What Christians must think, pray & do to salvage & rebuild America!

 

GOD'S POLITICAL MANDATE

For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; it is he who will save us (Is 33:22).

America is at a crossroads. Christians want "under God” in the pledge of allegiance, but very few are doing what must be done to keep America "under God.” Isaiah bemoaned of ancient Israel, "the whole head is sick” (Is 1:5). Our nation, too, is sick. We have become utterly unfaithful to the God whose grace made our land great. American Christians have hardly tried to use their authority as citizens to make things right. Except for a tiny band of true Christian statesmen and a struggling community of pro-life/pro-family activists, American Christians have abandoned their role in the political process that shapes American life and government.

Yet, there is still light on the horizon. A growing national prayer movement, a home school movement that is equipping hundred of thousands of young people with a knowledge of Scripture and Americas Christian history, a handful of national Christian leaders who have faithfully prophesied to the Church and nation for decades, and a faithful remnant of churches and pastors across America who have done all theyve known to do, all offer hope for revival and reformation in America. But God only knows how much time we have left.

Gods progressive judgments upon our land are too numerous to recount: fires, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, school shootings, stock market collapses, economic recession, etc. Now, wild-eyed Islamist fanatics, whose "holy book” commands them to kill Christians and Jews have launched a "to-the-death” Jihad against America. Other of Gods promised judgments have been escalating during the same period without any measurable national response of repentance toward God.

Even during the disgraceful Clinton years. Christians were not stirred to help change our government for the better. This was followed by less than 25% of eligible Christians voting in the critical 2000 election. Too few churches teach their people how to be salt and light in the nation as did the churches of our founding era. Yet the remaking of America as a nation "under God” will take every bit as much dedication and sacrifice by modern Christians as it took our founders and the Christians of their day to bring America to birth.

With their incessant aversion to the political process, Christians send many messages: 1. "We reject Christ's mandate to be salt and light to our nation”; 2. "We are satisfied for evil men to rule over us”; 3. "We dont love our neighbors or care about their future welfare"; 4. "We dont care enough for our own children to leave them a national future and hope"; indeed, 5. "We dont really care whether God blesses or curses America!”

These attitudes, combined with our nations moral neediness, are not just negligence, not just apathy, they reveal a great wickedness among Gods backslidden people.

National Blessing & Christian Obedience

In Scripture, God repeatedly promises to bless men and nations who honor and obey Him and to curse those who do not (Dt 5:1-21; 6:all; 28:all; Rom 15:25-27). The Apostle Paul taught that God "commands all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30). At the final judgment God will call all men to give an eternal account for their lives, but He brings nations into account here-and-now (Ps 10:13-16; Ecc 3:14-17; Rom 14:12; 1 Pet 4:5). History is the record of Gods cosmic disposition of nations. Their rise and fall attest to His sovereignty and the immutability of His laws and will. History also attests to Gods unfathomable grace, remarkable patience and transcendent mercy.

Yet Scripture and history demonstrate that there is a limit to Gods longsuffering. His righteous wrath is stored up against those who persist in forsaking Him and in defying His eternal laws. His pent-up wrath will ultimately be poured out upon all who reject His mercy by refusing to repent (Nah 1:1-8; Lk 3:3-8b) . Thomas Jefferson, though he lacked an orthodox view of Scripture, echoed the collective faith of the Founders when he wrote, "God who gave us life gave us liberty. 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."

Unlike mans anger which is uncontrolled and irrational, Gods wrath perfectly expresses His consummate holiness and supreme justice (Ps 89:14; Rom 1:16-32; 2 Th 1:5). It is a perfect, righteous response to man's moral rebellion, lies, adulteries, murders, genocides, idolatries, injustices, etc. God's pent-up wrath against America is fully deserved. Yet today, just as He has done throughout history, God is sending prophetic preachers to warn and call for repentance. And while He speaks via extraordinary troubles, calamities, disasters and other remedial judgments, He intersperses His judgments with gifts of mercy. Even while warning, God reveals His desire to reconcile, forgive, and restore t longing for man to return to Him. But once the "cup” of a man or nation's iniquity overflows, and the opportunity to repent has been thoroughly rejected, the "cup of Gods wrath,” too, will be "poured out" t and nothing will remain but ruin and destruction (2 Pt 2:4-9). 

God's Only Prescription: 2 Chronicles 7:14

If My people…will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. (2 Chr 7:14)

The Bible prescription for deliverance from our present distress has been sounded widely. Countless Prayer events, Days of Prayer, Solemn Assemblies, Fasts, Proclamations, Prayer Ministries and Prayer Websites have been organized during the past 30 years. But the glorious promise of 2 Chronicle 7:14 has yet to be obtained. Americas cup of iniquity seems to grow fuller with each passing day. No doubt prayer and intercession have postponed God's outpoured wrath and Americas destruction. Solemn Assemblies are extremely important, but God is looking for a comprehensive, lasting change in men's hearts and lives. He is calling this generation of American Christians to a lifestyle of repentance, prayer, seeking the face of God and wholehearted faithfulness to the task of turning our nation from sin to Christ. If we fail to respond it will mean death for our nation (Joel 2:12-19).

When God judges a nation, everyone suffers t young , old, believers and unbelievers. Only blind selfishness or wicked indifference would cause Christians to stand by passively while our nation systematically turns against God, storing up wrath against all of our children and grandchildren.

God expects each of us to make every effort to bring our families and nation under His loving rule. He expects us to pray and use our authority as citizens to elect Godly leaders, to expose and oppose ungodly leaders (Pr 28:4). He expects us to become leaders ourselves, to the degree that our abilities enable us and His Spirit leads. All of us are called to love our neighbors. It was in this context that our Founding Fathers counted on Christians to pray and give their time and energies not only to edify their local churches but to help build a Godly commonwealth. They knew America would be blessed or cursed in direct proportion to man's individual obedience and our nations corporate faithfulness to God (Ps 33:12; Pr 14:34).

