I would like to discuss an attitude I see in some of Christianity today. Especially among so coined conservative Christianity we tend to idealize the past and think that the American nation of the late 1800's was a close to perfection as anything can get in this life. We think our Christian roots as a nation were the reason the people experiences such prosperity, and that if we could return to that way of life we would have accomplished much in this life. This attitude has several flaws in it that need to be addressed if we are to fully glorify God and live life here where he has placed us.
1. There is no such thing as a Christian nation.
Christianity is a personal thing. Your family is not a Christian family just because the parents are saved and the nation is not a Christian nation just because there are Christians in it. Every person has to make a decision to follow Christ on their own and no amount of association with the right people will make you a child of God. Being a moral nation does not make you Christian. The only thing that makes you Christian is following Jesus, and that can only be done one person at a time.
The only nation God has every called his own and used as a beacon of his truth to the world is Israel. Every other nation will rise and fall with time and each will be used by God in his providence but none are his representative in the world. Christianity is not bound by cultural or economic diversity. It crosses all boundaries and can be integrated into any culture. That is one of the beauties of following Christ. You can go anywhere in the world and see believers serving and worshiping God in many different ways and as long as they follow His word, they are all acceptable to him. No one nation has a corner on the truth that makes them better in how they worship God. He gives us freedom to use our differences to worship Him in many different ways.
America has had a past of some morality and has in it many Christian people. It has given us the freedom to serve God according to our conscience but it is not a Christian nation. If America falls, Christianity will continue, just as it thrived in the past before America was a nation.
2. Christianity is not about morals; it's about Jesus.
As I said earlier, Christianity is accepting Jesus as your personal Savior. Once you have done that you are required, as a child of God, to live your life according to the morals and rules that God has established in His word. This shows the truth of your profession of faith in Him because faith without works is dead, but this principle cannot be reversed. Just because you live a good life, tell the truth, love your family, and help the poor doesn't mean you are saved. Salvation is found in Jesus alone; in denying yourself, taking up your cross, and following him.
Christians need to be seeking one thing and one thing only, and that is Jesus Christ. The past does not have the answers to the problems we face in the world today; Jesus does. Going back to a time when a higher moral standard was culturally accepted will not make the pain of life any less or the path that we should walk any clearer. The only way we can be sure we are walking the right road is by making much of the Lord who saved us.
3. Trying to reform the world is not the duty of the Christian.
The bible tells us that ever since the fall of man the world has been decaying. In the New Testament we are told that sin is going to continue to increase in the time that we live in until it culminates in God totally destroying the world because of it's great wickedness. To try to preserve a dying world is not where our calling lies. We are called to tell others of a better land that will not fade away and where there is no more sin. No matter how hard we try we will not be able to turn back the clock and see a better day. Our hope lies in the future when Jesus will return and set everything to rights.
Trying to recreate a time when Christian morals were in vogue and liberty abounded should not be our goal. We need to seek out the lost, spread the message of the gospel, and bring as much glory to God as we can in this life. Creating a Christian utopia is not our job. Jesus will set up his kingdom when he comes but until then our kingdom is not of this world.
4. Finally, God never calls us to live in the past.
The apostle Paul in the epistle to the Philippians say that he did not focus on what was behind but that he pressed on towards the high calling of Jesus Christ. God's will for us is not in the past. As much as we might wish to, we cannot change what has been done or get back to what we miss. God wants us to travel ever further into his love and seek him a new every morning. If we are constantly looking behind us we cannot see what God has for us today. Our Father can answer the hard questions of our times and show us the way that we should deal with the difficult experiences we have, but we have to seek him in the present. He will show us the way, step by step.
In conclusion, even if we were to return to the glory days of America and were to have more freedom in our country, we would still be lacking in the most important thing. We don't need to get back to the glory days, we need to get back to Jesus. No amount of human freedom will change the heart of man. Conversely, Christianity has thrived most in times of greatest persecution. Maybe by seeking freedom of body instead of purity of heart we have misplaced our priorities. The few years we have in this life matter very little compared to the eternity that is set before us. The best thing we can do in this life is to give it up for Jesus in service of him and others. Nothing of this earth will last, but all that is done in His name and for His glory will be gold and silver and precious stones in the kingdom that is waiting for those who put their trust in him.
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