If my people...? An Opinion Piece from Aaron M. Fugate
The views expressed as follows may not be those of the editor of the Lost Lake Tribune, Mr. Ben A. Fugate
I've heard many people say in the years since 9/11 (which anniversary we remember today), that God promises to heal the nation of America if only we turn from our wicked ways. They often quote 2 Chronicles 7:14 to "prove" this idea: "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."
In my mind, this begs a few questions: let's start with the first.
To whom was God speaking?
In this particular passage, the Lord God appeared to Solomon, king of Israel, in a dream. God said that if he sent calamity upon the nation of Israel, and if Israel turned back to Him, then He would have mercy and heal the land.
Now that we know to whom God made this promise, let's examine the next question.
Why would God make this promise?
In short, because He's God. God had promised to have mercy on the Israelites in many passages prior to this (Deut. 4:30-31; 30:1-3, for instance). God reiterated the promises that He had made already.
Under what circumstances was this promise made?
This Divine promise was an assurance to Israel that in the case of His judgment in form of natural disaster, He would hear them if they returned unto Him. God made no such promise to any other group of people; not even the Bride of Christ (the Church).
Is there a problem with applying this to America?
This may sound strange or unpatriotic, but yes! There is a huge problem with saying that if America just turns back to God, God will hear from Heaven, get rid of all of our natural disasters, fix our economy, and demolish the Muslims. But why is this thinking wrong?
God never made this promise to America.
This promise was specifically and only made for Israel. Unless we fall in with the errors of covenant theology, we cannot say that the promises specifically to Israel are now applicable to America. Even then, covenant theologians teach that the promises to Israel are now applied to the Church, not to America. Further, the principles of God's mercy are always toward individuals when they are not specifically to Israel.
The preceding judgment of God was always natural disasters.
Look at the preceding verse: (1 Chron. 7:13) "If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people..." These days, we ask for God's deliverance from people and groups who eroding our nation and culture. God didn't promise a national political deliverance, but a deliverance from drought, locusts, and disease, and forgiveness of sins.
God will not deliver America as a nation from its self-inflicted problems.
How can I so dogmatically say this? God does not deal with nations anymore and has no obligation to deliver America from the social calamities (such as rampant immorality or abortion), economic troubles, or political injustices (such as men and women being in office who do not fear God) that plague us today. We have no right to ask God to deliver America as a whole because God has made no such promise specifically to us. In all likelihood, America will not last long as a nation because the focus of many local churches in our country is misplaced.
The focus on social reform that many churches emphasize is a misguided effort.
We constantly hear pleas for the Church to "Take back America" or "Revive the Nation", but in reality, this would be a humongous task for Christians to actually undertake. We cannot turn America back to God by effecting social reform or attempting to change the nation as a whole. In any event, God has not called us to claim the nation, but souls, for Him. We, like Christ, are called -- not to bring a nation to repentance, but to bring souls to the fountain where the water of life is flowing.
So should we give up all political dealings altogether?
No! This does not mean that we should stop trying to get God-fearing men elected, or homosexuality outlawed, or abortion eradicated. However, if these attempts fail, we should not be surprised or taken aback. It boggles my mind when I hear Christians gasp in awe at the blatant immorality that attacks our eyegates from all angles. Don't be shocked when this happens! When a pop singer sings a song with shamefully suggestive lyrics, when Minnesotans vote to allow gay marriage, or when a movie or TV show breaks "new ground" in displaying content of unabashed filth, don't be surprised! Sinners, even saved sinners, will sin! That's just what they do! In all honesty, these kinds of things have been going on for generations, but now they're just more public. Don't be surprised when sinners sin. From hearing some Christians gasp in horror when they see some new immorality make its way onto the public scene, one would think that they were expecting sinners not to sin. Think about it: did Jim Elliot attempt to reform the moral standards or social standards of the Huaorani tribe members first or was his first priority to teach them the gospel? We have to understand that without Christ, we are no better than the vilest sinner we will ever meet. We must leave our judgmental attitudes of sinners behind and witness to them as they are, rather than alienating them by condescending to them and imposing our morality on them. This does not mean that we can't use discretion and recognize sin as sin, but remember - it's not our job to reform their behavior; it's merely our job to share the gospel constantly and pray consistently for them. If they accept the gospel, then God will go to work on transforming their behavior. It's not our responsibility to make gay people straight; it's our job to share the gospel with every individual God lays on our hearts - and then if those hearts are soft, God can mold them into His Son's likeness. In fact, similarly to the Prohibition movement, the push to legislate against homosexuality will ultimately fail because its focus is on behavioral reform and not individual transformation.
We must learn to focus on the individual.
We will never turn this nation back to God on our own, and God has never said that He will deliver any nation other than Israel. However, He has consistently promised to leave and protect a remnant that will follow Him. In today's dispensation, that remnant is made up of local Bible-believing churches across the world. Our focus must be on growing the remnant one person at a time. We must narrow our focus from national to individual. Reclaiming the nation is not too large a task for God, but it's not a vision that He has command us to have.
It's time to get real with God and his plan for America.
It's doubtful that America really factors significantly in the plan that God has for the future of His Bride, the Church. While America has provided a great haven of spiritual freedom for the last two hundred and thirty years, Americans in great percentage have no interest in God anymore. America is not a Christian nation anymore and it likely never will be one again. This is hard to accept, but insofar as America is content to move on without God, God will be content to move on without America. After all, the Church is His bride, not the U.S.A. We must put all our efforts into winning souls to Jesus because we have no way of knowing how long God will be patient with this world. I find it almost miraculous that He's allowed us to get this far. Never fear, however because Christ has overcome the world and promises eternal life to all who will believe on His name!
