Judgment by Abandonment and the Theology of Divine Withdrawal
A Christian homily on Judgment by Abandonment,
false anointing, strong delusion, divine patience, moral collapse,
and the danger of mistaking God’s silence for approval.
Wrestling Scripture in Unlikely Places
I have learned far more about the Bible from arguing with MAGAs than from my conversations with intelligent people—and this is not a compliment. Not in the slightest.
Strangely, those exchanges forced me back to Scripture. To search. To question. To wrestle. And through that wrestling, I became a more grounded Christian, thanks to one simple mental operation I kept repeating:
Substitute “MAGA” with “Antichristian” (or “evil-heartedness”),
then apply that lens to the most complex social issues of our troubled times.
That framework clarified many things. And for this, I must—somewhat begrudgingly—thank Jonothorn X, a proud MAGA from Cameroon.
Because he led me, though by a most circuitous route, to a powerful biblical concept: Judgment by Abandonment.
The Logic of Abandonment
This is the heart of Judgment by Abandonment. God allows people to pursue the evil they crave—until that evil consumes them.
Only a strong delusion could cause a people who have been abandoned by God to believe that their own moral collapse is divine cleansing.
Scripture does not equivocate:
“Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”
Why would God do this?
The verse immediately preceding it answers the question:
“…because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.”
The Logic of Abandonment
This is the heart of Judgment by Abandonment. God allows people to pursue the evil they crave—until that evil consumes them.
Only a strong delusion could cause a people who have been abandoned by God to believe that their own moral collapse is divine cleansing.
Scripture does not equivocate:
“Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”
Why would God do this?
The verse immediately preceding it answers the question:
“…because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.”
Apostasy in the Name of God
Let us be absolutely clear.
No one can claim to love the truth
while repeatedly turning it on its head
in defence of evil,
and doing so in the name of God,
and doing so for an entire decade.
That is not faith.
That is apostasy masquerading as loyalty.
The Illusion of Theological Control
There exists a class of theologians who cannot utter two sentences without invoking Thomas Aquinas, as though competing for a rare vacancy in the office of Memo Writer for God.
Yet Scripture itself makes plain that no one can fully understand the Holy Spirit, nor know where He comes from or where He is going.
And still they behave as though Scripture were merely advisory—binding on everyone else, but optional for them.
Read it yourself:
“The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
The work of the Holy Spirit is invisible, like the wind.
Unpredictable, like the wind.
Yet unmistakable by its effects, like the wind.
In other words, it is sovereign.
“I AM THAT I AM”
Remember Moses on Mount Sinai.
“What is your name, Lord?”
And the answer?
“I AM THAT I AM.”
You would be hard-pressed to find a more concise declaration of absolute divine sovereignty anywhere in Scripture.
If you can fully grasp its origin or control its direction, it is not the Holy Spirit.
Where was I?
Ah yes.
Righteous Anger and Moral Clarity
Those same theologians who endlessly quote Aquinas might do well to reckon with his words:
He who is not angry when there is just cause for anger is immoral.
Why?
Because anger looks to the good of justice.
And if you can live amid injustice without anger, you are immoral as well as unjust.
Prosperity as Proof? A Fatal Error
The Psalms speak with brutal clarity:
“A senseless man does not know, and a fool does not understand, that though the wicked sprout like grass and all evildoers flourish, they will be forever destroyed.”
This is precisely where the Prosperity Gospel reveals itself as a deadly lie.
Scripture teaches: though the wicked may prosper, their end is destruction.
The Prosperity Gospel teaches: prosperity is proof of righteousness.
The result is the catastrophic blurring of the line between good and evil.
Which is why we are where we are today.
God Gave Them Over
Romans gives us another textbook case of Judgment by Abandonment:
“Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts…”
“God gave them over to shameful lusts…”
“God gave them over to a depraved mind…”
There comes a point when God no longer contends.
He simply steps back—and lets the wicked run their course, straight to ruin.
Jesus put it plainly:
“Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”
Final Word
I rest my case.
That is my homily for today.
May we never confuse God’s patience with His approval,
or His silence with His blessing.
Let the reader understand.
#Dk
#OldManInTheMolue
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