LORD OF THE
NATIONS
As our nation celebrates its
independence as a free country today, debate intensifies about a question of
great consequence to all of us. Is the
United States of America a Christian nation?
And if so, what do we mean by the words “Christian nation?”
The psalmist
writes, “Blessed is the nation whose God
is the Lord, the people he chose for His own inheritance” (33:12). Can we honestly say that our nation is one
whose God is the Lord? At this moment
in history, the question splits the nation nearly in half but it was not always
so. Allow me to take you on a very
brief survey of those who were instrumental in the founding of our nation, and
later were instrumental in shaping its future through their capable leadership.
Outside
observation sometimes serves us well because we become aware of what others see
to be true instead of what we hope to be true.
In the early 1800’s, an aristocratic Frenchman visited the United
States, observed the newly-formed republic at work, worship and play and
reached some significant conclusions which he later wrote in a book entitled Democracy in America.
Alexis de
Tocqueville (1830?) – "Not until I went into the churches of
America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the
secret of her genius and power. America is great because America is good - And
if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great."
What
factors contributed to this goodness and insured this greatness? The leadership of the new nation operated
with core convictions and passionately held principles. What they thought was committed to print in
the founding documents of the nation and remain for us to read and understand. Here is what some of them believed:
George Washington
(1st president, 1789-1797) "...reason and experience
both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail, in exclusion of
religious principle." "…The smiles of Heaven can never be expected on
a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which Heaven
itself ordained."
Patrick Henry
(1736-1799, Congressman, Governor)
"Bad men cannot make good citizens. It is impossible that a nation
of infidels or idolaters should be a nation of free men. It is when a people
forget God that tyrants forge their chains. A vitiated state of morals, and a
corrupt public conscience, are incompatible with freedom."
John Adams (2nd
president, 1797-1801) "We have no government armed with the power capable of
contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion... Our
Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people, It is wholly
inadequate to the government of any other."
Thomas
Jefferson (3rd president, 1801-1809) "God who gave us life gave
us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we remove a conviction
that these liberties are a gift of God?" …"Can the liberties of a
nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the
gift of God? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just,
that His justice cannot sleep forever."
Noah Webster
(1758-1843) "The religion which has introduced civil liberty, is
the religion of Christ and his apostles, which enjoins humility, piety, and
benevolence; which acknowledges in every person a brother, or a sister, and a
citizen with equal rights. This is genuine Christianity, and to this we owe our
free Constitution of government.
To these
men, the question of “one nation under God” was never in doubt, never to be
challenged and never a topic for debate.
It was a foregone conclusion that the determining principles and laws of
the new nation depended upon commonly held convictions that the truths and
freedoms loved by our founders could never be separated from our efforts to govern
ourselves in a democratic form of government.
Yet the drift away from dependence on God
is always inevitable when people follow their own pursuits and leave Him
out. Prosperity and success frequently
lead a people to deny the Lord and claim that they are the authors of their own
profits. When Abraham Lincoln became
president, a renewed appeal needed to be made.
Abraham
Lincoln (16th president, 1861-1865) "We have grown in numbers,
wealth and power, as no nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We
have forgotten the gracious hand which Preserved us in peace, and multiplied,
enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness
of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom
and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too
self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too
proud to pray to the God that made us. It behooves us then to humble ourselves
before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray clemency
and forgiveness upon us."
Short years later, James Garfield raised the cry
again.
James Garfield
(20th president, 1881) "Now more than ever before,
the people are responsible for the character of their Congress. If that body be
ignorant, reckless, and corrupt, it is because the people tolerate ignorance,
recklessness, and corruption. If it is intelligent, brave, and pure, it is
because the people demand these high qualities to represent them... If the next
centennial does not find us a great nation... It will be because those who
represent the enterprise, the culture, and the morality of the nation do not
aid in controlling the political forces."
