Born Again Nation

America had to be founded by a decidedly Christian people who had been “born again,” or “born of the Spirit.” (John 3:3 & 6) Those who are “children of disobedience” would have been incapable of establishing a government of by and for the people. We know this is true because Jesus said of the Pharisees, “You are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father you will do: he has been a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, then speaks he of himself: for he is a liar, and the father thereof.” The ungodly inevitably do the deeds of their father the devil.

In the parable of the good shepherd Jesus also taught that the “thief comes not, but to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.” (John 10:10) Clearly, “a thief” is one who is controlled by the devil.

In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul reminded Gentile believers that they had all, at one time “walked according to the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:2, 3). The New Testament clearly teaches that those who are dead in trespasses and sins are actuated by the devil. If these things be true, where do so many evangelicals get the idea that government is a “secular” enterprise, and with a corresponding indifference, cede the civil society to the children of disobedience?

After his resurrection, when he met the eleven disciples on a mountain in Galilee to commission them, Jesus announced, “All authority is given unto me, in heaven, and in earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things, whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, until the end of the world.”

Why did Jesus precede the Great Commission with, “All authority is given unto me in heaven, and in earth?” Was he not asserting that everything Adam had ceded to the Serpent in the Fall was now his? Was the “Great Commission” not a deputation to go throughout the world and “command all men everywhere to repent,” (Acts 17:30) and submit to the government of God?

Why is law and order in America in a state of decay? Perhaps the “salt of the earth” has lost its curative effect; now is no time for the salt of the earth to be “getting out of Dodge” right when all hell is breaking loose. It would be contrary to the nature of our Heavenly Father to yank his children out of the mess they created, by abandoning their curative mandate, and more likely that he would supply them with grace to rectify their wrongs or suffer the consequences of their negligence.

Rottenness in government is a reflection on the Church

It is past time for repentance in the Church and among its shepherds, and in bringing forth fruit unto repentance, to return to our calling as curator of the civil society. If Government is rotten, if the civil society is decomposing, it is not because either is inherently “secular” or ungodly. It is because the Church has forsaken the Great Commission, which is inherently governmental. We are called, not only to redeem the souls of men, but to institute the government of God in individuals and in our society.

The ungodly have been allowed to run the show for so long, we have convinced them that the world belongs to them. But the Apostle Paul wrote something remarkable in his first letter to Corinthian believers: “Therefore let no man rejoice in men: for all things are yours. Whether it be Paul, or Apollos, or Peter, or the world, or life, or death, whether they be things present, or things to come, even all are yours, And ye Christ’s, and Christ God’s.” (1 Corinthians 3:21-23)