Volume 25, Issue 7
Page 14
WisconsinChristianNews.com
Psalm 10: A Cry of Lament In a World of Practical Atheism
By Dr. Mike Spaulding November/ December 2024 As I reflected on this psalm, reading it, chewing on it, meditating on
sity of sharing one’s faith. I believe this number might be inflated, and here’s why: Out of that 73% who said they feel responsible to share their faith, 52% said they’ve actually done so just once in the past year. That’s once in a year! And I’m not going to put you on the spot by asking for a show of hands, but I
25 years, we’ve seen a 3% drop in regular church attendance, even as America’s population has grown 18.1% in that same timeframe. Hundreds of thousands of people have stopped attending church. This trend becomes clearer when you look at younger generations. For people aged 30 and under — often referred to as “millennials” —
to America to see how the British military was faring against the colonialists. The British were still in control of New York City, so they threw out the red carpet for Prince William, celebrating with balls, parties, and parades, as if every- thing was going according to plan. Meanwhile, in Yorktown, Virginia, General Charles Cornwallis had put his troops in a position with
it, I came to understand this psalm as presenting a dual context or
picture. You can make an argument for both of these interpretations coexisting si- multaneously. First, we live in a fallen world that is bro- ken by sin, but second, we also live in a time when the Church itself has become in- creasingly apostate. So, as I reflected, I realized that some of these charac- teristics of the wicked de- scribed here in Psalm 10 are equally applicable to many who call themselves “Chris- tians” today. That was a startling thought, but I think statistics, if you can believe them, bear this out. Current Church Statistics I did a quick, cursory search on church atten- dance and faith statistics,
their backs to the sea, leav- ing no escape. Cornwallis was about to make a critical blunder, surrounded by Washington’s forces on land and the French navy by sea. Cornwallis’s surrender later that October essentially marked the end of the Revo- lutionary War and sealed America’s independence. In New York City, the British were celebrating, blissfully unaware that de- feat was imminent. They acted as if the war was won, even as Cornwallis’s surren- der was only days away. This reminds me of many churches today — content, distracted, and celebrating “success” while a real spiri- tual battle rages. Psalm 10
and here’s what I found that’s worth sharing with you. These numbers illustrate a modern trend toward practical atheism in the church — people who profess to know God but live as if He doesn’t matter. A George Barna Group survey conducted last year found the fol- lowing: • 73% of born-again Christians say they have a personal responsi- bility to share their faith with oth- ers. Now, that sounds good at first, doesn’t it? But let me add this: I don’t believe 73% of churches in America are teaching personal evangelism as essential. In fact, I’d be surprised if even 50% of churches actively teach the neces-
wonder how often we have person- ally shared our faith this year? These numbers reflect the problem I’m talking about — many profess- ing Christians say the right things but rarely live them out. Now, here’s a survey conducted by Barna in collaboration with Stetzer and Olson, where they found: • Only 17.7% of Americans at- tend church weekly. That’s an in- teresting statistic when compared to older numbers. Barna previ- ously reported around 46-47% of Americans attending weekly serv- ices. According to this newer sur- vey, attendance is down to 17.7%, and that number has dropped from 20.4% in 1990. So, in about
only 20% consider church impor- tant. Of those, 35% are actively hostile toward Christianity. Not just indifferent — hostile. So, we’re living in an age of prac- tical atheism within the church. People are saying all the right things but aren’t living it out in a way that shows they truly believe. We’re in a time where the culture, the world around us, increasingly disregards God. We see people who act as though God doesn’t exist, or if He does, He’s irrelevant.
reminds us that we’re in a battle against wickedness and godless- ness. There’s a very real conflict, and we need to wake up to it. Outline of Psalm 10 For our study today, here’s an outline to help guide us through Psalm 10: 1). Verse 1 – Why doesn’t God act for the righteous and against the wicked? 2). Verses 2-11 – A description of the characteristics of the wicked and the affliction of the righteous.
Illustration: 1781 American Revolution
3). Verses 12-18 – The response of the righteous.
Let me give you an example from history to illustrate this. In 1781, Prince William Henry (who would later become King William IV) came
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