| Editor: David E Marlett Th.D. | |
| September 28, 2001 | Vol II, #32 |
"God Bless America, But Don't You Dare Tell Us To Repent!"
by James White
Christians are unpopular folks today. I mean by that, anyone who takes seriously biblical truth and biblical principles will find himself on the sharp end of angry stares if we dare speak the truth in the midst of today's national crisis. To what do I refer?
America has all of a sudden gotten very religious. There are vigils and candlelight prayer services on every corner. People who hadn't said "God" except in profanity for years are all of a sudden very pious and reflective. Radio personalities who were focused upon tax cuts or some other political issue on Monday, September 10th are now mulling over the role of "evil" in our world. The past week has turned the landscape upside down in many ways, to be sure.
Lest anyone think this new religiosity is a reason for rejoicing for Christians, it most surely is not. Oh yes, we are hearing old Christian hymns being sung. Ostensibly Christian churches were full this past Lord's day. But there is no such thing as "partial Christianity," nor is there any such thing as a Christianity that stands side by side with Islam, or Judaism, or Buddhism, and says, "We worship one God under many names." And surely, there is no Christianity that does not speak of repentance from sin. The new religiosity of America has two basic foundational pillars: there is one God, unknown, but addressable under any variety of religious epithets, who has revealed absolutely nothing of objective value regarding His will regarding worship or human behavior; and second, this God has no wrath; knows nothing of sin or judgment; and hence, any person who dares to say that God would punish a person, or a nation, is a glowing heretic to the new American religiosity.
The problem is easily seen: Christians believe, fundamentally, of necessity, that there is one true God. This true God is not Allah. This true God is not Krishna. This true God is not the god of Joseph Smith or Buddha or the Sikhs or the Bahais. Our God went to great lengths to differentiate Himself from all the gods of the peoples and religions that surrounded His ancient people, and that for a purpose He Himself proclaimed: He seeks true worship, worship based upon a knowledge of who He is in reality, based upon His revelation to man. He does not grant to man the freedom to make images of Him, to worship Him in a manner that pleases the creature rather than the Creator. God is particular about His worship. His worship is intimately, vitally connected to truth. Without truth, there is no worship of the Christian God.
And the truth revealed by the Christian God in the Scriptures is without question when it comes to the matter of His law, sin, rebellion, punishment, wrath, and judgment. One of the most amazing things to observe is the willingness shown by "evangelicals" to jump right onto the "we shall never utter a word about wrath or sin or punishment" bandwagon. Is the remnant so small that almost no voices will be raised to cry out against this foolishness? To withhold the truth about sin and judgment out of fear of man's opinions and feelings is to make the cross of Jesus Christ a travesty! There is no cross, there is no sacrifice, where there is no sin, no offense that demands forgiveness be wrought through His perfect sacrifice! The person who refrains from speaking of sin and judgment to "win" a person over is doing so through unfaithfulness to the very gospel itself! And to what has such a person been won over? Where is the gospel when there is no sin to be forgiven at Calvary?
But it is right here that the new American religiosity clamps its hands over its ears and refuses to hear. America wants God's blessing. America wants God to protect us from more horrific visions of airliners flying purposefully, relentlessly into our national monuments. We want God to be near us as we board our aircraft. We want Him to protect us from the horror of thinking about what it was like when the towers collapsed. We want Him to guide our military and allow us to flex our muscle and launch our missiles with impunity. We want a blessing God, a caring God, who simply panders to our wants and whims. This is the "God" of the new American religiosity.
But what America does not want is a God who is holy, who is just, and who has revealed His will concerning how we, His creatures, are to live. America is a land soaked in blood. We glory in violence. We are so selfish, so bound in our avarice, fornication, and sexual lust, that we murder our own offspring in the womb (or at birth as in partial-birth infanticide). Our hands are covered in blood, and yet we think lighting a candle and lifting them up while mumbling "God Bless America" is going to bring God's favor? Listen to the words of God to another nation that likewise was "religious" but refused to hear the word of repentance:
"So when ye spread forth your hands, in prayer, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood." (Isaiah1:15).
AND, God commands,
"Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil;
Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.
Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." Isaiah 1:16-18
Is America so arrogant, so utterly self-absorbed, so diseased by religious liberalism and philosophical subjectivism, that she thinks she can ignore all of history itself and demand from God blessings when she refuses to repent of her evils? Do we really need to be reminded that Planned Parenthood has killed more little children in our land in the week since the attacks than died in the attacks themselves? Are we so blind?
