032. Is the world growing better or worse?

Is the world growing better or worse?

If you use the word “world” in the biblical sense, that is, the great body of mankind who reject Jesus Christ, then undoubtedly it is growing worse. “The whole world” (that is, the whole mass of men excluding those who accept Jesus Christ, who are not of the world) “licth in the evil one” (1 John 5:19, R.V.), and of course cannot but grow worse all the time it goes on rejecting Christ. But if by “the world” you mean the whole human race, there are two developments going on in it—a good development of those who have come out of the world and accepted Jesus Christ (these arc constantly growing better), and an evil development of those who reject Christ (who are constantly growing worse). In outward things, of course, the world is affected more or less by the believers who are in it, and this leads to many reforms, such as temperance reforms, abolition of slavery, etc.; but “evil men and impostors constantly wax worse, deceiving and being deceived” (2 Timothy 3:13, R.V.), and “in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of devils” (1 Timothy 4:1). “In the last days grievous times shall come” (2 Timothy 3:1-5, R.V.). It will be difficult to find genuine faith in the earth when the Son of Man cometh (Luke 18:8).

Furthermore, the time is coming when the church shall be taken out of the world, and then an awful state of things will go on on this earth, as described in the Book of Revelation.

Again, there can be no question in the mind of any one who goes around in this country today that there had been an awful moral decline in the past few years. This is seen in commercial affairs. Many of the leading business men, whom everyone has trusted, have been found guilty of such a misapplication of funds as should have landed them in the penitentiary. It is seen also in the awful increase of impurity, not only among the abandoned classes but among what is supposed to be good society. Shameless adultery is on the increase, divorces are multiplying, men are divorcing their wives and marrying actresses and other women with apparently no sense of shame, and are received back into what was once supposed to be decent society. The increase of immorality among young men and young women belonging to the better classes of society is something appalling. Suicide is becoming frightfully common. All this is doubtless due to the spread of skeptical and unbelieving views. Belief in an awful future hell has declined enormously in the past few years. Even many ministers of the Gospel neither preach nor believe in an awful hell. Men are questioning on every hand, in universities and theological seminaries and supposedly orthodox pulpits, the authority and inerrancy of the Bible, and this appalling harvest of iniquity is simply the result of this seed sowing.