It is fashionable in some circles
of religion to bemoan the evil of the day, with many preachers
announcing that they consider their day to be the most evil
day the world has ever seen. But this does not always bear
close scrutiny. For example, 100 years ago, the
United States was involved in a war that would last another
year. The total dead from that war would be 18 million military
deaths and 23 million civilian deaths. That century would see
another war like it, plus the rise of Nazism and Communism,
which would add many millions more dead to the tally of war
and tyranny. But even though in the first
part of this century we have been engaged in a war for many
more years than the total years of World War I and World War
II combined, the total military and civilian dead is about 300,000.
We do not diminish the horribleness of 300,000 dead people, but it
is nowhere like the 41 million total dead from just World War
I. Advances in medicine have added
years to our life expectancy. I recently read that the number
of people who live in abject poverty has been reduced by 80%
in the last 30 years. But this is not to say that there
is no reason for concern. One can hardly be a believer
in the Lord Jesus and not be troubled by the direction that
our culture is taking here in the USA. Like Lot of old, our
souls are vexed by the wicked conduct of the people of our
age. The generation of my parents,
the World War II generation, were appalled to see my generation,
the baby boomers, have so little regard for decency that we laid
aside the need for marriage We, as a generation, fought for the
so-called right to not be married while cohabitating and to be
fully respected in our decision. But now we see people of the
same sex insisting they have the right to marry and using
the force of law to demand that even we who are opposed to such
marriages on the grounds of conscience must lay aside our conscience
and service their abominable weddings if we are in such a
business. In our nation, we see the rule
of law breaking down and some of our most cherished rights
being threatened. Lawless mobs protest everything
and use fear to silence those with whom they do not agree.
There is a concerted effort to paint our law enforcement professionals
as the true enemy of the people, and by fear of prosecution, render
them weaker in their defense of our safety. And worst of all,
in our nation, the name of Christ is regularly blasphemed by many
who profess His name. Many bemoan the shrinking number
of professing Christians, but I would prefer irreligion than
the sort of Christianity we see taking the forefront. What they
call worship is nothing more than spectacular theater a demonstration
of fleshly talent that certainly moves the emotions, but is devoid
of any real truth. Stadiums are filled with people
who seem to think that gain is godliness. As one noted evangelist
has said, they have made churches to seem like six flags over Jesus. My heart is both grieved and
enraged by what I see some do in the name of Christ. I could
cite more things that seem to make our day a very dark in terrible
time. But according to the scriptures,
you and I who trust the Lord Jesus live in the best day the
world has ever seen. I refer you to the words of the
psalmist in the 118th Psalm, verse 24. This is the day the
Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in
it. Nearly 30 years ago, I went to
a church in Tennessee to preach at their Bible conference. It
was pouring rain as I ran to get in the building before I
was drenched. When I got inside, I said something
to the effect of, what a nasty rainy day. Some man standing
just inside the door said in a very serious and somewhat scolding
voice, this is the day the Lord has made. I will rejoice and
be glad in it. But this blessed verse of scripture
has nothing to do with a day such as is found on the calendar
and has nothing to do with the weather or the socio-political
movements or any such thing. In fact, the verses just preceding
this tell us exactly what the psalmist is referring to. The
stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This
is the Lord's doing. It is marvelous in our eyes. The New Testament makes it clear
that this is a reference to Christ. First, Christ is the stone the
builders rejected. Jesus was sent by the Father
into the world to seek and find His sheep. But He came into His
own and His own did not receive Him. In His hometown of Nazareth,
they first rejoiced when they heard Him claimed to be the fulfillment
of Isaiah's prophecy. But when He pointed out God's
sovereign prerogative to bestow His blessings on whom He will,
they tried to stone Him to death. Throughout his prophetic ministry,
the builders, those religious leaders who should have greeted
him with open arms and bowed to him as their Lord and God,
these builders rejected him and withstood him at every turn until
finally they were able to engineer an overthrow of justice and have
him crucified. They crucified the Lord of life
and rejected the Messiah God had sent to them. But that is
not the day to which the psalmist refers as the day the Lord has
made. Rather, it is this. The rejected
stone has become the head of the corner. After Jesus Christ
was crucified and the builders thought they were rid of him,
God raised him from the dead. God did this for in his death,
Christ fulfilled all he came to do. He redeemed God's people. He brought in an everlasting
righteousness by which the people of God are justified in God's
sight. The grave is for the sinful. But Christ, by his death, had
put away the sins that he bore. He actually finished the job
of dying for them. And having put those sins away,
God brought him out of the grave, for the grave is no place for
a righteous man. But while this was a foreshadowing
of the glorious day to which the psalmist referred, it is
not the day about which he wrote. Forty days after our Lord's resurrection,
Jesus Christ ascended to the right hand of the Father and
sat down, God saying to him, sit here until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet. And from that time on, this world
has been experiencing this day which the Lord has made, and
we who live in this glorious day have every reason to rejoice
and be glad in it, no matter what happens on any given calendar
day. You and I are privileged to live
in the last and best age of this creation's existence. In at least
two places, the scriptures tell us that Christ's appearance and
work 2,000 years ago ushered in the final age of Earth's history. We have no way of knowing how
long this age will last. God could end it today or let
it run another million years if it pleases him. We do know
that by God's own authority, He has already set the date of
the end according to His own purpose. But we also know with
equal certainty that it is not for us to know that date. But
knowing that this is the last age, we can also say that it
is the best age for the following reason. It is the age that is
the day of God's own making. It is true that every age is
God's making. But it is this age to which all
other ages were straining. Christ's ascension to the throne
of the universe is God's own doing, it's marvelous in our
eyes, and it has brought forth this glorious day of salvation
and grace, this glorious day of the reign of Jesus Christ.