So here we are
again, facing challenges in our culture that would have been utterly
unthinkable even to the unbelieving skeptics of the 18th
century. Issues that would never have
been imagined now demand a make-over in the image of a godless world-view that
now threatens our nation on this our 228th birthday.
THESIS: We must protect the biblical foundations upon which
our nation was built in order to bring the highest glory to God and the
greatest good to the people.
Psalm 11:3 When the foundations are being destroyed,
what can the righteous do?
I. THE need for recognizing weaknesses within A DEMOCRAtic structure
--As committed as we are to democracy, we would be
foolish to think that a system that depends on the good decisions of fallible
people will always yield good results.
--We have reached a time in our nation’s history when the
cracks in the system have become apparent at many levels.
--We would do well to recognize them and take steps
to correct them if we expect to enjoy a future with great hope and promise.
--Christian citizens of our
land need to do as Nehemiah did and evaluate the conditions of our walls as a
nation and set about the monumental task of restoring what used to be in the
hope of claiming what can be when we are a nation under God once again.
A. EROSION
OF THE FOUNDATIONS OF TRUTH
--When we no longer recognize the existence of truth, we no
longer have a basis for determining right or wrong, good or bad, profitable or
destructive.
B. EXCLUSION
OF THE INFLUENCE OF FAITH
--The acknowledgement that we are “one nation under God” has
been nullified by the removal of most vestiges of His voice by the censure of
His Word from nearly all arenas of public policy debate and decisions.
--What once were known to be “God-given” rights and
privileges are now seen as what “we deserve” and therefore what “we demand.”
C. EMBRACING
OF A CULTURE OF ENTITLEMENT
--When the voting majority, or the decision-making minority
in some cases, weigh anchor and pull away from any moorings in truth, and when
all restraints are taken away with the removal of faith, the nation can and
will choose its own destruction.
--With no humility to hold them back, no moral fiber to
control their passions, no guiding principles to direct their decisions, the
culture will refuse to yield personal profit and forsake the greater good of
the rest.
--Votes to dip into the public coffers for their own selfish
ends lead the nation without moorings to allow the whole to suffer for the
temporary gratification of the individual parts.
D.
ENDORSEMENT OF A DEGENERATION OF MORALITY
--In order to maintain their own individual immoral choices,
the majority eventually adopts and endorses policies that limit any regulation
of behavior (lest their own favorite sin be restricted!).
iI. THE DANGER OF CONFUSING NATIONAL PATRIOTISM (loyalty to country) WITH SPIRITUAL PASSION (faithfulness to Christ)
--As important as it is for us to be thankful and
loyal to our nation, we the followers of Jesus Christ have a priority that
needs to anchor our perspective, a hope that should stabilize our confidence.
Heb. 11:13-16 All these died in faith, without receiving
the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance,
and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14 For those who say such things
make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. 15 And indeed if they had been
thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had
opportunity to return. 16
But as it is, they desire a better country, that is a heavenly one. Therefore
God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.
A. THIS
WORLD IS NOT OUR HOME
--Because our citizenship is in heaven, no earthly kingdom
or nation will ever feel like home to us…and if it starts to do so, we must
immediately return to our first love, our first desire…to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness.
Phil. 3:20
For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior,
the Lord Jesus Christ;
B. THIS
COUNTRY IS NOT OUR BEST
--When we know Christ and desire Him above all else, we will
desire above all else to be where He is and to long for the time when we can be
with Him, abide with Him and enjoy His perfect presence.
--That is why this passage in Hebrews talks about desiring a
“better country” than the one in which we now live…no matter how much we love
our nation, there is still awaiting us a better one!
--Now, the danger for us as Americans is that we can quickly
confuse our allegiance to our nation here with our commitment to the King of an
everlasting kingdom.
--Here at Providence we have
been very careful over the years not to allow our love for country to assume a
greater place of affection in our hearts than our love for Christ.
--Frankly, many have allowed
their devotion to country to be elevated to a place of such prominence in their
hearts that they become guilty of
idolatry.
