The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily wholly reflect those of the Rock Church
"I have lived, sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth - that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without his aid?" Benjamin Franklin, Constitutional Convention, June 28, 1787
Allow me to add to that sentiment that a government, or a people, cannot stand without the aid of the Lord God.
A Noble Dream
Americans have a huge blessing and responsibility to decide our leaders and our legislation
Our nation began as a noble dream, and I believe this dream was given by God to a group of honorable men. You may hear some people arguing about Church and State who say that the writers of our Constitution were for the most part Deist. Deists argue that after God's initial work of creation, He withdrew into detached transcendence, leaving the world to operate according to rational natural laws, and that God does not intervene in the affairs of man.
The truth is that of the fifty-five delegates who participated in the Constitutional Convention, only three were deists, and the rest were Christians. A good book to read regarding the faith of our founding Fathers is Christianity and The Constitution, by John Eidsmoe.
Since that noble document was penned, our nation has become a Judicial Tyranny, where the murder of babies has been legalized, and homosexual marriage may become the law of the land, to name a few examples. Dr. Robert Morey said that, "we may be the last generation in America to experience freedom. We are fast approaching a judicial tyranny who makes law and care nothing about the Constitution or the phrase 'we the people.'"
Persecution
I have spent a lot of time in the Far East and Eastern Europe and have seen Christians subjected to the tyrannies of their Government with no recourse to justice. A Russian believer shared with me that a few years previous he faced going to prison, being killed, losing his job, his home and his children would not be allowed to receive a higher education all because of his faith in Christ. Before I became a Christian I had to count the cost of becoming a believer, but I now know that the cost is greater not to follow Jesus.
I can show even more examples of this type of persecution against Christians; such as not being allowed to meet in public buildings, or in some cases not being able to meet at all as believers. As Pastor Miles has shared, in Canada it is a hate crime, punishable by jail to speak against homosexuality.
Eroded Freedom
Are we in The United States far behind in suffering this type of assault upon our faith? No, we are not. Francis Shaffer stated 30 years ago, "Soon Americans like the Germans of the pre-Nazi era will be willing to give up all our constitutional freedoms if someone comes along and offers peace and prosperity."
Year by year, day by day, we find our freedoms and the values our nation was founded upon being eroded by the court and by elected officials who are contemptible and hostile toward true disciples of Christ. But it does not have to be this way, and the choice is up to us.
I think I can safely say that no people have had the control of their political and moral destinies in their hand as we do. We can elect the lawmakers in our nation or un-elect them if they do not follow the moral compass God has laid out for people and governments. Christians need to realize freedom and democracy are more than just a right, but they give us a responsibility before God to not allow our nation to sink into a morass of sin and death. And if a demise of our nation should come about in the future, it should not be because of our apathy and refusal to take a stand for Christ and righteousness.
Jesus said in Luke 12:48, From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.
Those with much light have greater demands placed upon them, both by life and by the Lord Himself. The Lord Jesus gives us gifts and talents to use in bringing people into His kingdom until He returns. And He expects us to be faithful servants and faithfully employ the gifts he has given us. We are also to be salt and light in this world, Matthew 5:13-16, and through our prayers and participation in society we are the preservatives of our world.
Our Lord God has given us a gift and a great responsibility in America by the fact that with our vote we can impact for His glory the direction of our society. Sadly, many Christians in this country have shirked their responsibility to vote and even more dastardly, voting for candidates that do not reflect Godly principles, who lead us into the dark abyss of a modern-day Sodom and Gomorrah.
What If
If you don't exercise your right to vote, how can your opinion be heard?
What kind of impact could we have in America if all Christians voted as a block of voters who examined the candidates according to the Word of God? Many Christians, who love the Lord and are faithful servants, vote according to Party affiliation, what their Union directs, or by the way their parents voted - the reasons are many and varied. What we should look at instead is; are the candidates and issues in line with the Word of God? What is any given politician's voting record?
We should not base our decisions about government elects purely on what they say. I have heard one candidate recently say he believes life begins at conception but he also favors abortion at any point of the pregnancy, including partial birth abortion.
The most important thing to consider as you enter the voting booth is that judges are appointed by the President or Governors, and approved by the respective Senates. Being we have entered a time of "Judicial Tyranny", it has become even more critical that we elect God-fearing politicians that will appoint righteous judges. If those who run the courts have the fear of God in their hearts, our nation will be judged according to God's Word.
We should encourage those among us whom God has called and given a dream to run for school boards, local, state or federal office. All Christians should vote, and those whom God has called should respond in obedience. Our right to have a say in our government is a gift from God, a responsibility that we should not waste, and we will be held responsible for the wise use of the privilege that the Lord has given us.
All that is necessary for evil to thrive is for Christians to do nothing. Are we going to surrender or strap on the armor of God and enter the battle? I served our country as a Marine, and I know that no battle is easy or fun, but the enemy cannot be overcome accept by a hard-fought attack. We cannot win by standing on the sidelines. God did not call us to the sidelines; He called us to the battle.
There is a saying I like and it goes something like this, "If it is to be, it is up to me." If we are to have a government by the people and for the people, and leaders who honor God, then we must stand up as disciples of the living God and be counted.