The Christians Civic Duty

Our Founding Fathers envisioned a nation led by God-fearing statesmen chosen by active, vigilant Christian citizens. President John Adams said, "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious [Christian] people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other" (Americas God & Country, P. 10)

Christians have a mandate from the Lord to be salt and light to our culture (Mt 5:13). We must not only love our neighbors (Mt 22:39) but destroy the works of the devil (Jn 3:8), leave our children a Godly inheritance (Pr 13:22), disciple the nation (Mt 28:19), pray for our leaders and keep them accountable to Gods righteous standards (1 Tim 2:1ff; Pr 31:4-9), and to advance the Kingdom of God throughout the earth (Mt 24:14).

Every Christian with eyes to see should perceive the urgency of the hour and the seriousness of the present threat to the Christian foundations of our society. America's rapid decline, the escalating "culture war" against Christianity, and the systematic effort to remove God and the memory of our Christian heritage from American life, all demand a total Christian response. The antichrist Islamist threat brings an awesome new wrinkle. Christian leaders and laymen must arise to combat this multifaceted evil and restore Christ as King in our land! To prevail, every believer must have an unwavering, optimistic faith and an unyielding allegiance to God's Word. We must stand against all odds and trust God to preserve our families, churches and nation. He will if we remain faithful and faith filled. We have no other options! We must prepare our minds and spirits for a lifetime of spiritual warfare and learn to subdue recurring fears that our cause is hopeless (Heb 11:33).

Governments are made of men. Because men outside of Christ are at enmity with God, without the active involvement of Christians, governments will stray quickly toward antichrist tyranny. Christian truth is at the heart of and sustains every truly free society (Jn 8:32). Apostasy in the Western world has led to a new wave of persecution against Christians and Jews in Europe. American Christians, too, are now routinely subjected to violations of their religious freedom. Many American laws, court rulings and bureaucratic initiatives are being used to advance wickedness and idolatry. To contend with the Church. civil governments and its officers, those God intended to be "ministers for good," increasingly have become antichrist instruments of evil.

Throughout world history kings and civil governments have warred against the Church. We must be bold, and courageous today if we are to be the "salt” we need to be. Christians absorbed with the idols of our increasingly godless American culture will be of no help. In 2002, powerful forces are at work systematically to remove every vestige of Christ and His word from American public life t especially in our laws and government t and they are fast becoming the political mainstream.

Dealing with Today's Political Issues Biblically

Jesus is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He has not hidden His will from the kings and lords of nations. The Spirit of God speaks to nations today by many means: through Scripture, through contemporary Christian preachers, through faithful Christian laymen, and through Gods Sovereign acts and judgments (Pr 1:20-24). His written Word speaks generally and/or particularly to every political issue of our day. He gives special instructions to kings and civil magistrates regarding their official and personal conduct and warns that they must give account to Him now and in the hereafter (Ps 2: all; 110:4-7; Is 14:6-10). God commands kings daily to study His Word.

[The king] shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book…it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes, that his heart may not be lifted above his brethren, that he may not turn aside from the commandment to the right hand or to the left, and that he may prolong his [and his children's] days in his kingdom… (Dt 17:18-20).

Civil leaders must know that "the law of the Lord is perfect” (Ps 19:7-10). To the degree that our laws and public policies reflect Gods laws, and to the degree that we obey them, we will be blessed. To the degree that we collectively defy Gods revealed will we will be cursed! Every new law or policy we make should pass the moral scrutiny of the Word of God. Legislators, executives, judges and citizens all have a responsibility to be certain that the laws of the land follow Gods Law. Christians are called to "teach” the nations (leaders and people) all the laws, ordinances, principles and commands that God has issued (Old & New Testaments) (Mt 28:20). It is the American Churchs fundamental privilege and duty to see that our President, Congress, our Supreme Court justices and other officials remain obedient to the "Supreme Judge of the World” and His eternal moral laws. To the degree that we fail to do so, we and our fellow countrymen will all suffer.

The Church should be producing men and women who are well versed in Gods Word as it pertains to civil government. Every Christian should know what the Bible teaches as it applies to the laws and policies of our communities and nation. Only so equipped can anyone fulfill his fundamental duties as a Christian citizen. Here are some national "political issues” about which we, as Christians, must pray, speak out and take action, things about which God has made plain His will. It is our Christian civic duty to stand up for Christ in these matters. Only if enough of us do so will our children have any hope of inheriting a nation "under God.”

1. We Must Honor God as a Nation Once Again

I am the LORD your God…You shall have no other gods before me (Ex 20:2-3).

God wrote the Ten Commandments with his own finger (Ex 20:1-17). The Commandments were a summary of His unchanging law for all mankind. The first four laws deal with our duty to God, the last six with our duty to men. The larger Law (Torah - first five books of the Bible) gave Israel its constitution and a complete body of civil, criminal, judicial, ecclesiastical and ceremonial law. It was "perfect” (Ps 19:7). And while the ceremonial laws were done away with by Christ, the moral laws, including the principles of justice embodied in the civil, criminal and judicial law will endure for eternity (Mt 5:17-19). God also engraved His moral law upon nature (Romans 1:20; 2:14, 15). Men (and nations) who reject His moral law are without excuse. Those with greater light will be held to a higher account (Lk 12:48). No nation has had more light than ours, perhaps even Israel (2 Cor 3:14ff). God has declared, unequivocally, "The wicked shall be turned into hell, And all the nations that forget God” (Ps 9:17). We should be in fear and trembling (Is 66:1-2; Jer 5:22-25).