Surely the scourge of abortion would be enough to warrant the unleashing of the wrath of God, but there is so much more! We are a nation on a crusade-a crusade to wipe from our history books every vestige of our former religious past. The religion of scientism, with its chief idol in the person of Darwin, has become enshrined in our very governmental policies. There is no creator, we are told, to express His law for us in the first place. We want to banish God and His law from our courtrooms, our schools, our every public institution. If God says it is wrong, we celebrate it.
Every form of sexual debauchery is found in the land. The airwaves are filled with programs that exalt fornication and adultery. Major film stars are lauded for the most sinful lifestyles. Homosexuality is not only turned into an acceptable "lifestyle," it is made a political right, a political force, a test-case for being properly "tolerant." The list goes on and on and on. The widow and orphan are oppressed, while the nation indulges in every creature comfort, sits back in its luxury, looks about upon the bounty of the land, and says, "Ah, what the labor of my own hands, my own intelligence, my own insight, has accomplished."
Religious liberals may mock our "literalistic" reading of the Bible at this point, preferring to simply label us "fundamentalists" and ignorant, but the fact of the matter is, they know they could never win a scholarly debate on whether the Bible actually teaches that these things are sins which must, inevitably, bring God's judgment upon a people. They know that is exactly what the Bible teaches. They are just embarrassed by it, and hence seek to suppress that truth.
As I said, Christians who believe the Bible are an unpopular lot today. If they speak in accordance with the Word they may well find themselves being called "unpatriotic" and "judgmental.". In fact, given that the new orthodoxy demands of us the confession "Everyone is God's child" over against such clear biblical teaching as,
"But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:" John 1:12 (remember how Christians refused to say "Caesar is lord" and died as a result?), we must be ready to "count the cost" in engaging in formal, cultural "heresy" by speaking the truth. Jesus said,
"...I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." John 14:6. His apostle Peter warned,
"Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." Acts 4:12.
"He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." John 3:26.
We need to realize: this new American religiosity can take on the same kind of fanatic zeal that kept the hi-jackers' hands steady all the way to their end. May God grant His people the strength to proclaim loudly God's demands upon a wicked nation, and may He be pleased to bring repentance and revival in a land where darkness reigns.
REMEMBER, God warns:
"He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy." Proverbs 28:13 AND . . .
"He that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy." Proverbs 29:1
God commands:
""I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." Luke 13:1-5
America would DO WELL to LISTEN to God. NOW!
God gives you ONE way to escape His just judgment.
"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth;" Romans 1:16.
Here is THE GOSPEL, the GOOD News.
Since Jesus Christ paid the penalty that we owe, on the cross 2,000 years ago, "Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures;" 1 Corinthians 15:2-4, God can forgive you, but ONLY on the grounds of His Son's death. That is why you need Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour. Without Him, the penalty of God's Law must send you to Hell. You will have no one to blame but yourself. Being perfectly holy, just and righteous, God must administer absolute justice.
Now, it is all up to you. If you are NOT SURE you were ever really saved, forget the past. It is gone, never to return. The important thing is to KNOW, from this moment forward, that you ARE saved, that you are NOT going to Hell to suffer eternally, that you ARE going to Heaven, that you HAVE eternal life, BASED ENTIRELY ON GOD'S OWN WORD. Are you ready and willing to turn from every known sin in REPENTANCE? Then tell God NOW that you do BELIEVE His Word; that you ACCEPT Jesus Christ on the basis of God's Word. Call on Him NOW. Tell Him so. If you TRULY mean it, you can REST ASSURED that this verse "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Romans 10:13 is meant for YOU. You WILL be saved. Now, PRAISE Him and THANK Him for your salvation. Daily, read and obey the Holy Bible. God will never let you down.
PLEASE, READ VERY THOUGHTFULLY these KJV Scriptures: Exodus 20:2-17; Psalm 19:7; Jeremiah 17:9; Proverbs 16:2, 25; Matthew 5:17-48; Mark 9:43-48; James 2:10; Revelation 21:8; Galatians 2:16, 3:10, 13 19-24; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 (The Gospel of Christ); Romans 3:10-12, 23, 5:12, 7:7-13, 6:23, 5:8, 1:16, 10:9-10,13; John 1:12-13, 3:16-18, 36, 5:24, 14:6, 10:28; Acts 4:12; 2 Corinthians 6:2; 1 John 5:10-13.
This is how to make sure you personally will go to Heaven.
Some statistics show us that 19 out of every 20 people get saved before the reach the age of 25. The late Dr. R. G. Lee gives us this illustration of the statistics of salvation and their respective age groups.
