- Friday, February 20, 2015

Christians believe that God created the Earth and everything in it. He also created three methods for societal order by establishing the government, the family and the church, which altogether sustain right moral living and encourage human flourishing.

God cares about all of his creation, especially government, because without it properly restraining evil and promoting its citizens’ well-being, anarchy and lawlessness will prevail. Society’s natural state is self-serving destruction, which is why Christians are required to impart righteousness in all areas of life.

A state that is righteous honors and protects the life that God creates. Its leaders are primarily concerned with protecting their citizens from threats both foreign and domestic. A righteous state enacts and enforces just laws, promotes economic growth, and peaceful living.

America faces crises of biblical proportion for which Christians are foremost accountable.

As Plato warned, “The price of apathy towards public affairs is to be ruled by evil men.”

Christians have allowed:
• Corrupt leaders to take advantage of an apathetic electorate and commit treasonous acts,
• An entire news industry to not be held accountable for reducing a once-stalwart journalism profession that now distributes propaganda instead of reporting news,
• Citizens’ inalienable God-given religious and individual liberties to be seriously jeopardized,
• America to become increasingly vulnerable to terrorist attacks from within and without our porous borders,
• Our education system to be overrun by harmful bureaucracy, and through Common Core the teaching and rewriting of history that includes Islamic indoctrination, violating the First Amendment.

As a result, Christians have contributed to extensive suffering by allowing the Obama administration to intentionally and significantly harm Americans. It not only orchestrated disseminating a propaganda of lies to destroy an entire health care system and send millions of dollars to political coffers and companies, but millions of Americans who previously had health insurance now have no access to health care.

Additionally, doctors continue to lose their jobs, medical facilities continue to close, and employers continue to eliminate their employees’ health insurance policies and/or employees themselves to cut costs and avoid fines.

Unemployment and underemployment is at 25 percent, equal to the Great Depression era.

Additionally, the Obama administration orchestrated the influx of illegal immigrants, provided them with benefits that our veterans don’t receive and are dying as a result. And with the help of Congress, the administration has created unsustainable debt for future generations with no plan to stop printing money or not once again raising the debt ceiling.

Christians must take responsibility for this. We have allowed Godless leaders to nearly destroy our culture, society and government.

We must first petition God for mercy and forgiveness, pointing to his promise given in 2 Chron. 7:14: “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

We must next appeal to government officials, fellow citizens and people of faith to ensure that existing laws are enforced for our well-being and protection.

Christians must not only hold elected officials and the news media accountable but also run for office themselves. Whether for the school board, county commissioner, city council, mayor, state or federal legislative positions, it is imperative they be involved.

This is not a call “to take our nation back” or to “Christianize America.” It is a call for Christians to embrace our purpose to glorify God in all of our endeavors, contributing to human flourishing and restraining evil. Understanding that the government, the law and human rights do not exist without the God who established them.

Because God created government — and in fact everything — every area of life, politics is spiritual.

Christians must point to the God who created our rights like the Apostle Paul, who claimed his rights under Roman law as a Roman citizen (“I appeal to Caesar” Acts 25:11).

And like Nehemiah, circa 445 B.C., Christians must end our leaders’ habitual practice of lying to its citizens, censoring and propagandizing, targeting and intimidating any dissent, rewarding criminals, overtaxing its people, creating economic oppression, and financing our enemies while simultaneously and subversively attempting to overthrow our allies.

Nehemiah, an expendable slave, successfully led the rebuilding of Jerusalem. “Professionally,” he was ill equipped, but he successfully accomplished what was required of him. He first focused on national security by rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls — strengthening its borders from external threats.

Next, he rebuilt a government in complete disrepair. And after these monumental tasks were accomplished, he focused on getting his people, an entire nation, out of debt — which he did more than once.

If an expendable slave could rebuild Jerusalem, better-equipped American Christians can renew, restore and rebuild America. Christians are required to rescue and defend those who cannot defend themselves (Prov. 31: 8,9; Isa. 1:17) and also to expose and prevent evil as much as possible (Ezek. 3, 33).

We cannot claim ignorance, inaction or indifference to corrupt politicians’ crimes. We are responsible to right these wrongs and there is no better time to start than now.

And who better to lead than pastors who are already on the front lines of every cultural issue and every area of life in which their congregants struggle? Pastors who already evidence a servant’s heart are the best suited knowing their communities’ needs and the government’s role to meet them by restraining evil and promoting its citizens’ well-being.

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