Our Founding Fathers saw Gods moral law as the centerpiece of any free society and the only hope for our nations success. James Madison, primary author of the Constitution, wrote: "We have staked the whole future of the American civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it. We have staked the future... upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, according to the Ten Commandments of God."

U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Josiah Brewer, on Church of the Holy Trinity v. United States (1892), wrote,

Our laws and our institutions must necessarily be based upon and embody the teachings of the Redeemer of mankind…our civilization and our institutions are emphatically Christian… From the discovery of this continent to the present hour, there is a single voice making this affirmation... [T]he Declaration of Independence recognizes the presence of the Divine in human affairs… We find everywhere a clear recognition of the same truth.... Because of a general recognition of this truth [that we are a Christian nation], the question has seldom been presented to the courts…” (Wm. Federer, Americas God & Country, pp. 70-73).

While our founders clearly intended America forever to be a Christian nation, not to be dominated by any one denomination, too many Americans have been seduced by decades of disinformation and now believe that Christianity is but one of many religions with equal footing in America; that God, the Ten Commandments, and Christianity have no real place in government; and that America is a secular nation, not a nation "under God.”

Jesus is the Son of God, Jehovah of the Old Testament come in the flesh, the only true God. There is no other. He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords and He is a jealous God. America has no excuse for our present apostasy from Him.

America is deeply confused and our President is not helping. Since 9/11/01, when radical Muslims attacked America, our Christian President has hosted two special White House dinners to "usher in the holy month of Ramadan.” He repeatedly refers to Islam as a "good and peaceful religion” as if saying it would make it so. At this years "Iftaar” he said Islam is a "great faith” that traces back "to God's call on Abraham,” and Ramadan a season for the "contemplation of Gods greatness… that commemorates the revelation of God's word in the holy Koran to the prophet Muhammad….” To his assembled Muslim guests, the President said, "America honors your faith… I wish you all a blessed Ramadan. God bless.”

But contrasted with the Presidents kind words for Islam were a simultaneous coordinated attack by the White House and Secretary of State Colin Powell against prominent Christians leaders (esp. Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell and Franklin Graham). Their crime was to speak out unabashedly about the true nature of Islam and the teachings of the Koran. Powell called their words "hatred” that "must be rejected.” Speaking at yet another Muslim-American Iftaar, Secretary Powell said, "We must not listen to the siren song of the bigots, extremists who cloak themselves in false spirituality in an attempt to divide and to weaken us." Powell said he will bring even more Muslim educators, journalists, political and religious leaders from the Islamic world into the U.S. 

God has given this nation His best (Is 5:4), but we are trading Him in for false gods that cannot save (Ps 33:17; Ps 146:3-5). After King Ahab and Jezebel entertained the prophets of Baal and Asherah at their royal palace, Elijah called the entire nation to Mt. Carmel where he demanded, "How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal is God, follow him."

God warned Eli and his descendents, "'I said…your house and the house of your father would walk before Me forever.' But now the LORD says: 'Far be it from Me; for those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed” [Heb. qalal - held in contempt, cursed, despised] (1 Sam 2:30). Only vital, dedicated Christians who possess abiding faith and a deep relationship with God in prayer and who are willing to spend their lives for Americas reformation can make a difference in this late hour.

2. We Must End the Abortion Holocaust

Americas preeminent national sin requires an extraordinary response by every Christian. If our growing "culture of death” is not reversed, America has no future. God will destroy us if we persist in daily murdering thousands of innocent babies (50,000,000 since 1973). Americans share the blame for allowing to stand the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling, which usurped 46 state laws and legislatures. The blood of 50 million infants cries out to God unceasingly. God forgave Manasseh, the evil King who led Judah into gross sin and idolatry and later repented (2 Chr 33:9-17). But He refused to forgive the people of Judah who had allowed the innocent bloodshed during Manassehs reign (2 Kg 24:2-4) and used foreign invaders to punish them. The American people, especially Christians, cannot stand idly by while the Roe v. Wade ruling continues to dominate the American idea of justice, having become the defining measure by which federal judges are confirmed or condemned (Pr 24:11-12). Incremental restrictions on abortion such as parental notification requirements, partial-birth abortion bans, etc., may have some value, but Gods curse will remain upon America until abortion has been completely outlawed. Increasingly, pro-life activists find themselves singled out for treatment as criminals, because the right to have an abortion has become sacrosanct in America today.

Roe v. Wade is a Pandoras Box that has unleashed a host of other societal evils.

3. We Must Protect & Preserve the Family

God our Creator, our Lawgiver, Judge and King, is also our Father. God created man to become part of His family. Every family on earth derives from the Fatherhood of God. The family was Gods first earthly institution t before the Church or civil government. A happy family is a picture of heaven. God made the family to be the basic building block of society; where children are born, tenderly nurtured, and equipped with the practical and spiritual knowledge and wisdom they need to become healthy, responsible adults. He intended every home to be an incubator of love built upon a permanent, covenant marriage. Only healthy, stable families will reproduce healthy families who can, in turn, build healthy churches, communities and nations.

"As goes the family, so goes the Church and nation.” It is in every civil governments self interest to uphold and strengthen the traditional (Biblical) family, to protect its sovereignty as an institution, to uphold the God-given rights and responsibilities of parents, to urge each family member to fulfill his or her God-given responsibilities and to preserve the liberty of each and every one to do so.

As Christians have withdrawn their influence from American politics, the power of government has been appropriated by men with evil ideologies to impose their anti-Christ, anti-family agenda upon us all. New laws, government programs, public schools curricula and independent and coordinated efforts by boards and bureaucracies at every level have served together as adversaries of the traditional family. Parents rights to discipline and educate their children are routinely threatened and infringed. Government schools undermine parents and subject our children to alien ideologies. Instead of strengthening the family through public policy that promotes family wealth, the government has impoverished families through confiscatory taxes. Nehemiahs charge to his brethren speaks to us today, "Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes” (Neh 4:14).