--Still, there is a time for recognizing the unique
place in our hearts for the amazing heritage God has given us as a nation.
--Without forsaking our love for Christ, we can still love
our nation and cherish our God-given privileges to have grown up in a land
where the name of Christ still makes a difference.
C. THIS
STATE IS NOT OUR RESTING PLACE
--The State of the Union address by the President of the
United States describes where we are as a nation and lays out certain plans for
improving our current condition.
--The best is yet to come, we know…but we will not find the
best until we enter the kingdom of God.
--Our hope is not in the state of this state, the condition
of this nation, but in the place where we will abide forever.
--However, we do not ignore the plight of our adopted home
and retreat to the hills and caves until Jesus comes…we engage the culture, we
enter into the life of its people and we exert godly influence as salt and
light.
--This is not our final resting place, for certain, but we
can radically impact the character of our nation by taking steps to bring
renewal for the glory of God and the good of the people.
III. THE WISDOM OF FOLLOWING BIBLICAL PRINCIPLES
TOWARD NATIONAL RENEWAL
--The psalmist offers a way for a nation to guarantee a
future and a hope, plans for our good and for our prosperity in all that really
matters.
A. A
Commitment to the Truth
Psalm 33:4 For the word of
the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does.
--Rather than debating the existence of truth, a nation that
stands upon truth will thrive and justice will prevail even as righteousness
grows with joy among the people.
--Indeed, Jesus plainly said that the truth will make you
free.
--The absence of truth leads to an absence of freedom and so
on this day of celebrating national freedom, we must also re-take the ground
where truth stands tall!
B. A Fear of
the Lord
Psalm 33:8, 18 8 Let all the earth
fear the LORD; let all the people of the world revere him 18 But the eyes of the LORD are
on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,
--Where there is no fear of the Lord, no nation can survive
for long because “anything goes” when people believe that they are immune from
any consequences for their actions.
--When a people live with a healthy respect and reverence
for God, they are more likely to hold back and demonstrate some restraint in what
they say and do.
--God says that His eyes are on those who fear Him and His
favor follows His eyes so that His unfailing love is poured out on those who
fear Him.
C. A Plan
from the Lord
Psalm 33:11 But
the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all
generations.
--As the founding fathers of our nation laid out the
framework for the way our land would be governed, there was a definite order to
their thinking, a plan with careful attention to detail.
--That plan consisted largely of biblical principles applied
in a governing context with appropriate checks and balances to protect the
people from tyranny in their leaders and from anarchy among the citizens.
Jer. 29:11-13
‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for
welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. 12 ‘Then you will call upon Me
and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 ‘And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search
for Me with all your heart.
1. A Plan
for Justice
2. A Plan
for Righteousness
3. A Plan
for Peace
4. A Plan
for Freedom
5. A Plan
for Opportunity
--It would be a great study of God’s Word to go into each of
those and explore where His plan has been included in the design of our nation.
D. An
Inheritance from the Lord
Psalm 33:12 Blessed
is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people he chose for his inheritance.
--No one, even the most oppressed people in our land, would
honestly question whether the USA is a blessed nation, because in spite of her
flaws and failures, the foundational principles have largely remained in tact
and blessing has come to us.
--Now we stand at several significant crossroads as a
nation…much as we have on many occasions in the past…and the choices we make
will determine the extent to which we will enjoy blessings and a continued
inheritance of favor, or bring down the curse of God upon us for openly defying
His Word and rejecting His plan.
We have responsibilities as those who call this land our home. The choices of leadership, the choices of
lifestyle, the choices of lazy disregard for destructive changes of direction
by our culture that end up being reflected in the laws of the land—all are
matters for which we will be held responsible.
Roe v. Wade in 1973. Although many protested the legalizing of
abortion, through careless and apathetic voting practices we have continued to
select leaders who uphold the Supreme Court’s trampling of the law to reach a
politically correct decision, and denounce the God-given right to life
guaranteed in our founding documents as a nation and held high in the very Word
of God.
