I am not much for writing controversial blog posts, but I am afraid this one might stir some emotions for good or ill in my readers (all 20 of them!). The question of how the Church should view America has been the topic of many conversations I have had over the past several months. Perhaps what is most discussed is what my sermon topic for the weekend of or around the 4th of July would be. I assured all of them that I would not be preaching a “God and Country” sermon. Below I will try to explain what I do NOT mean by that and what I DO mean by that.
What I Do NOT Mean
I do not mean that I am anti-America. This is the nation that God ordained for me and my family to dwell (Acts 17:26). There is nowhere else I would rather live with the possible exception being England. There are things that grieve me about America and things that encourage me. Believers are called to love their nation, pray for its leaders and seek the good of all people, America is no exception. I am not down on America nor am I advocating that anyone reading this should be. And I do think God’s common grace is given to America.
I also do not mean that Christians should not be involved in the political, legal, social, educational, etc., realms of America, the public square. We should use every chance we can get to further the good of this country. I believe American Christians should approach these areas with what Jonathan Edwards referred to as common morality, that which is common to all people in contrast to true virtue, that which only born-again believers share. I don’t have the room to unpack this entirely here but suffice it to say that God has given a moral compass to all humans and this seems to be at least the starting grounds for our appeals and agendas in our neighborhoods, cities and towns, which might further lead to ways to advance the Gospel. We need not make every issue in the public square a Jesus-issue. We can enter with Christian notions no doubt, but lets face it, the public square is quite pluralistic. Perhaps we can make use of common areas of justice and fairness to plead our case.
What I DO Mean
In my short experience in the life of the Church I have consistently seen a pervading nationalism among Christians that thinks the Church’s mission is to see to the progress and health of America. Advancing morality in America is the same as advancing the Kingdom of Christ on the earth. America is espoused as a Christian nation, one on which God has uniquely endowed his grace and is the standard other nations in the world should strive to imitate.
The Church should concern itself with “taking America back for God” and restore it to the way the Founders of our country intended (spare me a little sarcasm). This typically involves a fight; a fight to keep prayer in schools, homosexuality at bay, “God” in the Pledge of Allegiance, the Ten Commandments posted in as many places as possible, evolutionary ideas out of our children’s textbooks, gambling out of our cities, and to make having an abortion as difficult as possible. If we can succeed at this we can accomplish God’s desires for this country. The role pastors play in this is to preach sermons on how America was a Christian nation that has gradually moved away from its roots and encourage believers to take action in the voting booth, picket lines, boycotts, letters to Congress, etc., make a stand for Jesus and make our voice as loud as possible. We are after all supposed to be the salt of the earth, which for many, means assuming the role of moral guardian for the culture.
My aim here is not to debate these issues and determine whether all of them are worthy causes or not. I certainly think there should be a battle cry by Christians on behalf of the unborn as well as other issues. But is the use of power and politics and laws the way the Church should seek to advance the Kingdom of Christ on this earth? Should the Church expend its energies and resources toward taking America back for God? My answer is NO and here are 6 reasons why I am not preaching this kind of sermon Sunday.
#1 There are no “Christian” nations
This includes America. I know many will disagree here, but the issue hinges on how you define “Christian.” America no doubt was founded upon Christian principles (though I am a bit confused as to what this means) and the Bible was certainly a highly revered and acknowledged book. But there is a huge difference in Christianity and morality or “civil religion.” Christianity is about Christ, not morality. America was founded upon morality, but not upon Christ.
Christians have no nation in this life. Our citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20-21), we are aliens and strangers sojourning through this life (1 Peter 2:11, Hebrews 11:13), we have no land to posses except the New Heaven and New Earth (2 Peter 3:13, Revelation 21:1).
Anyone who believes that America is God’s chosen nation the way Israel was in the Old Testament must remember that we do not have revelation on our side by which to interpret the current events of our time the way they did. I firmly believe in the doctrine of God’s Providence, but this does not mean American Christians are able to proclaim “Thus saith the Lord…” for every particular issue our country faces.
#2 The Nations
Focusing on America as God’s chosen nation or at least the one of which He is most concerned, can do damage to the urgency of the Great Commission. Christ is concerned with every tribe, tongue and nation and has purchased a people for himself from among them (Revelation 5:9-10), many of which have not even heard the Gospel! Among the 16, 309 people groups in the world, 6, 631 have less than a 2% Evangelical witness among them. This is what God is concerned with, not making America moral! No doubt God is at work saving a people in America as well, but He is not limited to just these United States. I am for churches flying American flags in their worship center alongside the flags of every country in the world!