Parental Rights, Authority c God gave parents the responsibility personally to train their children in right­eousness (Eph 6:4; Heb 12:7-11). He gave them authority to use corporal punishment as necessary to discipline and control them (Pr 13:24; 22:15; 23:13-14; 29:15). God holds parents to the highest possible standard of accountability for fulfilling their parental responsibilities (1 Sam 2:27-36) and He holds children to the highest possible standard of accountability for submission to their parents authority (Dt 21:18-21). He also requires civil authorities to back parents in the exercise of their authority for the discipline of their children (Dt 21:18-21). Yet modern humanist doctrines sharply disagree with the Scriptural view of child training. Under the guise of preventing "epidemic” child abuse, several countries and some American states have passed anti-spanking laws that treat as criminals parents who endeavor to train their children Biblically.

Education c God also has given parents responsibility to teach their children Biblical truth (Dt 6:4) and to protect them from false doctrines and evil influences (Jn 10:11-15; Acts 20:28-29). Statist educators, armed with compulsory attendance and mandatory curriculum laws, are indoctrinating our youth with Godless humanism and leftist political ideologies. Most of our public schools are now teaching the doctrine of evolution as fact. They have become assembly lines for steeping young adults in political correctness: feminism; amoral sex; sexual diversity; abortion (and assisted suicide, cloning & euthanasia); multiculturalism (non-Christian cultures are OK but Americas Judeo-Christian culture is evil); the oppressive, patriarchal God of the Bible is a myth but polytheism, satanism, witchcraft, New Age religion are legitimate (all religions should be tolerated, even honored, except for "hate-filled,” fundamentalist Christianity); Americas Founders were deists, philanderers, and evil slave owners c not Christians; radical environmentalism is good c individual property rights, bad; socialism (social security, national health care, a managed economy, etc.,) is good; capitalism is bad, etc…

The Government takeover of the Family c The family is Gods department of Health, Education and Welfare. He intended for husbands to be the head of the household. He expects adult children to care for their aged parents, and for multigenerational families to remain a part of one anothers lives. Government policies were once formulated with the family in mind. Now the government taxes families so that the government can deliver the very services that God called the family to provide. Americas social policies are no longer made with the traditional family in mind. Middle-class families have become impoverished, spiritually and materially, while husband and wife both labor five out of twelve months each year to pay taxes to feed a behemoth government seemingly determined to control everyones life from cradle to grave.

God-fearing governors, lawmakers and judges are to protect the family from enemies and predators. Government policies should work together to serve the family. Yet wicked judges, senators, even presidents, have collaborated with radical feminist, pro-abortion, hedonist and homosexual activist groups to destroy the family. Over the past 30 years, Christians have not mounted an effective political response to this continuing assault. We must support Godly political candidates and elect God-fearing officials who will reverse the trend. Every ungodly, anti-family law that has been enacted must be repealed and every new anti-family initiative must be stopped..

4. We Must Uphold & Protect the Church

As Gods "ministers" in this nation "under God,” Americas civil servants should encourage and support the Churches of Jesus Christ c not compete with or lord over them. Every public officials should fully understand that the only legitimate meaning of "separation of Church & State” is that the state has no right to interfere with the Church and her doctrine or government, that Christians are free to exercise (not just privately believe) their religious faith, and that the federal government may not establish a state church. Gods civil ministers must do nothing to offend the God of the Bible or to undermine His Church. This was the view of the founders. The state must do nothing to impede or control the free expression of religious faith or to restrain the freedom of speech of any individual believer, church or Christian ministry. This includes the expression of their opinions about "political issues” and their support or opposition to legislation and candidates for public office. 

For decades, "separation of Church and State” has wrongly been interpreted to mean that the Church has no business speaking into the secular government. This has brought the Church under attack by the burgeoning state and the new state religion of atheistic humanism. Churches have had their tax exempt status taken away for speaking out on issues, they have been assaulted and padlocked for operating Christian Schools, and Church properties have been confiscated by the Government and sold to "pay taxes.” Politically incorrect churches have been subjected to surveillance in the past. But new laws give the FBI authority not only to monitor but to infiltrate churches and religious organizations.

5. We Must Preserve American Liberty

Nehemiah taught the Jews how to defend their families against persistent enemies by remaining armed even as they worked (a trowel in one hand and a sword in the other c Neh 4:14-21). Our forefathers spilled their blood to preserve for us and our children the greatest political and spiritual liberty any nation has ever known. Our forefathers warned us that we would have to pay a price to keep it. Patrick Henry declared, "give me liberty or give me death.” But our liberties are being reduced and stolen away in thousands of new laws passed each year: laws that now control nearly every aspect of our lives. If the trend continues, it will become far more unbearable for our children and grandchildren.

We must rekindle in the hearts of Gods people the love our forefathers had for liberty. American Christians must prohibit the passage of laws that undermine and displace our blood-bought liberties: Gun control laws; campaign finance laws; IRS rules that restrict free speech for churches; environmental laws that unreasonably restrict or prohibit land use; zoning laws that prohibit churches; unreasonable taxes upon individuals, families and businesses; rulings that prohibit manger scenes and religious symbols, etc., ordinances that prohibit public prayer and Bible reading; policies that prohibit the mention of Jesus in high school speeches; and the list goes on.