Some say that we must wait for some day in the future for the
reign of Christ to begin. But on Pentecost, Peter's message
was summarized in these words, this Jesus whom you crucified,
God has made to be Lord in Christ, which is the same as this stone
you rejected is now the head of the corner. This is the best
age because the light has never been brighter than it is right
now, and it will never get any brighter than it is right now.
It is religiously fashionable to bemoan one's own day as the
darkest day on earth, and I did mention earlier the horrible
abuse of the name of Christ in our day and age. But we are assured
from the scriptures that the light has shined into the darkness
of this world, but the darkness could not overcome it. Men may
love darkness rather than light, but their love of darkness will
not put out that light. Men may walk in darkness, but
that is not for lack of light. Men may not see the light, but
that is not because there is no light, it's because they are
blind. Jesus Christ is the light. He is the full revelation of
God to this world. God has spoken in His Son, and
He will not speak again until His voice brings this creation
to its end. We live in the noontime of spiritual
enlightenment. We have more light than the people
of any previous age. We need not look for more light,
for the full light is here. And we must not wait for more
light, for no more light is coming. This is the best and brightest
day. Thirdly, this is the best age,
the best day, for the door of salvation is open wide and will
never be opened wider than it is right now. Today is the day
of salvation and the time of God's acceptance. I am a firm
believer in all those doctrines regarding the total depravity
of man and the sovereignty of God in all things, including
salvation. But I also know that God has
not told us to act upon the doctrine of His sovereignty, but to act
upon His promises by believing them. He has promised to save
all who come to Him through Christ. Let no one deprive you of taking
full advantage of all that God has for sinners in Christ Jesus. Let no one convince you to delay
calling upon the name of the Lord as though some future day
will put you in a better position to do so. There will never come
a better time to trust Christ than right now. There will never
be a better opportunity to lay hold of God's salvation than
right now. God's door will never open wider
for you and your religious works and experiences will never put
you in a better position than you are right now to call upon
Him and receive His full salvation. I tell you with all sobriety
that if you trust Christ and receive His salvation, it will
be because God was pleased to work in you to will and do of
His good pleasure. But if you perish through unbelief,
there will be no one to blame but you. And fourthly, this is
the best age because there has never been and never will be
a more profitable time to serve Christ than right now. This is
His day in the fullest sense. God has determined to save an
innumerable host from every kindred, tongue, tribe, and nation, and
He is doing it right now. For at least four millennia,
The truth and the gracious work of God was confined to very few. But with the coming of Christ
and the giving of the Holy Spirit through Him, God is working miracles
of saving grace every day. Yes, miracles more astounding
than the raising of Lazarus from the dead are happening every
day. People who were dead in trespasses
and sins are being made alive to God every day. Rebels against
God are being reconciled to Him on a regular basis. The bonds
of satanic deception are being broken, and people are being
set free from the darkness and bondage of human religion even
today. And God is pleased to let us
who believe in Christ participate in that work by testifying to
His truth for the glory of His name. Can there possibly be a
better or more worthwhile endeavor to undertake? This, right now,
is the day the Lord has made, and we are privileged to live
in this glorious day. Let us rejoice and be glad in
it.