America: Shake her dust off of my feet?

[Stope]

I wrote the following text in the heat of the moment (and sent it to my friend), the context was seeing friend after friend of mine completely abandon all things Jesus:

Am I allowed to shake the dust off of my feet of post-Christian America and her apostates and lovers of entertainment?

I'm weary with these folk brother: I'm alright with doubters, skeptics and the like, but these folks that were formally "Christians" and their disdain of the blood and their "been there done that" mantra has brought me to a point to only desire to share with the poor, all other nations, and/or folks who doubt but are willing to talk

Thoughts?

 

[VictorBravo]

Well, you are not an apostle, so the shake off the dust command probably doesn't apply.

Then there was Jonah, who wanted all of Nineveh destroyed. His desires weren't aligned with God's purpose:

Jon 4:11 And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?

There are a lot of people around here who don't know their right from their left.

I'm alright with doubters, skeptics and the like

And there are still plenty of these sorts in the good ole USA.

Certainly, brother, if you are really called to missions, follow that. But seeing apostates in your local environment isn't a call, and frustration over these apostates is not a reason to flee the country.

I do think it is reason to solemnly note the seriousness of the Gospel and the passages about those falling away. It ought to drive us to prayer and self-reflection as we see those we thought were the Lord's fall away.

 

[Dachaser]

There are still many here who are saved and want to obey Jesus, its just that the environment culturally wise has become very changed recently for us, and hopefully will improve now that we are under new leadership!

 

[Stope]

Well, you are not an apostle, so the shake off the dust command probably doesn't apply.

Then there was Jonah, who wanted all of Nineveh destroyed. His desires weren't aligned with God's purpose:

Jon 4:11 And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?

There are a lot of people around here who don't know their right from their left.

I'm alright with doubters, skeptics and the like

And there are still plenty of these sorts in the good ole USA.

Certainly, brother, if you are really called to missions, follow that. But seeing apostates in your local environment isn't a call, and frustration over these apostates is not a reason to flee the country.

I do think it is reason to solemnly note the seriousness of the Gospel and the passages about those falling away. It ought to drive us to prayer and self-reflection as we see those we thought were the Lord's fall away.

Thanks brother!

Its not, like Jonah, that I dont desire their repentance. Its more so that most of these folks are so hardened and obstinate to the gospel and not even willing to discuss... But, as you know, its hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom. I was thinking of just focusing on the poor in this country... I almost feel like they have had their chance and I desire to spend my time instead on other non-believers that arent rich in this world and thus a better soil

In other question, when you said "you are not an apostle, so the shake off the dust command probably doesn't apply", why do you think that reality was descriptive and not prescriptive? Also, why do you think Jesus told them to stay at the same home the entire time that they were ministering in that locale?

 

[VictorBravo]

In other question, when you said "you are not an apostle, so the shake off the dust command probably doesn't apply", why do you think that reality was descriptive and not prescriptive? Also, why do you think Jesus told them to stay at the same home the entire time that they were ministering in that locale?

I can't answer the second question, I don't know why they were to stay at one home.

As for the first, it certainly was prescriptive to the Apostles. But Jesus was in direct and in-person charge of the operations at that point. The preaching was to the Jews who knew (or should have known) their Scripture.

But after Jesus has risen, we see Paul getting rejected and driven from a city, stoned and left for dead. Yet he gets up and goes right back into the city! Acts 14:19-20.

I think it's fair enough to say that if someone rejects you clearly talking about the Gospel, then you do not need to keep trying. You can "shake the dust off" regarding that person in good conscience.

But writing off an entire population based on one or two (or twenty!) apostates is not the same thing. God alone knows how many people he has in any particular place.

 

[Ask Mr. Religion]

One view of why the apostles were to stay in the one worthy home was that they were not to have their thoughts wandering, seeking a better place to stay in selfishness aimed towards comfort, rather to be satisfied with the worthy home they had come to initially. After all, they had put their peace (benediction) upon that house, so why seek anything else?

 

[Gforce9]

There are still many here who are saved and want to obey Jesus, its just that the environment culturally wise has become very changed recently for us, and hopefully will improve now that we are under new leadership!

David,
It is true that there is a remnant of the faithful here in the U.S. The problems of this culture (or any culture) have been around since Genesis 3. The U.S. isn't "God's Nation" like Israel of old; it is just a nation of some Christians and some pagans, just like every other nation. If anything at all good comes from the Trump years, it will be temporary as mankind's heart is still evil. Even if Roe was overturned, the 2nd Amendment was upheld, we had a flat tax, Bummer Care was repealed, (insert whatever here), it will be back in a few years because of the evil in man's heart. I'm not looking for a world leader to bring God's people to glory; the glorified Son of Man will bring His bride safely home.........

 

[Parakaleo]

If anything at all good comes from the Trump years, it will be temporary

Amen. We read Acts 27 this evening for family worship. 276 persons on the ship with one man faithfully witnessing God's will to them. Even when God's will was revealed for their own safety, they ignored it and did what seemed right in their own eyes. Yet, God still showed mercy in promising to save every soul on board. The sailors tried to sneak off on the lifeboat. If they had, Paul said everyone would perish. The commander believed him and the life boat was scuttled. When the ship ran aground in the shallows, the soldiers planned to execute all the prisoners. It was for Paul's sake alone that the commander stayed the hand of his men, sparing the lives of every prisoner. God shows mercy where even a few call upon His Name.

All this gave me a lot to think about. Even if our nation doesn't have a Paul as commander-in-chief, we might have been given one who "believes enough" to cut loose the life raft and spare the lives of the prisoners on a ship that is rapidly breaking apart.