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A Call to Action and Discernment

On this 234th anniversary of our nation's independence, we have a role to play that is critical to our country's survival. Although our citizenship is in heaven, we have been called to face some incredible challenges with both decisive action and a lot of discernment.

The Spiritual Decline of Israel

Recently, I was reading about the decline of the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah in 2 Chronicles. I found some shocking similarities to our nation's situation today. In Amos 6:4-7, God told his people: “How terrible for you who sprawl on ivory beds surrounded with luxury, eating the meat of tender lambs and choice calves. You sing idol songs to the sound of the harp, and you fancy yourselves to be great musicians as King David was. You drink wine by the bowlful, and you perfume yourselves with exotic fragrances, caring nothing at all that your nation is going to ruin.”

Their love of things eventually led to social chaos. God told them in Amos 5:10-12: “How you hate honest judges! How you despise people who tell the truth! You trample the poor and steal what little they have through taxes and unfair rent. Therefore, you will never live in the beautiful stone houses you are building. You will never drink the wine from the lush vineyards you are planting. For I know the vast number of your sins and rebellions. You oppress good people by taking bribes and deprive the poor of justice in the courts.” God expressed his frustration by stating: “My people have forgotten what it means to do right!” (Amos 3:10)

Their hedonistic lifestyle crippled their walk with God. Their worship was all show. In Amos 5:21-24, God says, “I hate all your show and pretense - the hypocrisy of your religious festivals and solemn assemblies. I will not accept your burnt offerings and grain offerings. Away with your hymns of praise! They are only noise in my ears. I will not listen to your music, no matter how lovely it is. Instead, I want to see a mighty flood of justice, a river of righteous living that will never run dry.”

Those verses struck a chord in me. How many times might God say the same thing about Grace Church? Much of the worship in our churches today is superficial at best. We sing the words of songs, with expressionless faces because our hearts are elsewhere. A lot of today's worship is just going through the motions. For many, it's not much more than a "feel good" exercise. It's more about us than God.

As the Jewish kingdoms continued to turn away from God, He began to trouble the nations around them. Raiding parties crossed the borders and attacked the villages. Tyrants rose up in distant lands, who waged war against them and made life difficult. Instead of living in peace, the Jews were spending much of their time defending themselves from attack. Sound familiar?

History Repeats Itself

I think the attacks of 9/11 were a wake up call. We, as a country, have become arrogant, self-serving and proud. We have turned our backs on God to gratify ourselves. We are now the fattest nation in the world. Obesity is growing at alarming rates. Alcoholism is climbing. We don't want to deprive ourselves of anything. Our social structures are crumbling, and our economy is in deep recession. In addition, radical Islam, rogue nations, and a porous border are complicating our lives.

The Tragic Role of the Church

It's easy to blame congress, the president, or Wall Street for the mess, but it's time that we, the church, step up and admit our complicity. At a time when our country needed us most, we turned inward. Instead of being salt and light, we were taking care of ourselves.

The Church: An Isolated Sub-Culture

You might ask: “How did the church get so far off track?” Let me give you two suggestions. First, for about three decades, the church retreated and became an isolated subculture. We sought to protect ourselves and our children from the growing immorality and secularism of our society, but instead of engaging our society, we fled behind the safety of the church walls. Instead of going to where people were, we expected the lost to come to us.

As a result, it is estimated that perhaps 97% of the millennial generation has grown up unreached. While we were building multi-million dollar church buildings, more and more Americans were walking away from God. Sadly, many of us didn't notice.

The Rise of Christian Nationalism

Second, I doubt if many Americans consider this country to be a mission field. We send thousands of missionaries overseas, but we don't see the need to evangelize to our neighbors. I believe we have long had a wrong impression of ourselves. I grew up in a post-WWII economic boom. Every day things only got better. The standard of living continued to rise. I heard any number of Christian leaders claiming that our wealth and prosperity was a sign of God's approval and reward for being His righteous people.

There was much talk of being a Christian nation; a sort of modern day Israel and a beacon of truth for the world. The cross and the flag often appeared together. As a result, a curious marriage of patriotism and Christianity developed that is unique to this country. We call it Christian nationalism. It is based on the idea that our founding fathers were men of faith and built our nation on the principles of Scripture. While there were many god-fearing men and women who helped mold and shape our country, that conception is more myth than reality because history tends to paint a slightly different picture.

For example, I grew up believing that George Washington, along with some of the first presidents, was a devout Christian. The picture of George Washington praying by his horse is often sited as evidence, but it is debatable whether that event ever took place at all. Washington was an Anglican and did have a faith in God, but records show he rarely if ever attended church. We know for example that he offered public prayers for his troops, but what most people don't know is that he was also a free mason, as were were Presidents James Madison and James Monroe, along with Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock and Ethan Allan. John Marshall, the first chief justice of the Supreme Court was also a member of a masonic lodge.

Few people are familiar with what the masons stand for. Free masonry is the equivalent of modern Baal worship. If you take the time to study its history and beliefs, you'll know it is anything but Christian. They are a secret society. The highest levels of free-masonry are Satanic. I was shocked to discover just how much influence the free masons had on early America. For example, did you know that the original street layout of Washington D.C. follows an occult free mason symbol. Most of the images in the Great Seal of the United States are also masonic in origins. Free masons are proud of this. Even the Washington Monument has a special meaning.

