The Last Best Hope of Man on Earth!
1Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 3For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. 4For he is God’s servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. 5Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. 6This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. 7Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.
On January 25, 1974 Ronald Reagan used the words in the title to describe America and what it meant to the world. 34 years later they still ring true. But that sentiment is not just true today. From the very founding of this country Christians have believed this was a God ordained land. In 1630 John Winthrop gave a sermon titled “A Model of Christian Charity”, and in it he said this,
“We will be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us, sothat if we deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken and so cause Him to withdraw His present help from us, we shall be made a story and a byword throughout the world.”
Many Christians today believe we should not get involved in politics at all and some like I did for a while believe that politics is all many Christians are concerned with. I asked the last meeting of our mens mentoring group if they believed politics was influencing our Christianity to much today and one man said this, “Its not that politics are influencing Christianity but our Christianity needs to influence our politics.”
So what can we do as Christians? Let me start with the simplest one first
Pray! 1st Timothy 2:1-4 says,
1I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— 2for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 3This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.
Yes we pray whether you agree with the leaders or not you need to pray for them. And even if the next president is some one you do not agree with you need to pray for him also. This type of prayer may require you to do some homework you need to know your local and state officials by name so you can left them up. You need to know your congressmen and women from the state level and the federal level. You need to know your senators. Now this means you need to know your district.
Next we need to respect our Nation!
Many people today bring up only the bad our country does. They are looking constantly for the wrong doing and misdeeds that lurk behind every rock. I’m not going to stand here and tell you that we never need to see the wrong, but if we are going to survive we must stop dwelling on the ill’s of the past and see the good that lies all around us. Last year the United States gave individually $300 billion to charities around the world, 300 billion dollars not from the government but from each and every individual. No other country on earth can do that, and still yet we hear how the world hates us I want you to hear a clip from Ravi Zacharius. Ravi travels the world and talks to many people who do not hate us.
That church was not started by Americans but it was made possible by American blood. Ever since this country was founded we have gone all over the world in defense of the underdog. Whether you like this war or not there are people that now have the freedom to worship that may have never known Christ beforehand. Yes we have given up many sons and daughters so that the true Son that died to save the world can be shared and lives can be truly free.
Finally we need to Participate in our government.
Many people have said America is to far gone or there should be a separation of church and state. There should not be and the only place that quote is found as far as building a country is concerned is in the Communist manifesto. As for our founding fathers they believed that God should be fully entrenched in our government.
Here are a few examples
The entering President takes his “OATH OF OFFICE” with his right hand on the Holy Bible, and concludes his vow “So help me God.”
Congress opens with prayer which was always Christian until the last twenty years.
In 1777, the Continental Congress voted to spend $300,000 to purchase Bibles for distribution in the nation.
THE STATE CONSTITUTIONS OF ALL 50 STATES MENTION GOD.
John Adams wrote in 1798:
“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”
President Thomas Jefferson:
“I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever.” - 1781
At the Constitutional Convention in 1787, Benjamin Franklin said,
“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?”
Finally while not a founding father, Abraham Lincoln said this:
“We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven… But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us. It behooves us then, to humble ourselves before the offended power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.” - 1863
The information you find when you start to pray for our leaders will help you in this area also. You will find on their web pages information on how they vote. You need to call and email them so they know you are alive and you are watching.
Ronald Reagan said this,
“You can call it mysticism if you want to, but I have always believed that there was some divine plan that placed this great continent between two oceans to be sought out by those who were possessed of an abiding love of freedom and a special kind of courage.”
I want to leave you with this. The United States while only 232 years old has the oldest republic in the world. But one day that republic will fall whether we like to think that or not. But the Kingdom of God will never fall and your citizenship in that kingdom will last for all eternity. Yes America may be the last best hope for the world but Christ is the last best hope for America. If you do not know him today you need to know he is always available you don’t need to go to the front of a church to an alter you can pray right where you are whether it is today or some other time my hope is that you come to know the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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