greetings brethren in Christ's name by whose Blood we are reconciled to God. AMEN.
i'm sure we all know this nation was not founded Christian (else it would be a theocracy) but was founded on some Christian principles, enough to allow the young nation to expand without hindrance. The Masonic influence on the birth of the nation was rather powerful, more so than is known or acknowledged. The plan was to move away from Faith as the guiding principle of government to logic, reason and man coming together, working together. the premise was free thought and Christianity is a pariah to such because according to the Faith, all we do ought to be governed by God and what He would have us do. This departure from the Faith allowed for the very same men who wrote "we believe these truths to be self-evident, that all men are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, among them life, liberty and persuit of happiness" to own slaves. in the word there are certain rules which allow for slavery which were flouted and although some slaveowners treated their slaves better, the fact remains that the grounds on which the slaves were kept were against the word. Also this same spirit was passed down through the generations and the native american was wiped out and marginialized, the chinese were exploited and many ungodly things were done to epand the nation without batting an eyelid because of a very crafty clause in the constitution, the separation of the Church and the state. The sons of Japheth, not wanting to be bound entirely by the word unshackled themselves from it so that they could build empires. all over the world, looting pillaging and oppressing wherever they went without remorse because Church was one thing and the state was another. Of course God was not asleep at the wheel in anywise. However the bulk of American Churches or Christianity as practised and spread abroad is the seed of this same mentality and it is wrong and as such is one of the things which has rendered the Church impotent in a dead and dying world.
Brethren let us take for example the ENRON collapse. Ken Lay was purportedly a Christian and long time friend of prominent Houston Baptist preacher Rev. Lawson. It would appear he didn't allow God to affect how he worked because of a separation of Church and work and certain laws to that effect. As a result ENRON collapsed and many were affected either because of negligence or looting of the company, both of which boil down to not working as unto the Lord. At our jobs, we must take the Faith with us, we must go with God and for Him, we should also do so if we are in political office should God put us in such. For Christians, there is no such thing as sepration of Church and state or Church and anything at all. i know what Romans 13 says about obeying the governments which are appointed and such. i know also that we are in the world but not of it however i believe there is something flawed about how we consider the word in this regard. Romans was written by Holy Spirit through Paul concerning how we as Christians ought to conduct ourselves right? it was God telling us what we ought to do in relation to the states and countries we live in, the way we deal with the state is governed by God and as such there is no separation, we relate to the state through God and what He has said. We relate to one another as Christians according to what God has said, we relate to our families, the world, in fact everything according to what God has said so there is no separation of God from anything as far as we are concerned.
Brethren by default if we allow God to govern our every action, the world around us can't help but change. If we prayerfully consider our vote and vote as God leads, then we are doing what we ought. of course this doesn't mean affiliation with a particular party but following after what God has called us to do. The very fact that there are men challenging such things as the display of the 10 commandments, having God in various places in society is an indictment of our own failiure in letting God be Lord of all in our lives which is the casting away of this whole mentality of separation of God from (fill in whatever here) which is a demonic mentality calculated to cripple the Church and has worked masterfully. If we had allowed God to Rule over all in our lives, familiy, work, sports teams we played on and other affiliations, men would not be so brazen as to do and say the things they are doing and saying now. i fear we have a mentality of letting God handle some things and thinking other things to be to small for His consideration and then we handle them ourselves to a measure of success (as we perceive it) but ultimately we have failed. The reason there is such vileness in coporate America is because Christians in corporate America aren't allowing God to dictate how they work. The reason for such corruption in government, the courts, the whitehouse, capitol hill, politics in general is because of a failiure of those who are Christians to allow God to govern their every dealing in those arenas. It is a fear of retribution, a spirit of self-preservation which causes us to compromise rather than represent God as we ought.
Dear brethren we are all guilty before Him for not yielding all to Him. as Christians we have no free will, we are slaves, bondservants of Christ now and before we were slaves of sin.
Should Christians vote? if our Lord leads you to do so, vote according to what He has placed in you to vote. Should a Christian be in the armed services? if God has called you to a work there, then do so and work as unto the Lord. The bottom line is that as slaves of God through Christ, all we say ought to be governed by Him, what we think ought to be governed by Him (the word says to put on the mind of Christ by being immersed in the word), what we do ought to be governed by Him also, (the word says that we ought to follow Christ who said in John chapt 6 He came to do not His will but the Father's will) we also should feel as God feels, desire what He desires (these are our hearts desires which we can receive from Him because they are His own and bring Him Glory) We ought to be sympathetic to the Father just as His Son is and it was His mission to bring that to fruition while we are on this side in adversity because in heaven, there will be no such and we will all be perfect.
Dear saints, this is the test of Christianity and what sort of Christians we are; how to we allow God to govern our thoughts, feelings and actions in the adversity of this world? do we respond as He would have us do, or do we respond in a manner which seems right unto a man in the flesh but results in death, a Godless response? to allow God to govern every aspect of our lives (as HE should) is to be free from the chains of sin and this world and is a sign of the thing which we all fear, or feared at some time or other, the total death of ourselves to ourselves and the world on that most horrid thing called the Cross.
i bless God for the cross and what He wrought there in our salvation from the world and its trappings through Christ. i bless God my flesh was crucified there and died yet i live, but not i live but Christ in me. HALLELUIJAH! _________________ Farai Bamu
|