to prevent a repeat of history, then we must learn from these lessons of history.
Cultural Decay
Four important trends demonstrate cultural decay. They are the ‘decline of education,’ the ‘weakening of cultural foundations,’ the ‘loss of respect for tradition,’ and the ‘increase in materialism.’ In his study The Civilization of Rome, Donald Dudley says that no single cause, by itself, would have brought that mighty empire to its knees. Instead, the fall came through “a number of weaknesses in Roman society; their effects may be variously estimated, but in combination they must have been largely responsible for the collapse.”
The cultural decay of a nation leads to social and cultural decline. And the patterns are similar from one civilization to another. Despite the great difference in cultural background – most of the ancient empires have shown very similar characteristics, and these characteristics provide the key to an understanding of the processes of their decline.
The Roman poet Livy wrote that greed and self-indulgence led Romans to dangerous excesses. He said, “When people had fewer possessions, they were also modest in their desires. Riches brought avarice and abundant pleasures, and the desire to carry luxury and lust to the point of ruin.”
In describing the decadence of the Roman Republic, one historian wrote that this preoccupation with luxury led to carnal indulgences. “For some young men indulged in affairs with boys, others in affairs with courtesans.” They paid a talent (roughly a thousand dollars) for a boy bought for sexual pleasure and three hundred drachmas for a jar of caviar. Marcus Cato was outraged by this and, in a speech to the people at that time, he complained that one might be quite convinced of the decline of the republic, when pretty boys cost more than fields and jars of caviar cost more than workers in the field.
As we look at our society today, we too find ourselves in a world where values have been inverted and where citizens pursue selfish pleasures without counting the cost. Our nation would be wise to learn the lessons of the past.
Moral Decay
Three important trends demonstrate moral decay. They are the ‘rise in immorality,’ the ‘decay of religious belief,’ and the ‘devaluing of human life.’
The classic study of Roman civilization, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, written by English historian Edward Gibbon was published in 1776. He observed that the leaders of the empire gave into the vices of strangers, morals collapsed, laws became oppressive, and the abuse of power made the nation vulnerable to the barbarian hordes.
British historian Catherine Edwards demonstrated that our current examples of immorality are not a modern phenomenon. In her study of the “politics of immorality” in ancient Rome, she says that contraception, abortion, and exposure were common ways to prevent childbirth in Rome. Husbands refused to recognize any child they did not believe to be their own. Until accepted by its father, a Roman baby did not exist, legally speaking.
Life became cheap in the latter days of the Roman Empire. Burdensome regulation and taxes made manufacturing and trade unprofitable. Families were locked into hereditary trades and vocations allowing little if any vocational choice. Eventually, children were seen as a needless burden and abortion and infanticide became commonplace. In some cases, children were sold into slavery. Manners and social life fell into debauchery. Under Justinian, entertainment grew bawdier and more bizarre. Orgies and love feasts were common. Homosexuality and bestiality were openly practiced. Under Nero, Christians were blamed for the great fire in Rome and horribly persecuted. Similar patterns can be found in other civilizations. In Greece, the music of the young people became wild and coarse. Popular entertainment was brutal and vulgar. Promiscuity, homosexuality, and drunkenness became a daily part of life. And all moral and social restraints were lost leading to greater decadence.
The parallels to our own nation are striking. No, we don’t sacrifice infants to a pagan goddess, but we do sacrifice 80,000 unborn children every year on the altar of convenience. And various sexual practices are now openly accepted as part of an alternative lifestyle.
Are we a nation in decline?
A study of previous nations and civilisations reveal patterns of decline. Do these patterns apply to our own nation? Many people looking at the patterns of social, cultural, and moral decay in other countries and civilizations have concluded that we are headed down the same path. Historian, Russell Kirk put it this way: “It appears to me that our culture labours in an advanced state of decadence; that what many people mistake for the triumph of our civilization actually consists of powers that are disintegrating our culture; that the much praised ‘democratic freedom’ of liberal society in reality is servitude to appetites and illusions which attack religious belief; which destroy community through excessive centralization and urbanization; and which destroy life-giving tradition and custom.”