Washington's two predecessors, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, who helped write much of our constitution, were deists. Deists believe in the existence of a god. They didn't believe in Jesus' miracles or in His deity. Adams and Jefferson were brilliant men, but they were first and foremost humanists and did not hide their disdain for Christianity. Adams wrote that “the doctrine of the divinity of Jesus is made convenient cover for absurdity.” Jefferson wrote: “I do not find in our superstitions of Christianity one redeeming feature, they are founded on fables and mythology. Christianity has made one-half the world fools and the other half hypocrites.”

While there were many strong believers in colonial America, I think it is a stretch to say, as some Christian writers do, that the United States was founded on Christian principles. I think that belief has lulled the American church into complacency. We have come to believe that most Americans are God-fearing people. We assume that the way to turn our country around is to vote out the bad guys and we will somehow revert back to our “Christian” roots.

The True Condition of America

I believe we need to see our country for what it really is: we are a spiritually needy nation that has distanced itself from God and is deserving of His judgment. The only way to prevent further decline and turn things around, is to share the life-changing Gospel, but our countrymen won't hear it, unless we start being the church again.

The Need for Discernment

This week the stock market dropped amid jitters about a double dip recession. Oil continues to pour into the Gulf. Illegal immigration goes unchecked and our government is incapable of doing much of anything. Americans are angry and looking for change, and there any number of special interest groups who are offering solutions. That is where we, as the church, need to exercise discernment.

The Agenda of the Networks

On the left, Keith Olbermann of MSNBC portrayed conservative candidate Sharron Angle as a religious nut job because of her stance on social issues. According to the left, any one who has moral convictions is mentally off and suspect. Their agenda is easy to read.

This past week on CNN, they had a special report on Gary and Tony, a gay couple that wants to adopt a baby. Every effort was made to present the homosexual lifestyle as natural and legitimate. Few of us have trouble seeing through their agenda either.

What concerns me however, are the number of born again believers who seem completely unaware of the danger from the far right. I think we need to bear in mind, that every broadcast, even if they claim to be fair and balanced, has an agenda. Just because someone claims to be politically conservative, doesn't mean that all his ideas are in line with Scripture. Just because a man or woman talks about Jesus Christ, or is against abortion, doesn't mean he's thoroughly Christian. Everything that person says needs to be run through the grid of Scripture. I'm just afraid that too few of us are doing that.

The Rise of Libertarian Thought

Much of what is driving conservative politics today is a philosophy called libertarianism. It is the driving force behind the Tea Party Movement and it has its origins in French humanism. One of its main proponents in the US is Ron Paul and more recently his son Rand. Glenn Beck is also a libertarian. He has openly said so. He is also a practicing Mormon. He sounds like he might be a Christian, but he isn't. To coin a German phrase, he should be enjoyed with caution.

What Libertarians Believe

Libertarians believe that man is basically good. When given the freedom to live his own way, without government or outside influences, man will inevitably make the right choices and society as a whole will be better as a result. That way of thinking stands in direct opposition to Scripture. Left on his own, man will follow his own selfish inclinations, which will lead to strife, self-seeking, and anarchy. If you don't believe me, read the Book of Judges.

A full-fledged libertarian believes in less government and lower taxes. That part is very attractive. But if you take the time to read the other views, you'll find he also believes in 1) removing all censorship from the media or Internet, 2) that the military should be all volunteer, 3) that there should be no laws prohibiting sex among consenting adults, and that 4) laws prohibiting the possession and use of drugs should be repealed. Some even support dropping all restrictions on abortion. Good people are able to make the right choices.

The idea of paying lower taxes and having a smaller government is very attractive today. It's estimated that 58% of those supporting the Tea Party Movement do so for those two reasons. But if the other 42% got their wish, and everyone was free to do what was right in his own eyes, what then? It would result in anarchy and chaos.

The Reason for Government

There's a lot of government bashing today. The way it is presented, government is almost evil, and some are, but let us remember where government came from. God ordained it in Genesis 9 to keep order, punish criminals, and care for justice. Why? Because mankind is sinful. The more immorality grows, the greater the need for government. The Bible doesn't talk about big or small government. It just says that we are to submit to it and not rebel against it. Paul says, that “the authorities that exist have been established by God.” I'm concerned about the number of believers who take in steady diet of government bashing every day. Our time would be better spent praying for our leaders, even if we don't agree with the ones we have.

What about the Constitution?

Libertarians want to get back to a more literal interpretation of the Constitution. As it originally written, it promotes greater personal freedom and less government influence. It seems like the answer to our problems, except for one significant caveat. The only way that will work is if the United States experiences a major spiritual revival.

The Reason for "Bigger" Government

Listen to what President John Adams said about the Constitution: “We have no government armed with the power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge...would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes though a net. Our Constitution was made for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate for the government of any other.”

Adams was saying that the only way our Constitution can work as written, is if the people “maintain a moral and religious foundation in their thinking and lifestyle.” If the foundation is discarded, the government envisioned is no longer possible. May I suggest that the main reason for the growth of government in the United States is because we are no longer a moral people.

God told his people Israel that if they humbled themselves and prayed and sought His face and turned from their wicked ways, then He would hear from heaven and forgive their sin and heal their land. That's the solution to America's ills today. There is no lasting political solution. We need spiritual renewal, but it won't happen by chance. That's where we come in.

A Call to Action

God is calling us to action. If we want to change America, then it is time we stop complaining, admit our complicity, roll up our sleeves, and get to work, living righteous lives and calling our people to seek God and turn from sin. The voting booth won't stop the decline of America. The only way is to do what the church has been called to do - starting with the grass roots - one person at a time.