The new War on Terrorism, with its Homeland Defense Department, also poses grave new threats. National ID cards, electronic eavesdropping, etc., must all be opposed on principle. First Amendment religious liberty, freedom of the press, assembly, and speech must all be jealously guarded. Efforts to prohibit reasonable land use by private property owners under the guise of protecting bugs, birds and lizards must stop.

6. We Must Preserve Biblical Morality in America

[He] who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father (John 14:12).

The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work. (1 Jn 3:8).

The Churchs retreat from government and politics, has led to America becoming a cesspool of immorality. Nominees to the federal court who hold even marginal pro-life leanings are now subjected to shameless political public lynching by liberals in the U.S. Senate. NARAL and Emilys List raised $31 million to back pro-abortion candidates in the 2002 election. Abortionists are now given federal marshals to serve as their security guards while Christian activists are jailed and bankrupted for praying and preaching outside abortion clinics. For years the Boy Scouts of America have been denied the use of public meeting rooms in many jurisdictions because they refuse to hire practicing homosexuals as scoutmasters. Congress has authorized the payment of spousal benefits to the homosexual partners of city employees in Washington, DC. A federal ruling (now on appeal) in favor of the American Library Association has stated that any law requiring public libraries to filter pornography from their public computers is unconstitutional. According to ministry surveys, 30-50% of Americas Christian men are addicted to pornography. Efforts to legalize or expand legal gambling, prostitution, marijuana, etc. have made headway across America in the past 30 years, sometimes with little or no resistance. Thirty-nine states now run public lotteries, cashing in on the poor. Where is the Church?

This and much more would have been unimaginable by our Christian Forefathers who shed their blood to give us a free land. Such a tragic decline could have been prevented by God-fearing Americans, working and praying in concert. A primary purpose of the civil government is to restrain and punish evil-doers. Christians must pray and exercise their political muscle to reverse laws that foster hedonism and vice.

7. We Must Elect Only Leaders Who Fear God

The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spoke to me, "He that rules over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God” (2 Sam 23:3).

"When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; when the wicked rule, the people mourn”  (Pr 29:2).

In the ancient Hebrew Republic, the chief requirement for all public officials was the fear of God. Until well after the Civil War in some American states, public officials were required to acknowledge faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and affirm their belief in Gods eternal judgment. Our founders believed no human system of accountability would keep men, contaminated by original sin, from abusing power. Only the fear of God would keep them truly honest. In our free society, where government is "of, by and for the people,” Christians are uniquely able to be "salt and light,” in part, by being model citizens, electing Godly leaders, and by being faithful watchmen to protect their families and fellow countrymen from wolfish, wicked leaders. 

It is an axiom that "personnel equal policy." Our leaders, elected and appointed, will craft policies in accordance with their beliefs. Every Election Day is D-day c when Christians will choose Godly leaders and blessing or allow America to slide further down the slippery slope to perdition.

The positions most candidates hold on moral issues are readily available for all to see, yet, because of Christians indifference, evil people are routinely elected and reelected. It is little wonder abortion, homosexuality, idolatry, adultery, divorce, pornography, child abuse & neglect, etc., are rampant. These things were once illegal or controlled by law. Now we have elected officials who openly practice and advocate these very things. 

Meanwhile, few pastors teach or preach about Christian's civic duty, and many are afraid to preach on "political" issues, no matter how clearly or strongly they are be addressed in Scripture. A very small number of pastors  publicly endorse or oppose candidates for office, most will not, no matter how Godly or wicked the candidates may be. People in the pews generally follow their pastors example, for better or worse. 

If the trend of Christian aversion to political involvement continues, in one more generation, we can expect wholesale persecution of Christians in America c by the federal, state and local governments. And that persecution could rival past and present persecutions in the Soviet Union, Red China, and the Muslim nations. Persecution of Christians in Western Europe, unthinkable just a few years ago, is on the rise. The American church will avoid this only if yet another Great Awakening produces believers who understand their call to "appoint men who fear God" as leaders. Remember, had numbers been only slightly different in the 2000 election, liberal Al Gore would be President, with Tom Daschle as Senate Majority Leader and supra-liberal Nancy Pelosi as speaker of the House. The Hillary Clintons of America would be have been revived and empowered. Bill Clinton and Barbara Streisand would be influencing national policy again. This is no joke. Homosexuals would hold cabinet posts and the next Supreme Court Justice would undoubtedly be a liberal anti-Christian feminist or homosexual activist.

8.   We Must Promote Righteousness Throughout Government

"Righteousness exalts a nation but Sin is a reproach to any people" (Pr 14:34).

Then Jesus…said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations... teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" (Mt 28: 18-20).

"You are the salt of the earth: but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under the feet  of men. You are the light of the world… Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Mt 5:13-16).

God has promised to bless or curse our nation in response to our corporate obedience or disobedience to Him (Dt 28:all). Who but obedient Christians are capable of instructing government in righteousness and calling our nation and its leaders to obedience to God?

Christians must use all their authority as earthly citizens and as citizens of the Kingdom of God, to see that our government and all its agencies and officials act in accord with Gods moral law. They are our representatives. Their sins become national sins and are charged to our national account. All of us will prosper or suffer as a result of their actions. We have every right to expect them to do right!

Christians should watch and pray regularly for the President, Congress and Supreme Court, and also pray over their initiatives, bills, laws and cases. We must pray for and communicate with our leaders at the state and local levels. Spirit-led leaders are needed if Christians, churches and para-church groups are going to succeed via prayer and action to fulfill our God-given Christian mission to America. God has raised up many groups to pray and to be a Christian voice into our civil government, but more are needed and those whom God has already raised up need our support. The Church is still a sleeping giant. If those who profess to know Christ were collectively to repent and begin actually o be "salt and light” to our nation and its civil government, it may not be too late for America.

9. We Must Limit the Size & Scope of Civil Government

For he is God's servant to do you good… (Rom 13:4).

