When the Gospel Is Rejected
It seems paradoxical to say that while the Gospel goes to all the world, men grow worse and worse, but it is true. It must be in the last days that the Gospel goes to all the world, for "this Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come." Matt. 24: 14. "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves," etc. (2 Tim. 3:1, 2), and "evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived" (verse 13). Why then is it that men become worse under the preaching of the Gospel? Why did the antediluvians become worse under the message proclaimed by Noah? Why did the Jews become more and more desperate under the preaching of Christ? The reason is clear: God's overtures of mercy were, and are, and will be, rejected by the masses, and the rejection of the Gospel makes men worse than they were before. And the very worst of all classes is composed of those who have a form of godliness but deny the power thereof. See verses 2 to 9 of the chapter last cited. The power of the Gospel is denied when men seek the power of human law and human influence to enforce the Gospel.