God Loves the People
Matthew 28:16-20
Illustration
by Tom Rietveld

The United States today is very similar to what 18th century England was like. Morals were all but gone on the part of the common man. The slave trade was at its height. A godless prison system entertained the people with public hangings. Gambling was a national obsession--one historian said that England was a vast casino. Drinking dominated the pastime of men and boys. False rumors were regularly used to manipulate the financial markets.

Also, the Anglican church was in decay. Zeal for Christ was considered professionally dangerous. 20% of the clergy had been removed or dismissed because of moral and ethical failures. Bishop George Berkeley wrote at the time, "It is to be feared that the age of monsters is not far off."

On to that scene came some young men known as the Holy Club of Oxford. John and Charles Wesley, George Whitefield, and others made a mission statement together. It said, "We want to reform the nation, particularly the church, and to spread scriptural holiness over the land." From that small group of college students, the face of England was completely changed. Even to the point where most historians agree that the revival that happened under those young men in England saved the English people from the bloody revolution that France went through.

I really don't know what is going to happen to America in the future. But I do know that the only answer to the spirit of despondency, the spirit of separatism, the spirit of impurity, the spirit of guilt... is the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The United States of America needs the message that God loves people. And offers them the chance to start over, have their sins forgiven, and experience reconciliation.

A Great Commission Passion , by Tom Rietveld