"[W]arn  them solemnly and let them know what the king [they choose] will do…He will take your sons and make them serve… He will take your daughters… the best of your fields…  a tenth of your grain… The best of your cattle… a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the LORD will not answer you…” (1 Sam 8:7-18).

God has ordained civil government to "serve” the people c not dominate them. History proves that wicked tyrants, bloated, self-serving bureaucracies, revolutions, and wars ad infinitum, have been the product of mans efforts to govern apart from God and His law. Without the "salt and light” that faithful Christians bring to the politics of a nation, without a conscious honoring of God and his law, governors and governments automatically go beyond their Biblical bounds. Unrestrained by the laws and limits God gave in Scripture, ambitious kings and bureaucrats, driven by their sin nature, seem always to overreach and to abuse their own people in many ways (Pr 14:34; Mt 5:13-16; Rom 3:10-18).

Under Gods law, the nation of Israel enjoyed a republican (representative) form of government with defined and limited powers (Ex 18:19b-22). Elected volunteer elders (civil judges) ruled on matters of civil and criminal justice, while a dedicated priesthood governed in religious matters (Josh 8:33-35. The Church and state worked together for the public good (Dt 21:1-9). Obedience to God and His transcendent moral law was the goal of both civil and Church government. Taxes were very low. The home, Church, school and civil government, while independent of one another in authority and structure, were united in their reverence for God. Penalties for violating the law were clear, but always tempered with mercy (Is 16:5). A voluntary, popular militia provided for national defense. Biblical education equipped the people for self-government according to Gods Word. God warned the people that abandoning the limited civil government He gave them and trading it for the monarchy like the nations around them would result in financial bondage, a radical loss of liberty. Americas Founders understood this and drew heavily from the Hebrew Republic in developing their own philosophy of limited government.

America was founded upon the principle, outlined in the Declaration of Independence, that God has given rights and duties to all men, and that they will be held accountable to Him for their exercise of those rights and performance of those duties. They believed that rulers have a sacred public trust to serve the public good (Rom 13), which, if they betrayed it, would forfeit their right to rule. They believed citizens have a duty to uphold good government, but to alter, even to overthrow bad government and to start anew if necessary.  

Conservative scholars agree that Scripture limits the role of civil government to the spheres of military defense and criminal and civil justice (Rom 13). The Church, family and private individuals are charged with providing for the aged and caring for the poor and needy. God is jealous to maintain His role as Sovereign over every individuals life. Every human government (Church, State & Family) has a limited sphere of authority in peoples lives. Gods system provided for law, order and national security while securing the maximum liberty for individuals, families, private associations and religious institutions. At the core of Gods working system was honor for God and His Law (Lev 25:10; Is 33:22; 61:1-4).. 

Christians have a duty to elect legislators and executives who are committed to limited government under God. But an untaught American people has predictably acquired an appetite and now an expectation for state guaranteed Social Security, Medicare & Medicaid, and other welfare benefits and subsidies that Scripture and the U.S. Constitution do not authorize. Americas once God-fearing statesmen have been replaced by demagogues who promise, not only justice and public safety, but never ending social security and public welfare and wealth via a government-controlled economy. Americans have traded their liberty, the commodity our forefathers regarded as more precious than life, for a socialist system that punishes industry and rewards sloth. Efforts to fulfill impossible-to-keep political promises will bankrupt our nation. Moreover, in looking to government as provider, Americans have forgotten God and the freedom that comes from submission to Him. In so doing we have become, instead, slaves of men.

10. We Must Secure Americas National Defense

Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in the multitude of their chariots and in the great strength of their horsemen, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel, or seek help from the LORD (Is 31:1).

If you diligently obey the voice of the LORD [He] will cause your enemies to be defeated... But if you do not you [will] be defeated before your enemies (Dt 28:1, 7, 15, 25, 52).

God ordained civil government to "bear the sword.” As Gods servants, civil rulers are to protect innocent citizens and "execute wrath” upon evildoers, i.e., domestic criminals and foreign invaders (Rom 13:1-7). He commands Christians cheerfully to pay taxes to finance their nations judicial system and their domestic peacekeeping and national defense ministries.

Nations should be adequately equipped militarily to protect their citizens against international and domestic threats. And must be prepared not only to protect their citizens but to "avenge” them against evildoers. In the Scriptures, God commends military warriors for their readiness. Jesus and Paul used parables of military preparedness to illustrate spiritual truth. Americans should be concerned that our fighting men be well equipped, that their morale is high and that their families are adequately provided (1 Chr 12:32-38; Eph 6:11-20). 

Scripture does not foster the idea of women in combat. To force military men to cohabit with homosexual offenders is Biblically anathema. While God taught Israel to welcome aliens and strangers, He made a clear distinction between aliens seeking safety in the Hebrew Republic and the alien armies that posed a threat and were considered a curse to Israel (Ex 22:21; Dt 20:5-8; 28:49-52; Lev 18:22, 23-28; Jdg 4:9).  

Scripture warns against entering military alliances with idolatrous nations even when military help is desperately needed. With Scripture affirming military preparedness as the appropriate business of government, it repeatedly warns that God, alone, is any nations only dependable Defense; that weapons and allies, without His favor, are worthless. Christians must support a strong military but faithfully persist in calling the American people and its leaders to Christ and Biblical righteousness, so that God can keep His supernatural guard over our nation.

Those who flew airliners into the Twin Towers in New York on 9/11/01, had not been adequately screened or dealt with by our border authorities. Americas borders must be secured. Our border authorities and immigration policies they execute must be strengthened. Illegal aliens must not be rewarded with government benefits but required to obey the law just like all American citizens are required to do and returned to their homeland.

