“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord” (Psalm 33:12). If God is no longer the Lord of our nation, can we expect His blessings to continue? Can we expect Him to withhold His judgment when we violate His moral principles? Have we taken for granted God’s incredible blessings of freedom and liberty ignoring Him and His Presence in our land?
The time is here when the people of God need to wake up, pay attention, and return to the God of our fathers and mothers. We want to hang on to the truth that God is Love (and He is!), but we ignore the truth that God is also just. Of all the great empires the world has known, how many lasted? The Assyrians. The Babylonians. The Romans. The Ottoman Empire. The British Empire. The Soviet Union. Did they last? What makes us think our fate will be any different? In our self-centeredness and arrogance, we think we are invincible. We easily forget what made us great.
The founders of our nation knew this -- they founded a country which merged the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity. It was an experiment in democracy – no one religion would be forced on anyone, but the principles (the ethos) of Biblical Christianity would under-gird, support and provide the foundation of civil society.
But in today’s world you would not know this unless you do your homework.
In the Declaration of Independence and in the Constitution was an assumption about our culture and life together. This assumption was that we would be a Christian people, and a people with the understanding of the Law of God as found in the Bible, especially the 10 Commandments. I know this sounds heretical, but listen to what some of our early leaders said.
George Washington, our first President, said: “Let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion… Reason and experience both forbid us to expect, that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.”
John Adams, our second President, and very involved in the framing of our Constitution, speaking to a group of military leaders he said: 'We have no government armed with the power capable of contending with human passions, unbridled by morality and true religion. Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.'
James Madison, the fourth president, known as "The Father of Our Constitution" made the following statement: "We have staked the whole of all our political institutions upon the capacity of mankind for self-government, upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God."
President Calvin Coolege said: “The foundation of our society and government rest so much on the teachings of the Bible that it would be difficult to support them if faith in these teachings would cease to be practically universal in our country.”
Can you hear what these men were saying? When the cultural norm among the people is the Ten Commandments and the teachings of the Bible, then our form of government will work. When it is not, it will not work. There is a cultural trust which is put in place. It creates safeguards which keep us all civil.
Needless to say, with the government forbidding the Ten Commandments and the Bible from being taught in our public schools or displayed in our courthouses, the cultural norm has changed. Most people (even Christians) can’t even name three of the Ten Commandments. If we can’t name them, how can we follow them? What was wrong is not wrong anymore. There is no longer a common value system among us as a people. Is it no wonder that we are living in cultural chaos in many parts of our country?
With this in mind the time has come for people to pray earnestly and devoutly for our country – for our leaders, politicians, representatives, judges, mayors, county commissioners, pastors, business leaders, and all in places of public trust. Let us ask God to turn our hearts back to Him. Let us ask God to renew our nation spiritually. Let us ask God to help these public servants to make right decisions and bless the work of their hands. Let us ask God to come again into our midst with His Presence. Let us make it a priority to regularly pray for our country.
Dr. Foley Beach is the rector and pastor of Holy Cross Anglican Church in Loganville. The A Word from the Lord radio broadcast can be heard in Gwinnett County each Sunday morning at 8:30 on WGKA (920 AM), 10:00 on WMOQ (92.3 FM), or anytime at www.awordfromthelord.org. You may respond to this article or send your questions to foleybeach@awordfromthelord.org.
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