Lawlessness is a growing concern that many faith leaders across the country are speaking out against.
Some are claiming it as a sign of the End Times, while others are focusing on a more immediate solution to combatting it.
No matter to what varying degrees lawlessness is affecting America today, and what can be done about it, there is a spiritual root behind this increase of lawlessness and it is only going to get worse according to the Bible.
St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church senior pastor Rev. Orin D. Grant Sr. said in an interview with Fox News that his city, New Orleans, is suffering from a spirit of murder that is plaguing the people of the city.
"There's a spirit of murder at work in this city and in our nation," Grant claims.
"It's a dark time," he added. "It's a dangerous time. It's a deceptive time."
Few know the pain of living in a city with high violent crime like Grant does. It was barely six months ago, in August 2022, that his youngest son, Orin D. Grant Jr., was shot and killed mere blocks away from his church.
"It's a tough pill to swallow," Grant said. "I wake up with him on my mind. I go to sleep with him on my mind."
Since 2019, New Orleans has seen a 116.26% increase in homicides rising from 123 in 2019 to 266 in 2022. It even briefly held the title of the nation's murder capital until Jackson, Mississippi, surpassed it at the end of 2022.
Things have become so dangerous for Grant and his community that the church has had to take steps toward protecting its congregants.
"I got a security director because these are the times we live in," Grant said. "People even come into churches and do stuff."
Sadly, the trend of robbing churches is not limited to New Orleans.
As Charisma News reported less than two weeks ago, a pastor in Ferguson, Missouri, who was also a retired police officer, was able to recognize and prevent an armed robbery of his church as he spoke from the pulpit, on Feb. 23.
The Bible tells of these things occurring in a society that has turned its back on God during the End Times. But it does not call for Christians to sit on the sidelines and do nothing in the meantime.
Pastor Grant has taken up this call to action to stop violence in New Orleans, and is rallying the community together with law enforcement to do the same. Grant is also a chaplain for the local police department, and calls on members of the community to cooperate with officers and city officials to help combat the violence plaguing their neighborhoods.
"If you have one person pulling in one direction but everybody else is standing still, it's not gonna work," Grant said. "So, we have to work together.
"We have to take ownership of our neighborhoods again and run drug dealers out," Grant said. "Run criminals out.
"And we have to respect life," Grant told Fox News. "We have to respect one another."
How true are the realities Grant and others like him are facing, compared to the words of Jesus in Matthew 24:12, saying: "Because iniquity [immoral or grossly unfair behavior] will abound, the love of many will grow cold,"?
In today's America, people are no longer shocked by the heinous crimes committed within her borders.
Children are gunned down in the streets, mutilated by doctors and sacrificed on the alter of abortion. All because the hearts of people have gone cold toward the respecting of the life God has granted.
It will not be easy, but Christians are called to endure and persevere through these times. As the world becomes increasingly hostile toward the Word of God, it is imperative that the gospel continues being shared in love for the good of the souls who hear it.
The temporary discomfort of earth is greatly outweighed by the promise Jesus leaves His disciples with in Matthew 24:13:
"But he who endures to the end shall be saved."
That is what Pastor Grant is doing. Enduring, not giving up and working to bring about the kingdom of God in a world covered in darkness. 
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James Lasher is Staff Writer for Charisma Media.
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