"Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. 7 So the LORD said, 'I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.' 8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD." (Genesis 6:5–8, NKJV)

Here we find the passage dealing with the destruction of the world due to the sins of mankind. We see that “the wickedness of man was great” and “the thoughts of man was only evil continually.” God decided to destroy the world due to sin and was sorry that He had made the world. The only positive note about this whole thing was that Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.

A recent study found that in Christendom (which includes all denominations and those who claim to follow Christ) in America, churches are losing members at the rate of 2,300 a day. The same study has found that in Africa and India, 27,000 are becoming “Christians” daily. Right now, there are more New Testament Christians in Africa and India than in the United States, and there are some that are talking about sending missionaries to America to preach the gospel. What has happened? Why is America losing so many, while others in the world are gaining so many?

Our culture has changed! We aren’t a “Christian nation” anymore. Americans are so enamored with material things and entertainment to the point that we don’t want to consider eternal life. Further, due to secular humanism and the propagation of evolutionary thought, many Americans have abandoned the idea of God and His standard of morality. We have become pluralistic, tolerant of any and everything, and we don’t even know if there is a standard by which we should live our lives.

Noah preached for 120 years to a world that mocked him and what he stood for. He saved himself, his wife, his three sons and their wives. He did not give up preaching to the world—yet he saved only his family. The way the world is today, WE MUST KEEP PREACHING and continue striving to win the world to Christ, but we must face the reality of a world that is slowly but surely rejecting the message of God.

The church in Philadelphia in Revelation was encouraged because they “kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.” At this time in our history as a nation, it is imperative that we “hold fast what we have, that no one take our crown.”

Let us, like Noah, keep preaching and hold fast!