Same-sex Marriage of 2004.
We now face another destructive decision made by a state supreme court
that threatens to sweep through the judicial system and toss out laws regarding
marriage that have been a part of the laws of the nation since its
beginning. In order to stop this
inevitable trend, the current laws at both the state and national level have
proven to be ineffective deterrents. In
spite of what the laws of marriage say about it being for one male to one
female, activists on the bench threaten those laws as being somehow
unconstitutional. Therefore, an
amendment to the constitution is needed to guarantee that marriage will be kept
from the barrage which threatens to introduce homosexual marriage as the law of
the land. We must not stand by yet
again and allow our voices to be silenced, to do nothing to stop a practice
which will openly defy the Lord and His word and bring His condemnation, not
His blessing upon our land!
You and I must write, call, and in
some cases visit our representatives and make it clear that we will not sit on
our hands while they reject a plan to protect the sanctity of marriage. Without the amendment, the judicial branch
of the government has already proven that it can and will strip marriage of its
historical, biblical and legal standing.
In a recent trip to Washington, we
were told that our representatives there have simply not heard from their
constituents that they are in favor of the amendment. Many have already indicated that they will vote against it
because they think that the existing laws are sufficient (even though the
courts have already shown that they are not!!).
This can be a watershed issue, much
like the Roe v. Wade decision was…our voice must speak up for God’s plan to
remain in place if our nation is to avoid the complete removal of His hand from
us.
Prov. 14:34
Righteousness exalts a nation, But sin is a disgrace to any people.
--When sin becomes the law of the land, let the citizens
beware of what it means to be a disgrace in the eyes of God!
E. A Trust
in the Lord
Psalm 33:21
In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name.
--What we need is a commitment to trust in the Lord and
believe that His plan will actually work for our good.
--All the efforts to “improve on” His plan bring disastrous
consequences at every level of our culture.
--The founding fathers were not all godly men, but most were
at the very least aware of the consequences of ignoring the Lord and placing
themselves in a position to openly defy Him by leading in a direction totally
contrary to His ways.
--Our money says, “In God we trust”…if we would be a nation
that once again learns how to rejoice and give thanks, we will return to His
ways and trust in His holy name!
IV. THE PRIVILEGE OF INHERITING HISTORICAL TRADITIONS WITH BIBLICAL
FOUNDATIONS
--Even though we have to be careful not to idolize
our nation, we still have to respond with a thoughtful reflection on what it
means to inherit a history of Christian principles undergirding the laws and
values that have shaped us as a people.
--Two responses must stand out in our thinking: gratitude and diligence.
u Gratitude: We must give thanks to the Lord for allowing
us to live in a land with the opportunities and privileges that have been born
out of a biblical world-view inherited from our forefathers.
u Diligence: We must exercise diligence to preserve the
heritage that still remains and restore the aspects of the heritage which have
been abandoned.
--Regardless of the protests of those in our nation who
would strip our history of its biblical moorings, a faithful reading of the
documents remaining from the founding of our nation reveal the uncompromising
and irrefutable influence of God’s Word in the values and intentions of those
who were most instrumental in designing the basic foundations of the birth of
our nation.
Will the righteous do nothing when the
walls have crumbled and fallen down?
When the foundations are being destroyed, will we support their
destruction by the implied approval of our silence?
We have a
glorious heritage as the church, the people of God. We also have a wonderful history as the citizens of a free nation
where our pursuit of the Lord has been unhindered up till now. But for all those who have gone before us
and given their lives for us to enjoy these freedoms…for the Savior who gave
His life so that we could be free to live forever…can we cover our lights and
throw away our salt and do nothing to be salt and light in a land in desperate
need of being saved?
Now is the time for us to make our passions known, to raise our voices who want others to find true freedom in Christ. As the psalmist closes Psalm 33, he offers a final prayer that should be our own this morning:
Psalm 33:21
May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in
you!
Providence Baptist Church
© David Horner 2004
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