We as a nation and a people must rise to the occasion or suffer a fate similar to that which has befallen civilizations in the past. The task is not easy since the patterns of decay found in other nations strike ours as well. Nations were subverted by false and foreign ideologies. We too find hostile ideas in the public arenas of media, politics, and education. Sexual promiscuity led to the downfall of these nations. So too we find similar patterns of sexual promiscuity and debauchery. As nations fell into decline, life became cheap. Infants were strangled, exposed to the elements, or sold into slavery. Others were sacrificed to pagan goddesses in order to ensure productivity or a long life. Today life has become cheap. At one end of the spectrum, over 200 unborn babies are aborted every day in our nation. At the other end, physician-assisted suicide is becoming the norm for the aged.
Throughout history, in every culture and society there is a pattern of ‘challenge and response.’ We as a nation are challenged in fundamental ways, and our response will either pull us back from the brink or push us over it. Will we follow the path to renewal and reformation or will we follow the path to destruction? The choice is ours. The church as an institution in our society is now powerless. Jesus said He would build a church that the gates of hell itself would not prevail against. Look around people – hell is prevailing against the church of this age. We are having the heaven kicked out of us every single day in a myriad of ways!
The visible church – the established, man-made institution which consists of buildings, programs, clergy & lay people; that identifiable people group within society who do culturally irrelevant things on Sundays and Wednesday nights; is marginalised, irrelevant and shrinking in size and proportion every day.
But Jesus said, “I will build a church that kicks Satan’s butt all the way to hell!” (My paraphrase!) So where is that church? How will it be built? How long must we watch our nation decline and decay in front of our eyes before the church that Jesus promised to build emerges? I am so glad you asked. I have some good news for you. I know you were hoping there was some good news somewhere in this sermon, weren’t you? Well, there is. Jesus is building His church. He never stopped. Little by little His Spirit is changing the mindset of believers across this nation and mobilising them one by one to infiltrate the world and turn society on its head, the way the early church did all those years ago!
The church-building strategies of Jesus are not new – they are as old as the church itself. He showed us over 2,000 years ago and He even wrote it down in the Bible so we wouldn’t forget it. Jesus came into the midst of our human society and from within that society He manifested the Kingdom of God. He was the ultimate ‘incarnational’ minister. He was the master of ‘infiltration.’ He was the original ‘lifestyle evangelism’ trainer. He did not come and show us how to erect buildings to hide in; or run programs which don’t mean anything to the world around us. He showed us how to live out our faith in the midst of a hostile world. Church leaders are no longer respected in our nation. Sex scandals and the rapidly declining moral fibre within denominational leaders has seen a once respected and valued institution slip very quickly into disrepute. The church is ridiculed by many and ignored by even more.
So there is only one way Jesus can still be salt and light in this nation, by doing what He did in the first place and what He showed us to do: incarnational ministry … infiltrating society at every level and bringing salt and light to the roots of our society … rather than trying to bring it to the distant edges of our culture where nobody notices. We need to get out of the grandstands and back into the game! Wherever there is a place in which we can shine the light of God, we must take the opportunity. Not as Bible-bashing Christians talking a language that most people don’t understand, but as plumbers, lawyers, builders, housewives, store managers, mothers and fathers, grandparents, nurses, teachers, tradespeople, politicians, doctors etc. Infiltration and incarnation. That is how Jesus is building His church. That is the only way He can now, in a society which no longer holds the institutionalised church in high esteem. Perhaps it was the only way He ever wanted to build His church in the first place?
If we are serious about fulfilling God’s will in this city and this nation, if we truly want to seize the day and take hold of the opportunities God has given us … then there will be no more spectators. No more sideline commentators. We are all called into the church-building business, in partnership with the Master Builder Himself. None of us get to watch from a distance, we must get dirty on the field, playing our part, however small it appears, in the master plan of God to restore righteousness in this nation.
Come, Holy Spirit, fill us afresh and give us the courage to seize the day, today, and bring this mighty nation back from the brink and restore our spiritual foundations!