Oct 31, 2010

Judgment Day

Dave WelchBy Dave Welch
US Pastor Council

Judgment Day is here – again. It is not the apocalyptic event bringing about that terrifying day when we stand before the Judge of the Universe in finality – thankfully – however, it is a day when we will indeed be judged for our actions.

We call it Election Day.

It is the day when the hearts, minds, values, priorities and principles of the American people are tested against The Standard. The plum line is held up and "We the People" are measured. It seems evident that our "F" achieved in 2008, if applying any biblical or constitutional litmus test, will be significantly improved.

We will repair some breaches in the wall, but will we rebuild the foundation? What is the foundation?

If we give any credence to the architects of the structure, it is clear that they believed both design and Designer of our constitutional republic were "self-evident." They believed that the bedrock upon which rested its posterity is found in – and only in – the pages of Holy Scripture.

One of the blocks in the foundation was and is the principle given in Jeremiah 17:9, 10:

The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings.
Our Founding Fathers understood that power could not be absolutely trusted to any one man and therefore any one branch of government because of our sin nature. They were all too aware of the despotism that results when governing power is centralized. The separation of powers we find in our Constitution was based on this principle and developed on three attributes of God found in Isaiah 33:22:
For the LORD is our judge, The LORD is our lawgiver, The LORD is our king; 
He will save us –
Three distinct functions … One Perfect Ruler. After authority to govern was delegated to man, however, the self-seeking and sinful nature within all mankind required those powers be separated. The second most oft quoted resource during the founding era, behind only the Bible, was Baron Montesquieu. He wrote in 1748 in "The Spirit of the Laws":
Nor is there liberty if power of judging is not separated from legislative power and from executive power. If it (the power of judging) were joined to legislative power, the power over life and liberty of the citizens would be arbitrary, for the judge would be the legislator. If it were joined to executive power, the judge could have the force of an oppressor. …
The Bible provided guiding principles to our U.S. Constitution, which defines and restrains governing authority … theoretically.

Here is the rub for us. Because the power of maintaining the purpose and separation of the sword of governing authority rests in the hands of the governed, it will ultimately be either preserved or corrupted by the individual and collective condition of our heart, mind and soul.

That condition is dependent historically on if and how effectively the absolute truth of God's Word is preached from our pulpits, lived in our homes and practiced in every sphere of our lives. The full circle brings us back to the vote as a test of who we are personally and who we choose by majority vote as a test of us corporately.

As James Robison, one of the most powerful evangelists of our time, asserted to a gathering of evangelical leaders in 1980,
"How can you expect the godly to get elected if godly people don't support and vote for them? How can men who stand on principle govern if the people who stand on principle don't even vote? We're the guilty ones."
Even though only a college student casting my first vote in that election for Ronald Reagan, I remember vividly the groundswell, the passion and the sea change we now call the Reagan Revolution – heavily influenced by conservative evangelicals. What happened to it?

Most Christians went back to sleep – and simultaneously the church became an entertainment center. Our pulpits must return to our first call of proclaiming the Word, the whole Word and nothing but the Word – if we do, the awakening will be real and measurable.

Just remember that this mess did not begin yesterday and, like stage-four cancer, is so intertwined as a massive tumor throughout our land in our major institutions that we will not reverse this through one or two elections.

More importantly, we will not reverse it at all unless and until people who love God, love our country and are willing to sacrifice our lives, fortunes and sacred honor get back in the battle and stay in until we hand off the baton. Let it be said of our nation as we finish our leg of the relay race:
The LORD is exalted, for He dwells on high; 
He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness.

And He will be the stability of your times, 
A wealth of salvation, wisdom and knowledge; 
The fear of the LORD is his treasure.
It starts with you and me being right with God and then committing to walking in the voting booth to vote HIS principles of righteousness and justice (not "your values") for every local, state and federal election the rest of our lives.


Related Links
The Bible and Government - Biblical Principles: Basis for America's Laws - Faith Facts
Party Leaders Offer Bold Predictions Ahead of 'Earthquake' Election - FOX News
Question: "Does God expect Christians to vote?" - GotQuestions.org
Pastor: Christians need to make a difference on Nov. 2 - OneNewsNow
Politics - According to the Bible: A Comprehensive Resource for Understanding Modern Political Issues in Light of Scripture - Wayne A. Grudem (Book)