Monday, June 28, 2010

The Kingdom of God

At long last I have accepted the fact that The United States of America is not a Christian nation; that there is no such thing as a Christian nation. It is a fact that the founding fathers were, by and large, Christian men. But they did not establish a 'Christian' government. They established a secular government that could function only so long as the governed understood the grace of God. We as American Christians have come to think of this nation as a Christian nation, and that, in part, is responsible for our downfall. Why? Because grace can not be legislated. Grace cannot be taught. Grace cannot be enforced. Grace is the gift of God to those who hear and believe the message of the cross, and we have been too busy being American to bother with preaching that message. 

I get about six or seven emails a day railing against the administration, immigration, the media, taxes, healthcare reform and so on. I get virtually no emails that share the message of the cross. This indicates to me that we have come to think that our Christian duty is not to “Preach the gospel to every creature”, but to boycott advertisers, sign petitions, call representatives, attend tea parties, and pass along messages against this or that infringement of our liberties. Based on what I am hearing, I have to believe that we have become so absorbed with being American that we have forgotten that we are citizens of the greatest of Kingdoms. 

If the founders understood, as I believe they did, that the governmental framework they set up could only function so long as 'We the People' lived under the grace of the Lord Jesus, then I reckon that it is not the government, any administration, industry, education, the media, immigration, gay activism or any other secular factor that is bringing about the demise of our nation. None of these is responsible for preaching the message of grace. It is the church that has failed. The very fact that the founders expected the people of this nation would succeed because they were of a decidedly Christian mindset indicates that they expected the church to remain a dominant force in America - providing the populace with an understanding of grace that would perpetuate the system and the rule of law. 

This Fourth of July, our nation is 234 years old. Do you want to give this nation birthday present? Go out and preach the gospel to your fellow citizen. The next time you think about boycotting a retailer because they take a stand for gay rights, redirect your energy into sharing the gospel with one more. Instead of attending a tea party, get a soap box and preach on the street corner. If we, the church, are the reason for the downfall of this nation, it stands to reason that we can also bring it back to greatness. But it must be done with an understanding that we are not really seeking to bring greatness back to this country at all; we are seeking to win souls into the Kingdom of God. If we do the Kingdom work, the work of our wise founding fathers will prevail. 

Need encouragement? Here is an offer for a free book that will help you learn to preach the gospel effectively in a little over 100 pages: http://www.freewonderfulbook.com/ . Not a reader? Download the book or listen online at the same link.