A Christian Nation? Really?

Two hundred forty-four years ago our nation was “conceived in liberty" and declared to be free and independent. It was one nation under God, the United States of America. One hundred years after this Declaration of Independence, the Supreme Court ruled that America is a Christian nation. And today, all of us try to live the American way – guaranteed freedoms and privileges by the Constitution.
In the past 244 years since the founding of the United States of America as a great nation, it can be said that this nation has been blessed by a Grand and Divine Providence – and this nation has blessed the world.
When this nation was founded, a majority of the states had provisions in their constitutions explicitly demanding adherence to Christianity to qualify for office. Prayer in Congress was not rare before the Revolution, during the Constitutional Convention, or after. Many presidents expressed the importance of religion and Christianity in particular to the lawful and peaceful existence of the nation.
Fast forward to 2020. The United States still tops the chart by far in terms of total missionaries being sent to other parts of the world. In the US of A, the recent giving numbers show that $700 billion has been given to all Christian causes of any kind – feeding the hungry, helping those in famine, and responding to catastrophes and crises worldwide. By the way, that’s also how much we Americans spend on Christmas! Giving to missions around the world is $45 billion. Before you do a happy dance, however, that represents only 6.4% of the money given to Christian causes of any kind. And believe me, that’s also how much we spend in America on dieting programs, too! And for all you math wizards, if you’re doing the math on that, you can think of the word “embezzled.” There is $50 billion missing and that’s where it went – embezzlement. Embezzled mission money.
Whatever you want to do or think about the numbers, the reality is that America in so many ways can be and is recognized as a great nation.
But we have no corner on God. We are not special to God except as God’s priorities are special to us. All our buildings, budgets, and programs do not impress God.
I have had people ask me, “Hey, Pastor, is God going to judge America?" I have one simple answer. Yes, indeed He will if we continue to promote a self-centered lifestyle, consumed by greed, obsessed by sex, and ravaged by drugs. He will if we forget God and the gospel. He will if we forget the plight of the hurting and the lost.
Think about it. Since the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, this “land of the free and the home of the brave” has killed 61,628,584 babies –blatant defiance of God’s law. There are over 3,000 abortions per day in the US of A. We have a massive drug problem that is raging out of control in most of our cities and towns. Regrettably, alcohol is the leading, maybe most damaging, legalized drug in the country. The promiscuous attitude toward sex permeates our society, reaching inside churches to families in the pews and pastors in the pulpit. Pornography in all arenas of the sex-related industry is over $17 billion. 28,258 users are watching pornography every second. $3,075.64 is spent on porn every second on the Internet. 1 in 5 youth pastors and 1 in 7 senior pastors use porn regularly and currently struggling. That’s more than 50,000 U.S. church leaders. 64% of Christian men and 15% of Christian women say they watch porn at least once a month.
So, a whole lot more could be said here, but suffice it to say that, in a word, sin is wreaking havoc and having a heyday in this country.
America has been called a “nation under God” – a Christian nation – and maybe in some respects, that’s so. But just because it’s inscribed on our coins and our bill currency doesn’t make it so. Just because we recite it in the pledge as a patriotic American doesn’t make it so.
It’s true. The foundation of our government is the Judeo-Christian ethic, which encompasses the dignity of human life, the traditional monogamous family, common decency, the work ethic, and the principle of God-centered education. When the founders settled Jamestown, even before they erected their homes, they constructed a building that was to be what they called their “church house, their schoolhouse, and their town hall” – all the same! Then, and only then, they built their homes and shops.
This is not to say that every American over the 244-year history of this nation has lived up to what we have as a foundation. But it can be said that we have had a premise of conviction and rationale of belief, that have sought to carve out a “nation under God.”
But let’s get serious and open the door on which all this hinges… We have allowed the American Civil Liberties Union, atheists, liberal politicians, liberal educators, secular humanists, Norman Lear, and the George Soros people-types to “tele-market” valueless hedonism, and on and on it goes, to dictate a new lifestyle to this country. I submit to you that we are reaping the fruit of these blatant actions and attitudes of “sheep in a wolf’s clothing.”
After decades upon decades of proclaiming America a “Christian Nation”, we’re forced to accept this may not always be so.
The Bible consistently informs its readers as to their role in this world. We are to be a holy nation, a people of God’s own choosing, called to proclaim the excellencies of Him who called us out of the darkness and into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9). We proclaim the excellence of His love, truth, and grace back into the darkness from which we came.
Most of the world (and yes, our nation) is a dark place, ruled over by a dark force, so we should not be surprised when we find ourselves in the minority. Our confidence should not come from holding the majority and our security should not be sought in the political establishment.
Our confidence is in One who was born in a manger, crucified by a crowd and raised by the power of God. He’s the One who orders all creation for His glory.
The truth is, American Christians have always demonstrated a troubling ability to turn patriotism into idolatry. We may confess our allegiance to Christ, but too often the cross is accompanied by an American flag and political ideology. To be clear, having pride in one’s country is by no means a bad thing. However, when we build our theology on the success of an earthly nation, we shouldn’t be surprised when it eventually crumbles.
Christians need to remember that our true citizenship is to the Kingdom of God. Yes, these can be and are dark days for believers, but like Joshua and the people of Israel, we know our God is with us. Now is not the time for rage and demonstration, but holiness and faithfulness. The Israelite's did not know what awaited them in the Promised Land, they only knew that God had commanded them to be strong and courageous. Whatever may become of The United States, the Lord God will be with his followers wherever they go.
It is way past time, and maybe there is little time, for people who confess to “claim the name” of Jesus and follow Him, to demonstrate something more than verbal acquiescence and attitudinal apathy to what is going on all around us – even in your little village.
Today, our greatest danger is not a Christian theocracy, but a secularist theocracy that tolerates no dissent.
It’s time to stand up for what is right and stand against what is wrong every time, every place, everywhere. None of us has the corner on God’s blessings. We are not more deserving or more intelligent than others. We have no reason to believe that God should bless this nation above any other. We have no special mandate.
The great theologian Augustine said that government is a necessary evil, that it is necessary because of evil. And most theologians in the history of the church have said that human evil is the reason even corrupt government is better than no government at all. Look at Romans 13. The function of government is to restrain evil and to maintain, uphold, and protect the sanctity of life and property. Given this function, the Christian understands that -government- is ordained of God, and so Christians, first of all, are called to respect whatever it is that God institutes and ordains.
For God’s sake - we are called to be model citizens. We are told to bend over backward to honor the king or be obedient to the civil magistrates. That doesn’t mean slavish obedience to the civil magistrates. But our basic posture toward government, according to the New Testament, is to be submissive and obedient citizens of the state. We are also given the duty of praying for earthly governments that they may fulfill the tasks God has given to them.
Unfortunately, in today’s culture separation of church and state means separation of state and God, as if the state and the government were answerable to no one but themselves — as if the government didn’t have to respond to God. But God monitors governments; God raises them up and brings them down. Every human government is accountable to God and is accountable to maintain its affairs with justice and with righteousness. When the government is no longer acting justly and no longer protecting life  — sanctioning abortions, for example — then it is the task of the church to be the prophetic voice, to call the state to task and tell the state to repent and do what God commands it to do.
In the words of Edmund Burke, in a letter to Thomas Mercer in 1770, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men [and women] to do nothing.” Is that why we may no longer be a Christian nation?  You decide.