ARE CHRISTIANS TO BLAME FOR AMERICA'S MORAL FREEFALL?

By Debbie O'Hara
November 13, 2004
NewsWithViews.com

While the recent election results were certainly no surprise, they were very disappointing to those like me who have prayed that American Christians would arise from their slumber. The fault for returning the same socialist sovereignty destroying President, Congress and Senate to office, who are not only intentionally destroying the economy and moral fabric of our own country but making us hated by the rest of the world, lies at the feet of Christians. As Christ's representatives in the world, if we don't feel obligated to stand against the tide of evil, who will? There are tens of millions of people in America who call themselves Christian and yet because of their wrong response, or in many cases their failure to respond in the last national election, these United States will continue unabated in a moral freefall.

There have been numerous columns written by myself and others that address Christians who support putting evildoers into office that they think might do "less evil" than the next guy. The purpose of this column is not to address the unbiblical stand of the "lessers" again, but to address those who feel that "worldly" politics is not the proper place for a Christian at all. The tens of millions of Christian men and women in America who do not exercise their right to vote must understand that they directly affect the outcome of each election by putting "unclean" men into office.

From all around the country I get e-mail from godly men and women who say that Christians should not vote or have anything to do with "worldly politics" because we can't serve "two masters" and "human government is evil". But is involving ourselves in government policy really serving two masters and is human government intrinsically evil? While certainly many people who respond in such a manner are sincere, well-meaning Christian brothers and sisters, they are terribly misguided and cannot back up their claims biblically.

Scripture must always be our final authority on any matter if one is to truly be called a Christian. When the whole of Scripture is taken together and in context (as ALL of Scripture is given for our edification), the Christian should feel duty bound to represent the cause of Christ in ALL of life. This includes the Divine institution of human government, for God Himself did in fact ordain it.

While it is man's fall into sin that made human government necessary, human government is not in itself an "evil" institution. While I can understand how a non-Christian might view human government as intrinsically evil, a Christian certainly cannot accept that view. Human government is an institution ordained of God (Romans 13:1) As God is not the author of evil, the institution of government itself cannot be evil. Government is to be the "minister of God to us for good." (Romans 13:4). If government is not good perhaps it is because the "good" refuse to participate and so we get the government that we deserve.

It is God who raises kings up and puts them down. In these United States of America, "we the people" were so blessed by God that we were made king. With this most rare and precious gift of political freedom from our Creator, (and particularly in a nation where the majority of people still address themselves as Christian), how is it that so few educate themselves to participate in the process so that government is "good" as mandated by God?

Because of our ignorance we are proving ourselves unworthy of this unique gift of self-government that God has bestowed upon us. We have neglected our individual moral duty to insure that those who represent us are of godly character, the very foundation of political freedom! We are reaping the consequences of our grievous sin in that we are losing our political freedom as we see a steady increase of America being turned over to the forces of an evil human government that knows not God.

In response to my last column I received an e-mail that stated, "It never fails to astonish me when a Christian brother or sister begins to argue worldly politics." What? Our duty is to bring glory to God in all that we do. Our silence in the face of government perpetrated evils cannot possibly be of service to our Lord. How can we bring Him glory when we call the government sanction of the murder of tens of millions of innocent pre-born babies "politics" and refuse to be involved? Especially when our Lord has given us the rare privilege of deciding who our representatives will be? This has nothing to do with serving two masters, but with serving one Master who would expect us to protect the little children that He loves so dearly.

It is often pointed out to me that Jesus and His apostles were not involved in the political process and therefore we must not be. It is said that we are not citizens of this world but are "foreigners in a foreign land". But why can't we claim U.S. citizenship? Didn't the Apostle Paul claim his Roman citizenship in Acts 22:25? Yes, we are citizens of Christ's heavenly kingdom but we also have citizenship responsibilities within the earthly nation in which He placed us. We must also remember that Jesus was born under a system of authoritarian world government, not self-government as He has blessed us with here. Jesus never told us not to have anything to do with earthly government or that we had to let them have their way no matter what they wanted to do.

In plotting together, the Herodians and the Pharisees (Matthew 22:15-22) wanted to trap Jesus by asking him about paying taxes. They wanted to show that He was either disloyal to His fellow Jews or guilty of sedition against Rome. Jesus told them to show Him the coin used to pay the tax. He asked whose image was stamped upon the coin. The reply was that it was Caesar's image. Jesus responded with "Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's". People need to give more careful consideration to what Jesus was really saying in that now oft repeated quote. Sure Caesar's image was stamped on the coin, but we must ask ourselves whose image is stamped on Caesar and on you and on me? Wasn't man made in God's image (Genesis 1:26)? Nothing really belongs to Caesar. Everything belongs to God, including Caesar, and none have the legitimate authority to perpetrate evil.

The power that government receives from God is fiduciary. Government has been given authority to do good for us and to wield the sword to punish evildoers. They have no authority to work outside the laws of God any more than you or I have. In our system of self-government, we have a moral obligation to voice our opposition to all that is against the laws of God. To voice no opposition against evil leaders is to grant them omnipotence and to put them in God's place. Whether we are supporting evildoers actively or passively, we are just as much partakers in their sins.

Our entire culture has been politicized so as to silence Christians who have been propagandized into thinking that they don't belong in the political arena. We are in a spiritual battle being played out on a political battlefield. What will you do when the Bible is outlawed? It can't be far away when speaking out against homosexuality is becoming a "hate crime". At what point will you decide to stand up as a servant of God rather than bowing as a servant of human government?

It is not the Christians that are involved in the political process that are serving two masters, but those who are not. Those who do not involve themselves in our country's process of self-government have themselves placed human government above reproach and therefore have put them in God's place.

Ignorance is not bliss, it is sin. "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge�" (Hosea 4:6). God's people have an obligation to understand the biblical responsibilities given to each of the three Divinely created institutions - family, human government and church. Human government was given very few, though extremely important duties. Government's main function, which is to protect innocent human life, has been largely ignored while even many Christians have begged government to usurp numerous responsibilities God mandated to the church and family. Many don't want to handle the expenses involved in taking care of their own family's needs, or to look out for the welfare of their fellowman, they want government to do it. Christians as much as the secularists look to human government to solve every human need. There is no greater proof than with the Christian vote returning a big government, liberal spender to the White House who gives only lip service to protecting innocent life.

While the elections are over and our sinful neglect has returned many undeserving men and women to positions of power, it is not too late to educate ourselves and to make our voices heard. It might be too late though in the next few months if this anti-American President gets the "Free Trade Area of the Americas" (FTAA) pushed through Congress. We are responsible for staying current with important issues and for putting pressure on our elected officials to do the right thing. They need to hear from us often. Our elected officials, whether Democrat or Republican, for the most part ignore both biblical law and the law of our U.S. Constitution. A government that puts itself above the law of both God and man is a terror to good works, the very purpose for which God created human government!

"If the Christians of America could be persuaded to vote God and a clean ticket, it would bring about a moral revolution that would be incalculable beneficent. It would save the country - a country whose Christians have betrayed it and are destroying it�Christianity� is on trial now. And nothing important is on trial except Christianity."

Mark Twain, from Collier's magazine, Sept. 2, 1905

� 2004 Debbie O'Hara - All Rights Reserved