UNDERSTANDING THE TIMES: 2004/11
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The Newsletter of Contend for the Faith, Inc
1 Chronicles 12:32
NOVEMBER 2004
Giving Thanks for Ministry
During this month when we especially give thanks to God for His many blessings, I want to give thanks here for many things.
First, I thank God for the salvation He has made available to all through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross for the sins of the world.
Second, I thank God for my wife Deborah. Apart from salvation itself, she is the greatest gift I have ever received.
Third, I praise God for the United States, a nation which was founded on biblical principles by men who had great reverence for the truths of Scripture. In a day when many politicians and pundits revile the Bible, our Founding Fathers believed that “blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.”
Fourth, I give thanks for the ministry I am able to do through Contend for the Faith. It is truly a blessing to be able to teach believers what they should believe and why they should believe it. I just returned from Colorado Springs where I did an apologetics weekend at a Nazarene church. I spoke on the nature of truth, how we know God exists, how we know the Bible is reliable, the exclusivity of Christianity, and God and the problem of evil. It was wonderful to hear from many of the participants how much they appreciated learning good answers to the good questions that they are confronted with. I praise God that He does not require people to trust in Him apart from evidence or in spite of contrary evidence. His world is consistent with His Word, and He has given us evidence in both to demonstrate His love and His trustworthiness.
Last but not least, I thank God for all of you who make this ministry possible. Without your prayers and financial support, I would be unable to equip the saints to contend for the faith, which is the duty and calling of every believer (Jude 3; 1 Peter 3:15).
Declaration Banned in School
In this issue we discuss the third and final part of my teaching on “God & Government” which defines and defends what the proper relationship between faith and politics should be. A principal in a northern California elementary school gives the perfect example of why this is important.
In the city of Cupertino, Stephen Williams, a fifth grade public school teacher who is a Christian, has been prohibited by school principal Patricia Vidmar from distributing the Declaration of Independence and other documents pertaining to the founding of America simply because they mention God. Mr. Williams is also required to show all of his lesson plans to Mrs. Vidmar for approval, and he says that the principal will not allow him to use any handouts that contain references to God or Christianity.
With the help of the Alliance Defense Fund, Mr. Williams has filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Oakland Division, claiming his right to free speech under the First Amendment is being violated.
ADF Senior Counsel Gary McCaleb commented, “Throwing aside all common sense, the [school] district has chosen to censor men such as George Washington and documents like the Declaration of Independence. The district’s actions conflict with American beliefs and are completely unconstitutional.”
The California Education Code allows “references to religion or references to or the use of religious literature . . . when such references or uses do not constitute instruction in religious principles . . . and when such references or uses are incidental to or illustrative of matters properly included in the course of study.”
SPEAKING SCHEDULE 2004
December 12
Contending for the Faith , Part One, College & Singles Sunday School Classes, Hickory Grove Baptist Church, Charlotte, 9:15 & 10:45 am
www.hgbc.org
December 19
Contending for the Faith , Part Two, College & Singles Sunday School Classes, Hickory Grove Baptist Church, Charlotte, 9:15 & 10:45 am
www.hgbc.org
January 2, 2005
Contending for the Faith , Part Three, College & Singles Sunday School Classes, Hickory Grove Baptist Church, Charlotte, 9:15 & 10:45 am
www.hgbc.org
January 9, 2005
Contending for the Faith , Part Four, College & Singles Sunday School Classes, Hickory Grove Baptist Church, Charlotte, 9:15 & 10:45 am
www.hgbc.org
CONTENDING FOR THE FAITH
UNDERSTANDING GOD & GOVERNMENT: PART THREE
CHRISTIAN LIVING
Robert Reich, the former Secretary of Labor under President Clinton and current college professor at Brandeis University, recently wrote a book titled Reason: Why Liberals Will Win the Battle for America. In his book Mr. Reich describes what he sees as the greatest struggle facing society in the foreseeable future:
The true battle will be between modern civilization and anti-modernists; between those who believe in the primacy of the individual and those who believe that human beings owe their allegiance and identity to a higher authority; between those who give priority to life in this world and those who believe that human life is mere preparation for an existence beyond life; between those who believe in science, reason, and logic and those who believe that truth is revealed through Scripture and religious dogma.
Mr. Reich’s point is clear: in a modern age of secular science and reason, the greatest hindrance to progress in society is the religious person who believes that he owes his existence to a theistic God who has revealed guidelines for living in this world and the next.
What is particularly ironic about Mr. Reich’s fear and loathing of believers is that it puts him directly at odds with the Founders of this nation, almost all of whom were Christians. These men, whom he would no doubt categorize as “fundamentalists” (to him, the scariest kind of believers), were committed to the “self-evident” truths that “all men are created equal” and that “they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.” Built on these foundational truths, America has become the greatest nation on earth by almost any standard of prosperity, freedom, opportunity, and quality of life.
The Founding Fathers believed that because God judges nations now (but individuals later), God should be acknowledged in public. They had learned the lessons from Pharaoh’s Egypt (Ex. 5-12) and Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 19) that God is ready and able to destroy nations that reject Him and His moral principles. They therefore sought to build a country based on the recognition that God, not government, is supreme and this nation is “under God.”
They understood that our rights and liberties as human beings are gifts given to us by God, not by the government. Thomas Jefferson’s words are etched in marble at his memorial in Washington: “God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God?”
Alexis de Toqueville, a famous French statesman and historian of the early 1800’s, wrote perceptively in his book Democracy in America,
I sought for the key to the greatness and genius of America. . . . Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.
The Founders understood that America’s liberties and greatness could only be based on its citizens owing “their allegiance and identity” to the God of the Bible.
Christians of today need to keep in mind what the Bible says about how faith should affect politics. Jesus said that believers are to be salt and light in their society, preserving that which is good and shining the light of truth for all to see (Matt. 5:13-16). Jesus said we have a duty to God and a duty to government, and we must not abandon one for the other (Luke 20:25). Jesus said we must love God first, then love our neighbors as ourselves (Matt. 22:37-40). Paul understood his dual citizenship as a Christian: he was both a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven and a citizen of Rome. He demonstrated that believers can and should stand up for their rights in the earthly realm, while sharing the good news of the heavenly realm (Acts 16:16-40; 22:1-30; 25:1-21).
Taken together, these and other passages teach us that Christians are to apply the principles of our faith in every area of life, including politics. Lawmaking is simply the implementation of morality into public policy, and believers have a duty to see that good public policies are enacted as a part of loving our neighbors as ourselves.
The great statesman and orator Daniel Webster said, “Whatever makes men good Christians makes them good citizens.” Nineteenth century preacher Charles Finney said, “The church must take right ground in regard to politics. . . . God will bless or curse this nation according to the course Christians take in politics.” In our day, Chuck Colson has pointed out, “We ignore the complete cultural implications of our faith. And then we’re shocked by the state of the culture.”
If believers abandon the culture to those who see God as an imposition, the culture will become godless. If we do not contend for the truth that our rights are the gift of God, then the government will take the place of God as the giver (and taker) of rights. Christians must show secularists like Mr. Reich that America has thrived and will thrive because of our belief in God, not in spite of it.