#3 We are not good moral guardians
When did Christians ever get the idea that we somehow have the moral edge on America? When did Paul and the early Christians ever concern themselves with the moral state of Rome or Ephesus that caused them to call out its leaders? When did Jesus publicly call out any leader who was not part of the covenant community (a possible exception might be Herod who was a convert to Judaism)? Does not Paul say: “What have I to do with judging outsiders?” (1Cor. 5:12) The fact is, we are not very good moral guardians and we choose to call out the sins that we are not publicly guilty of while forgetting the sins that do the most damage to our souls.
The fear here is that if we dont do something that we will lose our rights in this country and before long Christians will face possible persecution. First of all we dont have rights, we lost them at the Cross. Second, though I dont want persecution, I hope we would all trust God to give grace to His people. Third, Christianity thrives under persecution, its like Jello, you pound it and it spreads. You cant stop the Church! If persecution broke out (again I dont hope for this), Christianity would matter! Fourth, suffering is central to the Christian life (2Timothy 3:12).
#4 The Founders
I know, again, many will disagree here, but the Founding Fathers of America for the most part were not biblical Christians. There were certainly exceptions like John Witherspoon (distant relative to Reese Witherspoon), Benjamin Rush and a little beyond the Founders, John Quincy Adams (there is however evidence he later turned to Unitarianism). But some of the major figures from this time such as Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, Ben Franklin and John Adams were by no means Orthodox Christians. Jefferson denied the Trinity, the miracles of Jesus, the deity of Jesus and even edited his own Bible (The Jefferson Bible) in which he cut out the miracles of Jesus, including the Resurrection, to focus on the teachings and morals of Jesus. Paine said the Gospels were a wretched contrivance, Franklin denied the deity of Christ and Adams was Unitarian! They certainly were concerned with the morality and ethic of Jesus, but cared little if any about His deity and Lordship over all things (unlike the Puritans before them). Instead they focused on his morality which seemed to fend off a rising secularism in the new republic.
#5 Confusion of Kingdoms
The kingdom of Christ and the kingdoms of this world are vastly different. The kingdoms in this world use force, power, might, laws, threat, punishment, the sword (and no I am not arguing for or against war here), etc., to maintain and advance their influence, they must. No kingdom or nation can afford to be heavy on grace and mercy and patience when it comes to national security. Christ’s Kingdom never works in these ways to advance the Gospel. Its the Cross not the Sword, death not life, losing not winning, serving not being served, forgiving not retaliating, and returning good for evil that advances Christ’s kingdom in this world.
Believers, especially those in powerful positions, must watch the seductive siren of power and not abuse the position they have been given. The Gospel cannot be legislated. Passing laws does not change hearts. I certainly think passing certain laws can be a good thing, but lets be careful not to call passing a new law a win for the Kingdom. The Church is to be a city within the city, a kingdom not like this world, living in this world, proclaiming and living the beauty of the Gospel.
#6 Jesus was not political
Enlisting Christ on the side of our cause or political camp or national agenda by definition demonizes the other side! It assumes that we have His thoughts on all the issues. A cursory glance of the New Testament reveals that Jesus would have problems and agreements with both the conservative right and the liberal left. Bringing him to either side (and this has historically been the case for both sides) creates an “us” versus “them” mentality and this will do damage to advancing the Gospel and to the image of the Church. No political party is able to contain Him and the riches of His teachings.
Conclusion
Let me here say again that I am for Christians being actively involved in the progression and growth of our country. The fact that we are believers who proclaim and live the Gospel in many ways, I think, obligates us to engage this world on all levels. The world needs to see that Christians care about every issue, but we are never to confuse advancing morality with advancing the Gospel or the world’s kingdoms with Christ’s Kingdom. They are not the same things!
This is why I will be in John 11 this weekend preaching on the raising of Lazarus. I can better serve my people and my country by doing so since I will be encouraging them to spread the aroma of Christ in all of life by relying on His power and might to save and redeem. He is the only hope for any nation.
Let us live, work, think, serve, reach, pray, help, care, love, be merciful, kind, truthful, and courageous that our light might shine before others, that they may see our good deeds and glorify our Father in Heaven.
All Hail King Jesus!
GB
