Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
I realize that there are many definitions of what a Christian is, but I am writing to those of you who have, like me, trusted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior and have been born again.
We live in perilous times, and for the first time in hundreds of years on this continent, we face serious opposition and potential persecution. It is not a pleasant thought, and we will find it very tempting to compromise truth, or just remain silent. But that is not really an option! Whether it will come to actual persecution as our brothers and sisters in China, North Korea and elsewhere face, only God knows. Either way, it should not surprise us that we are hated by people of the world and especially by the Left. Jesus noted when He was here that the world hated Him, and thus they would hate those who chose to follow Him. In fact, He stated in Matthew 5, “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven!” (Matt 5:11, 12 NKJV). As poorly as we Christians have followed Christ, (and we must admit to failing Him), the aura of Christ still somehow shines through and those who hate Him also hate what they see of Him in us. Interestingly, humorist Mark Twain noted that “there is nothing more irritating than a good example!” Righteousness intimidates unrighteousness, and light angers those who love darkness.
America has been richly blessed beyond all other nations in history, and those of us who know our nation’s history, and are aware of how God has blessed the entire world through America, hate to see her attacked, and slandered. Most people throughout time have lived under one type of tyrant or another. Whether they were called kings, emperors, pharaohs, premiers, or comrades, the lives of average citizens were generally unpleasant, often miserable, and certainly not free. Whether God, in His grace, renews our liberties or not hangs in the balance at the moment, but we must understand that Scriptures are clear that there will be no place like America during the final years of world history just prior to Christ establishing His kingdom. We do not know God’s plan for this country, upon which He “shed His grace.”
However, this is not a call for passivity! Because we do not know God’s mind, we should continue pleading for an extension of His grace to America. But too many Christians appear to believe that merely asking for God’s blessing is sufficient. I read and hear many people saying, “God bless America” without and reference to the fact that America has turned its back to God! On what basis do we expect His blessings? We should consider a relevant text found in II Chronicles where God specifically addresses this subject. II Chronicles 7:14, while written for Israel and not the United States, still presents the theological pathway to a place where God might bestow His blessing, and that pathway begins with humility and repentance. There is no reason for Christians to think that God will pour out His rich grace on America when multitudes of Christians live like the world and persist in activities and attitudes that are disgusting to His holiness! Parents know better than to give treats to children who are disobeying them. Do we think that God is not as wise as parents?
The “world system” is at war with God, and James warned in his letter that Christians who seek to please the world rather than God are like adulterers. He noted, “he who would be a friend of the world makes himself the enemy of God!” We cannot serve two masters; we must make our choice! Twenty-eight-year-old missionary, Jim Elliot, who was martyred for his faith in 1956, wrote, “he is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose.”
Whatever gain you might make, or think you make by going along with the world will be short-lived at best and may cost you eternal blessings. Christ said, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. . . .” (Matt. 6:19 NKJV). It is not surprising when those who see this world as all there is, have no scruples in taking for themselves whatever they want without regard to the impact and cost to others. But we Christians ought to know better. It is a foolish Christian who allows himself to be tricked into thinking this world offers more than Christ does, or that we can please both the world and God!
I would like to urge every Christian who reads this to do some honest soul-searching to determine to what length they have compromised God’s word and righteousness in order to get along and avoid the world’s displeasure. In whatever way you have failed in obedience, repent today, and accept God’s grace. Whether it has been overt sinfulness, or passive silence in the face of the wickedness of our culture, determine to stand now! Bring your spiritual, cultural, political, and personal choices into harmony with God’s revealed will. Rebuke the evils of the culture, reaching out with the compassion of Christ to those injured by the prevalent hedonism of the day, and point hungry hearts to Christ! He alone can save and bring hope and peace!
If we equivocate with our message. If we remain silent in the face of evil. If we are passive in dealing with the lies being foisted upon America and especially the children and young people, we will be failing God, and we will be failing those whose lives are being destroyed. Have you considered the despair that characterizes millions of American young people who hear nothing but the nihilism and hopelessness of secularism that dominates the educational establishment and contemporary culture? Do the deaths of tens of thousands of children and young adults through drug poisoning and suicide every year mean nothing? Are you aware of the innocent little children being exploited and groomed by the sexualized curriculum of public education and public libraries? God calls us to “deliver them that are drawn onto death. . . . “ (Prov. 24:11 KJV).
We have no way of knowing whether God’s gracious face will shine once more upon America; but if He does not revive the nation, if we have been faithful to the One who redeemed us with His own blood on the cross, He will welcome us one day to His home with a “well done, good and faithful servant!”
Few Christians have been given great wealth or power, but everyone of us has been called to point people to the cross of Christ where they find forgiveness, peace, and joy for eternity; and that is a great calling and is well worth whatever little it might cost us here.
But there may be some who read this and wonder what I mean by the term “born again.” Unfortunately, the expression has been hijacked for a variety of other uses and has been maligned by many. However, Jesus Christ, in the third chapter of the Gospel of John, stated that one must be “born again” to see and enter His Kingdom! For that reason, it is very important that you know what it really means.
Paul, the Apostle, wrote that everyone enters this world spiritually “dead in trespasses and sin.” Death, in this context, refers to our being separated from God. God, being perfectly holy and righteous, must and did separate Himself from us sinners, for “there is none righteous, no, not one,” (Rom. 3:10 NKJV). Death is alienation from God, life is to be in fellowship with, or connected to God. Thus, we all begin at the same place: spiritually “dead.” However, when we understand that Jesus Christ’s death on the cross in our place “paid” the penalty for our sin, and that He offers us forgiveness when we repent and trust Him, the pathway to life becomes available to us. Therefore, if we turn from our sin, ask, and trust Him for forgiveness, we are “born again” and become His children! (John 1:12). We are at that moment given spiritual “life” for the first time and will never die spiritually; that is, we will never be separated from God again! “For God so loved the world that He gave His Only Begotten Son, that whoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16 NKJV).
If you have spoken with God, asked for His forgiveness and asked Him to make you His child, based upon the fact that Jesus paid for your sin, we would love to hear from you!