American Foreign Policy c The Bible warns of evil alliances, and unequal yokes. As American businesses and politicians seek to maintain and advance our standing in the world economy, and to maintain a military balance of power, Christians should pray that these leaders heed Gods warnings. We must pray, too, that the President will use restraint with the Fast-Track trade agreement authority Congress has given him.

The New World Order c The U.N. has long sought to become the "One World Government.” They have sought to control American foreign and domestic policy. They have sought to tax us, involve us in wars not our own and to use our military strength for endless "peacekeeping” exercises around the globe. Theyve sought control over our labor, environmental, and gun policies, and have sought to subject us to various international courts. President Bill Clinton openly appointed prominent advocates of U.N. world government to high posts in his Administration. President George H.W. Bush popularized the term "New World Order” and set precedent by seeking U.N. approval for the 1991 war against Iraq. The clear trend in U.S. foreign policy, increasingly during the past decade, has been the expansion of U.N. authority and the incremental forfeiture of U.S. national sovereignty. This has been facilitated via a web of international treaties and conventions, some benign, but most direct assaults on U.S. sovereignty. These U.N. propos­als would bring American citizens under the jurisdiction of international agencies that could monitor behavior and exercise control over families, schools, businesses, energy, land and other natural resources. Some could interfere even to the extent of affecting local land ownership, the use of private property and the education and discipline of  children.

Many U.N. policies clash with religious doctrines and practices, cultural mores and impose upon long held individual liberties, something average Americans should find repugnant. Yet American presidents have signed these treaties and the U.S. Senate has kept them on hold for years, seemingly awaiting the moment when Americans are asleep and they can sign away our national sovereignty in a single sweeping act. Before the 2002 election, Senate Democrats had intended to bring the U.N. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (C.E.D.A.W.) to the Senate Floor for a vote. George Bush disappointed conservative Christians when he announced America would rejoin UNESCO, the U.N. agency whose international education programs do not promote American values. Ronald Reagan withdrew from UNESCO in 1984.

Christians must actively oppose U.S. ratification of treaties like the aforementioned C.E.D.A.W, the International Criminal Court (ICC), the U.N. Treaty on the Rights of the Child, the Kyoto Global Warming Treaty, the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the World Heritage Convention and others treaties that would capitulate American sovereignty to the New World Order.

Red China -- could be a greater threat to Americas long term national security than the Islamist Jihad. China is using its mammoth $84 billion trade surplus with the U.S. to build a modern military equipped with state-of-the-art weaponry. Innovators in the art of asymmetrical warfare, the Chinese are now capable of waging a stealth war against any nation in the world. Some believe China is playing a role in the Islamist war against the U.S. The Red Chinese stole our most advanced military hardware secrets from Los Alamos National Laboratory during the Clinton years. The 1999 Cox Report documented the Red Chinese threat against us which has only grown since. Generals in the Red Army openly speak of the U.S. as Chinas number one enemy and that China will go to war with the U.S. over Taiwan some time in the near future.

Islam - Radical Muslims have been at war with the U.S. for two decades and against Christianity and Judaism for centuries. Yet the Bush administration is in denial over the threat of Islam. Bush Administration efforts to extol allah, Mohammed and the Koran, and to persuade Muslims that we are at war with "terrorism” and not Islam, could do more to offend the God of Abraham than to appease American and World Muslims. Repentance and returning to the God of the Bible is Americas only sure defense against radical Islamist terrorists.  

Israel - America must stand by our closest ally in the Middle East, especially in light of the Islamist war against both of our nations. Standing by Israel is also important because of Gods heart and plan for the Jewish homeland and the Jewish people. God promises to bless nations that bless Israel. Christians should oppose the Bush policy to create a Palestinian State because it is not Biblical (Joel 3:2ff). America must also stand with the Jewish people as a new wave of anti-Semitism sweeps the globe. Christians should pray that President Bush will somehow retreat from his plan for a Palestinian State and that God will prevent the President Bush from yielding to pro-Palestinian bias and pressure from Secretary Colin Powell and the State Department. World events are revolving around this tiny Middle Eastern land, and there will not be lasting peace there until the return of Jesus Christ. Until then, Christians must pray that our government will stand steadfastly by Israel. 

11. We Must Establish & Maintain Biblical Justice

He is God's servant to do you good. But he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer (Rom 13:3-4).

For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; he will

save us (Is 33:22).

It is the God-given duty of civil governors to establish justice by commending righteousness, protecting the innocent and punishing evildoers (Pr 20:8; 21:26; 25:5; 28:28; 29:12; Rom 13:3-4).

Scripture teaches that God wants law and order to prevail so that good men can be secure in their persons and property, enjoy peace and safety, take pleasure in the rewards of their righteous labors and freely preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. He is also zealous to see criminals punished for their criminal acts c for righteousness and justices sake and to dissuade others from criminal behavior (Ps 2:9-10; Pr 21:11; Jer 23:5; 1 Tim 2: 1-2).

Justice can only flow from a system with just laws. The legislative branch of government, with the power to make and dissolve laws, is a powerful branch of government. Christian citizens must elect God-fearing legislators, continually monitor the lawmaking process, actively support the passage of Godly laws and oppose passage of ungodly laws. Every new law either strengthens or weakens true justice in America.

God emphasizes the selection of righteous Judges as the way of securing justice in society. Citizens who wish to remain free must elect legislators and executives who they know will appoint truly God-fearing judges c men who fear God. In this era of activist, liberal judges who routinely usurp the legislatures by nullifying Godly laws, citizens must elect officials who will affirm only judges who will apply the Constitution as our Founders intended it and not how modern liberal judges think society should change.