Join me next week and I'll have an opinion piece on persecution and its benefits.
I've heard many people say in the years since 9/11 (which anniversary we remember today), that God promises to heal the nation of America if only we turn from our wicked ways. They often quote 2 Chronicles 7:14 to "prove" this idea: "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."
In my mind, this begs a few questions: let's start with the first.
To whom was God speaking?
In this particular passage, the Lord God appeared to Solomon, king of Israel, in a dream. God said that if he sent calamity upon the nation of Israel, and if Israel turned back to Him, then He would have mercy and heal the land.
Now that we know to whom God made this promise, let's examine the next question.
Why would God make this promise?
In short, because He's God. God had promised to have mercy on the Israelites in many passages prior to this (Deut. 4:30-31; 30:1-3, for instance). God reiterated the promises that He had made already.
Under what circumstances was this promise made?
This Divine promise was an assurance to Israel that in the case of His judgment in form of natural disaster, He would hear them if they returned unto Him. God made no such promise to any other group of people; not even the Bride of Christ (the Church).
Is there a problem with applying this to America?
This may sound strange or unpatriotic, but yes! There is a huge problem with saying that if America just turns back to God, God will hear from Heaven, get rid of all of our natural disasters, fix our economy, and demolish the Muslims. But why is this thinking wrong?
God never made this promise to America.
This promise was specifically and only made for Israel. Unless we fall in with the errors of covenant theology, we cannot say that the promises specifically to Israel are now applicable to America. Even then, covenant theologians teach that the promises to Israel are now applied to the Church, not to America. Further, the principles of God's mercy are always toward individuals when they are not specifically to Israel.
The preceding judgment of God was always natural disasters.
Look at the preceding verse: (1 Chron. 7:13) "If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people..." These days, we ask for God's deliverance from people and groups who eroding our nation and culture. God didn't promise a national political deliverance, but a deliverance from drought, locusts, and disease, and forgiveness of sins.
God will not deliver America as a nation from its self-inflicted problems.
How can I so dogmatically say this? God does not deal with nations anymore and has no obligation to deliver America from the social calamities (such as rampant immorality or abortion), economic troubles, or political injustices (such as men and women being in office who do not fear God) that plague us today. We have no right to ask God to deliver America as a whole because God has made no such promise specifically to us. In all likelihood, America will not last long as a nation because the focus of many local churches in our country is misplaced.
The focus on social reform that many churches emphasize is a misguided effort.
We constantly hear pleas for the Church to "Take back America" or "Revive the Nation", but in reality, this would be a humongous task for Christians to actually undertake. We cannot turn America back to God by effecting social reform or attempting to change the nation as a whole. In any event, God has not called us to claim the nation, but souls, for Him. We, like Christ, are called -- not to bring a nation to repentance, but to bring souls to the fountain where the water of life is flowing.
So should we give up all political dealings altogether?
No! This does not mean that we should stop trying to get God-fearing men elected, or homosexuality outlawed, or abortion eradicated. However, if these attempts fail, we should not be surprised or taken aback. It boggles my mind when I hear Christians gasp in awe at the blatant immorality that attacks our eyegates from all angles. Don't be shocked when this happens! When a pop singer sings a song with shamefully suggestive lyrics, when Minnesotans vote to allow gay marriage, or when a movie or TV show breaks "new ground" in displaying content of unabashed filth, don't be surprised! Sinners, even saved sinners, will sin! That's just what they do! In all honesty, these kinds of things have been going on for generations, but now they're just more public. Don't be surprised when sinners sin. From hearing some Christians gasp in horror when they see some new immorality make its way onto the public scene, one would think that they were expecting sinners not to sin. Think about it: did Jim Elliot attempt to reform the moral standards or social standards of the Huaorani tribe members first or was his first priority to teach them the gospel? We have to understand that without Christ, we are no better than the vilest sinner we will ever meet. We must leave our judgmental attitudes of sinners behind and witness to them as they are, rather than alienating them by condescending to them and imposing our morality on them. This does not mean that we can't use discretion and recognize sin as sin, but remember - it's not our job to reform their behavior; it's merely our job to share the gospel constantly and pray consistently for them. If they accept the gospel, then God will go to work on transforming their behavior. It's not our responsibility to make gay people straight; it's our job to share the gospel with every individual God lays on our hearts - and then if those hearts are soft, God can mold them into His Son's likeness. In fact, similarly to the Prohibition movement, the push to legislate against homosexuality will ultimately fail because its focus is on behavioral reform and not individual transformation.
We must learn to focus on the individual.
We will never turn this nation back to God on our own, and God has never said that He will deliver any nation other than Israel. However, He has consistently promised to leave and protect a remnant that will follow Him. In today's dispensation, that remnant is made up of local Bible-believing churches across the world. Our focus must be on growing the remnant one person at a time. We must narrow our focus from national to individual. Reclaiming the nation is not too large a task for God, but it's not a vision that He has command us to have.
It's time to get real with God and his plan for America.
It's doubtful that America really factors significantly in the plan that God has for the future of His Bride, the Church. While America has provided a great haven of spiritual freedom for the last two hundred and thirty years, Americans in great percentage have no interest in God anymore. America is not a Christian nation anymore and it likely never will be one again. This is hard to accept, but insofar as America is content to move on without God, God will be content to move on without America. After all, the Church is His bride, not the U.S.A. We must put all our efforts into winning souls to Jesus because we have no way of knowing how long God will be patient with this world. I find it almost miraculous that He's allowed us to get this far. Never fear, however because Christ has overcome the world and promises eternal life to all who will believe on His name!
Join me next week and I'll have an opinion piece on persecution and its benefits.
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