"Nineteen our of every twenty who ever get saved do so before they reach the age of twenty-five. After twenty-five only one in 10,000. After thirty-five only one in 50,000. After forty-five only one in 200,000. After fifty-five, only one in 300,000. After sixty-five only one in 500,000. After seventy-five only one in 700,000." Dr.Lee further reveals a test made in a meeting where 4,100 were present. The result was: 400 were saved before ten years of age; 600 were saved between twelve and fourteen; 600 were saved between fourteen and sixteen. One thousand were saved between sixteen and twenty, and twenty five were saved after thirty years of age- 1,875 were unsaved.
[ Robert G. Lee, Quotable Illustrations, pg. 126,127 / Compliments of Pastor Tommy Wensil ]
A federal judge has dealt a blow to the ACLU by rejecting the organization's attempt to evict churches from rented school property.
In February 1999, the American Civil Liberties Union filed suit against the Manatee County School Board, claiming that the Florida school district violated the Constitution by allowing churches to rent school facilities after school hours in order to conduct meetings. Mat Staver of the Florida-based Liberty Counsel, which represented 15 churches that rent school facilities during non-school time, says the federal court's ruling is a victory for the First Amendment.
"To evict the churches and to discriminate solely against religion would in fact violate the First Amendment," Staver says, "so this is a great victory for churches around the country because oftentimes new churches use public school facilities in their start-up phase."
The attorney says the ruling proves that churches and other Christian organizations cannot be singled out for discrimination. "The churches have a constitutional right to rent the facilities from the school board," Staver says. "The ACLU's version of the Constitution would create hostility toward religion and treat religious speech like second-class speech. The churches have just as much right to rent the facilities as the secular organizations."
According to Liberty Counsel, the Supreme Court has clearly ruled that religious organizations may use or rent public facilities, including public school property, if the property is also used by or rented to secular organizations. Staver notes that more than 60 secular groups also rent school facilities during non-school hours.
[ Agape Press ]
Missions group says they were killed 3-1/2 years after their abduction, in mid-1996
Three American missionaries have been confirmed dead, more than eight years after they were kidnapped by armed guerrillas in Panama. The announcement by New Tribes Mission (NTM) brings to an end a marathon ordeal for the men's wives, who last saw the trio being led away with their hands bound behind their backs.
Dave Mankins, Rick Tenenoff and Mark Rich were killed 3-1/2 years after their abduction, in mid-1996, just as NTM was hoping that negotiations for their release would bear fruit. The men were shot as their abductors fled a Colombian military raid, NTM said in a statement.
Dan Germann, NTM vice chairman and a member of the crisis team that has investigated the kidnappings, visited a Colombian prison earlier this month to meet with a guerrilla who had once guarded the three men. "His words, 'They are dead,' were final and emphatic, confirming what we had heard from several other insurgents," Germann said in a message to NTM supporters.
On Sept. 10, Germann and other members of the crisis team met with the kidnapped men's wives and "agreed that, given the compelling evidence, it was time for a family closure to the kidnapping," NTM said. A memorial service is to be held in Longwood, Fla., not far from NTM's Sanford headquarters, on Oct. 6.
Confirmation of the men's deaths followed intensive efforts by the crisis team, which poured hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars into trying to discover the trio's fate. Representatives met with government officials and traveled into the Colombian jungle to meet with guerrilla leaders.
From their inquiries NTM learned that the men had been taken from the village of Pucuro, where they were involved in Bible translation work, across the border into Colombia. They were normally held together and befriended some of their guards. They were allowed to read a Bible and played card games to pass the time.
During early radio negotiations, the captors had demanded $5 million for the men's release. Contact abruptly ended in January 1994, but had been renewed with hopes of a resolution when -- NTM now knows -- the men were killed.
During the years of uncertainty, which included conflicting reports about the men's fate, the three wives supported efforts to find out what had happened. Mankins' two grown children married during his absence.
The wives had "done very well" with the confirmation of their husbands' deaths, said NTM spokesman Scott Ross today. "In fact they probably in their hearts came to closure a little sooner than a couple of the crisis team." He said that the men's bodies may never be recovered.
An update at the NTM Web site said that the men's wives "agree that there are some things worth dying for, and the gospel is one of them." The report added that the men's work was continuing to bear fruit. Because of the efforts of their families and other workers in the southeastern part of Panama, more than 30 churches among the Kuna people "are rejoicing in their freedom in Christ."
A year after the trio's abduction, two NTM workers in Colombia were kidnapped and later killed by the same guerrilla group. Currently NTM is monitoring the search for two workers kidnapped in the Philippines. Americans Martin and Gracia Burnham were abducted in May by a militant Muslim group said to have links to terrorist Osama bin Laden -- heightening concerns for the couple's safety, following the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States.
[ Charisma News Service ]
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