Christians must elect God-fearing executive officers who will seek justice, who will protect the innocent and punish criminals. During the Clinton administration, the Justice Department pursued an evil agenda to investigate, harass and punish pro-life and conservative, activists groups and to trouble law abiding businessmen. Meanwhile it gave special security protection to abortion clinic owners, homosexual activists and other liberal organizations. FBI operatives were taught that Bible believing Christians and patriotic Militia groups were the primary threat in America.

The Justice apparatus of the U.S. government is huge: The Justice Department consists of scores of mammoth agencies (e.g. the FBI, DEA, INS, INTERPOL, the U.S. Attorneys, etc.). Scores of other executive branch agencies also have police powers (e.g., the National Forest Service, the Center for Disease Control, the Secret Service, U.S. Customs Service, National Park Service, the Coast Guard, the FDA, IRS, BATF, CIA, EPA, FCC, FEC, FEMA, FTC and OSHA). Now, the newly formed Homeland Security Office will help coordinate anti-terrorist efforts among all the agencies. Under new laws the traditional lines between the U.S. military, foreign intelligence and domestic law enforcement have become blurred.

With such massive police power to control American citizens at the whim of our rulers, it is more important than ever that Christians be involved to see that God-fearing men and women are elected and appointed to public office.

Christians must work to ascertain that new laws, personnel, and executive initiatives focus on true justice; that the poorest of the poor and the weakest of the weak are not left out. Christians, too, must see that the Justice Department and a host of law enforcement agencies are never again used by wicked men to protect evildoers and to punish innocent citizens as was done under the Clinton Administration.

12. We Must Strengthen The American Economy

"Its the Economy, stupid” has found its way into the politics of a nation that long ago abandoned a solid monetary system (gold standard). Like the ancient Romans who tried to predict the future by studying the entrails of animals, mortal men now regulate our nations money supply and credit structure (Federal Reserve) and raise and lower taxes and borrow and spend (the President and Congress) in an effort to "manage” the economy without any regard for God or His word (Lev 19:35-37; Pr 20:10, 23). Americans can no longer rely upon industry, thrift and the blessing of God to secure their future. Small businessmen, retiree investors and rank and file employees are shorted by national fiscal and monetary decisions beyond their control, while everyone waits with bated breath to see how government decisions will affect their lives and fortunes.

Taxes c Our forefathers revolted against Great Britain over taxes that were a pittance compared to taxes levied in America today. God never intended people to be subjected to todays oppressive levels of taxation (1 Sam 8:11-19). Jesus told the Pharisees, "Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's (Mt 22:21). American must keep our leaders fiscally responsible and accountable through the electoral, political system. Jesus words did not mean that governments have unlimited power to tax and control mens lives. When so much of a peoples energy, time, focus and wealth is claimed by government that no resources or time are left for God and family, that government has crossed the line, demanding what rightly belongs to God.

Americans for Tax Reform (www.atr.org/talkingpoints/) reports that taxes dominate the American family budget. The average family pays more in taxes than for food, clothing and shelter combined. The Census Bureau says that the average household pays $9,445 in federal income taxes alone t twice what it paid in 1985. Americans worked until May 10 last year just to pay their taxes.

Even with a 15.3% payroll tax on all working Americans, the Social Security System is expected to run a deficit in 2014 and be bankrupt by 2037 (www.socialsecurityreform.org). Over half of Federal receipts from capital gains taxes comes from middle class and elderly taxpayers with incomes below $50,000 per year. Inheritance taxes drain whats left when they die. President Bushs proposal to allow taxpayer control over a portion of the social security "contribution,” to invest as they see fit, is a step in the right direction, but does not go far enough.

Spending - Scripture warns against debt and Americas Founding Fathers argued over incurring public debt (Pr 6:1-11). James Madison wrote, "I go on the principle that a public debt is a public curse, and in a Republican Government as greater than in any other.” But Americas momentary illusion of endless budget surpluses has evaporated and deficit spending has returned with a vengeance. As of this writing the National Debt has soared to nearly $6.3 trillion, and since September 28, 2001, has increased by an average of $1.14 million per day (see the national debt clock (http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/ ). Under President Bush the budget deficit will grow to more than $165 billion this year.

Social Programs - God did not create human governments to be the savior of mankind (Is 45:5-6, 22). Nor did He intend them to provide comprehensive health, education and social welfare, abortions for the poor, day care for working mothers, or cradle to grave oversight of everyones life. American style liberty and the free enterprise system, both outgrowths of Biblical thinking, have given average Americans greater financial and political freedom than any other people in the history of the world. But Marxist socialism, proven a failure wherever it has been tried, continues to be a stronghold in the philosophies and agendas of many liberal American politicians today. They are still determined to create a liberal utopia on earth without God. Christians must work to put the social programs government has arrogated to itself during the past 65 years back in the hands of the Church, the family, and private charity where it belongs. To the degree that Government succeeds in being Americas savior, it will insist, too, upon being lord t a role that belongs only to Jesus Christ.

President Bushs plan to give tax incentives to individuals and corporations who contribute to "faith-based” organizations is good. But his plan for faith-based organizations to compete directly for federal funds and requiring these organizations to dampen or compromise elements of their faith, is wrong c the very opposite of what he originally promised. This measure is simply more socialist big government ever seeking to control more, including the Church. The idea that government should be or can be a full service provider of every human need t eliminating poverty, meeting all the needs of the poor, the unemployed, the young, the old, the sick, the handicapped, etc. t is a seductive lie. If burgeoning American socialism is not stopped, our children will grow up to become tax slaves. Since God did not intend government to do all these things, our experiment in socialism will fail. Like communist Russia, we too, will go bankrupt and our behemoth social programs will all grind to a halt. God will not bless an American government that has usurped Him.

He alone is Savior and Lord.

Please Join Us in Crying Out to God for America: