America Was Never a Christian Nation -- Acts 1:7-8

Acts 1:7-8

"And He said to them, ‘It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.’" (NKJV)
America has never been a Christian nation.

That statement likely astonishes, perhaps even angers, some of you who are reading this. I will tell you that since the Lord has been dealing with me regarding this, I have gone through a host of emotions. I was raised—and continued through my adult life until just recently—as a dyed in the wool patriot. I believed that America was the greatest country in the world, founded by Christians to be a Christian nation, one nation under God. I believed for a long time that the slow evil influences that had migrated to this country (through one method or another) were slowly tearing its Christian soul apart.

I no longer believe that. Any of it.

I would guess that my metamorphosis began years ago. I know that long ago, in a discussion with some Reformed brethren, I had asked for advice on buying a good, but concise, book on Christian history. I was referred to Bruce Shelley’s Church History in Plain Language, sort of a Christian History 101 type book. It was perfect for me at the time because it was a summary of sorts in a shorter volume (about 500 pages) and seemed fairly objective in its descriptions and critiques.

In Shelley’s book, I learned that very early on, Christianity went rather rapidly from an evangelistic religion to an imperialistic one. What does that mean exactly? It meant that Jesus’ command in Acts to go into the world went from being about individuals to being about nations. And not, I might add, with good results. How did that start? Shelley writes:

"Rome had gradually become a religious monarchy. The emperor served as the connecting link between God and the world, while the state was the earthly reflection of divine law. . . . Then came Constantine’s (the Roman Emperor) victory over his rivals—after he turned for help to the Christian God. God himself placed the emperor under the protection of the Cross and in direct dependence upon Christ. This meant, however, that Constantine was converted, not as a man, but as an emperor. Christ himself had sanctioned his power and made him the divine representative, and through Constantine’s person the God of heaven bound the empire to himself by special ties. That, at any rate, is how Eastern Christians saw it." (pp. 143-144).

Shelley goes on in the next chapters to explain that after this event, Christianity became a "national" religion in the sense that every time a nation was captured, it—and all its inhabitants—became Christians. Those who refused to bow their knee to God were enslaved or killed. (Forced salvation.)

Sound vaguely familiar?

If not, I would encourage you to do some deep research into the real history of the United States. Start with talking to Native Americans who have passed down oral history from the early days of the settlers, history that is unsettling at the least and horrifying at its worst. (Most of this I didn’t know until I became part of a Native American church.)

Additionally, we have been hoodwinked by a man named Rousas John Rushdoony. Perhaps you have heard of him, but I hadn’t until just recently. He is the father of Christian Dominionism/Reconstructionism and that doctrine is the foundation of the idea that America was founded as a Christian nation.

So I had to ask myself, is that even possible . . . for a nation to be Christian?

You might be saying, "Well of course," just like I did for many years. But what about it? The very word "Christian" means to be like Christ. Christianos (Greek) meaning a follower of Jesus Christ.

Can a nation be a follower of Jesus Christ? Constantine obviously believed so and then used his power as emperor to forcibly "convert" those who hadn’t previously been "Christians." Is that really what our Lord meant when He said that we would receive power to be witnesses? No, of course not. The power for the Christian life comes from within, comes from the very presence of the Holy Spirit working out salvation in the soul of the surrendered believer. Nations cannot be saved because they have no eternal soul.

It is impossible for a nation to be Christian.

In reading Rushdooney’s The Institutes of Biblical Law, it seems evident within the first seven pages that his doctrine of Christian imperialism is fraught with holes so wide you could sail the Titanic through them. And yet, his doctrines and their derivatives have been taught in seminaries for years and are the basis for the most of the culture clash that exists in America today. Here’s just a summary of Rushdooney’s points in the "Introduction" of his book:

• "God, in creating man, ordered him to subdue the earth and to exercise dominion over the earth." (p. 3)
• "God, in order to re-establish the Kingdom of God, called Abraham, and then Israel, to be His people, to subdue the earth, and to exercise dominion under God." (p. 3)
• "The purpose of Christ’s coming was in terms of this same creation mandate. . . . The redeemed are recalled to the original purpose of man, to exercise dominion under God." (pp. 3-4).
• "As the new chosen people of God, the Christians are commanded to do that which Adam in Eden and Israel in Canaan, failed to do. . . . Man is summoned to create the society God requires." (p. 4)

Christian Dominionism. Christian Imperialism! Is this really what the Lord called us to do?

"You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away. You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you," (Matthew 5:38-44)

This doesn’t sound much like forcing our unsaved neighbors to live by Christian values so that we can be comfortable (which, by the way, is the goal and result of Christian Dominionism).

Has America ever even acted like a Christian nation?

At its founding, the early "Christian" settlers massacred Native Americans because they considered the Natives to be heathens who refused to be converted. As early as Columbus, Europeans (including Columbus) were involved with Native American slave trade and were additionally involved in the slave sex trade with indigenous girls as young as nine years old. The migrated Europeans (now in America) embraced the slave trade of the Africans. While some of the Native tribes were nomadic, others were not, but the settlers simply moved in and took the land because there were no fences. These men killed the "witches" of Salem who may have actually been no more than herbalists. Women, minorities and the poor were oppressed and didn’t have the right to participate in the democratic process until many decades (or even centuries) later.

I could go on and on, but the point is this: How does any of this reflect Christ? "Christian" means to be a follower of Christ. Would the Lord Jesus do (or condone) any of this? No, He wouldn’t. The Bible is clear about how we are to treat others. The founding of America and its subsequent growth has been quite the opposite.

Now, I don’t believe it’s actually the fault of the nation because it’s impossible for a nation to be saved. It doesn’t have a soul. And it’s impossible to live the life we are required by Christ without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. I do believe that the fault lies within the Church—within us—because we should know better. If we truly knew what the Bible said and took it to heart, we would know how desperately wicked our country is. We would stop wanting the "good ol’ days" (which were only good for a few) and would be, instead pressing forward in love to do what Christ truly called us to do . . . be His witnesses.

So as American believers, if the United States isn’t a Christian nation, where do we go from here? Most of us have probably been embroiled in the culture clash that evolved from the Rushdooney mess for years! At this point, we may not even know how to love our neighbors and we probably don’t know much of what it really means to be a Christian!

First of all, we need to remember that none of the people around us are the enemy. "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." (Ephesians 6:12 NKJV). Our enemies are the Satanic forces pitted against Heaven as well as our own flesh natures! The apostle Paul writes:

"I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members." (Romans 7:21-23 NKJV).

A comic from the 1970's used to say, "The devil made me do it," but the truth, more likely, is that we simply dove into the sin all by ourselves because we wanted to. We are self-indulgent and undisciplined. Our greatest enemy is ourselves! And we need to be always mindful and on watch.

Second, we need to remember that the Lord Jesus died for everyone and that God longs for all to be saved:

"The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9 NKJV).

"The Lord is . . . longsuffering toward us." Two of the connotations of this word seem most appropriate here: "to be of a long spirit, not to lose heart" and "to be mild and slow in avenging." (Strong’s 3114). We need to understand that God doesn’t want to condemn anyone to hell. Not Hitler. Not Timothy McVey. Not the Native Americans. Not ISIS. Not anyone! The Lord isn’t on the side of Americans or Canadians or the English or the Libyans. The Lord is on His side, patiently waiting for His creations to become His children. (And also, most likely patiently waiting for the Church to start actually acting like the Church.)

Many of us have, for so many years, placed our faith in the United States as a Christian nation, rather than working to act like Christians ourselves. The apostle Paul writes:

"Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure." (Philippians 2:12-13 NKJV.

"Your own salvation." Heautou meaning your own, alone. We work out our individual salvation, not corporate salvation, not national salvation, not imperial salvation. We work out individual salvation with fear and trembling both for the blessings of being saved and the awesome responsibility of witnessing of that salvation to others. Christians were never called to rule, but to serve. We were never called to slaughter, but to live sacrificially toward others. We were never called to become masters, but to submit to the authorities established by God. And—most importantly of all—we were never called to be committed to this earth! This earth is going to pass away. If we could create the "perfect" God-fearing society (which is an impossibility), it would still pass away! The only goal that really has eternal ramifications is sharing the gospel with every lost and hurting soul. Anything else is, to be honest, a waste of our time and efforts.

Do you really think God wants us to waste our time?　

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As a postscript, for those of you who don’t know me personally, I’m neither Native nor a minority. I’m an older, overweight white woman, raised by Southern parents, raised on the West Coast, who loves the Lord with all my heart. There’s no agenda in this for me other than loving and serving my Savior.

© 2015 Robin L. O’Hare. All rights reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.

What the World Wants Christians to Be -- Matthew 5:14-16

Matthew 5:14-16


"You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." (NKJV)

There is a lot of bemoaning lately about how Christians are persecuted in America. In fact, as a believer, I have to tell you that I’m actually really tired of Christians complaining about how they are treated. There are so many problems with this kind of thinking and this kind of behavior beginning with it’s simply selfish and narcissistic. And the fact is, I’m convinced that 90% of the reaction that the American Church is getting these days is simply the consequence of our own choices, of our own sin!

The unsaved really want Christians to start acting like Christians. They want for us to be the called-out ones who refuse to embrace the evils of this generation. They want for us to shine the righteousness of Jesus in the darkness. They want for us to love as He loved, to walk as He walked, to live in the Spirit as He lived in the Spirit.

They want for us to be like Christ.

How do I know this? Because I talk to people who are on the polar opposites of the Religious Right (political conservatives). I read op-eds by atheists and gays and transgenders. I befriend addicts and adulterers and drunks. Just like Jesus did. And even though I’m in the early stages of doing this, I’m finding that we aren’t the Christians we think we are and we certainly aren’t the Christians the world needs for us to be.

1 Peter is an amazing book that talks, I believe, directly and specifically to these times. In chapter 4, Peter writes:

"Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people’s matters. (v. 12-15).

"Let none of you suffer as an evildoer." Peter is explicit in his admonition, and yet, I believe we are suffering often as evildoers and then claiming foul when the world berates us. We hold our heads up in pride (sin) and shake our finger in judgment at our neighbor (sin) to justify our actions (sin), when we should, instead, be humbly reaching out in love and forgiveness.

The other day, a former student and friend of mine who is now exploring her gender-ness asked why Christians celebrate Halloween which is a witch and Wiccan holiday. Her points were so valid! Why do we celebrate Halloween? I would challenge you to study the history of this "holiday" and then decide if you really want your Christian witness to look like this. This is only one small example of how the world is looking at us.

When will we start acting like Christians? How should Christians act?

"And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give." (Matthew 10:7-8 NKJV).

I find Jesus’ commands so simple and yet we have seemed to put so many requirements on them. (Can you say, "Pharisees?") What does Jesus actually tell us to do?

"Heal the sick. Cleanse the lepers." If that sickness isn’t miraculously healed, then minister as doctors assist in healing. Be there. Be present. Be sacrificial.

"Raise the dead. Cast out demons." Unfortunately, most Christians in America don’t believe that people can be raised from the dead nor do we seriously believe in demons. And yet, we are commanded to do these things. Why?

"And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed; and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed. And there was great joy in that city." (Acts 8:6-8 NKJV).

Miracles (and healings) are not for the purpose of making Christian lives easier, but are signs to the unsaved that God is present and all-powerful. We work miracles through the power of the Holy Spirit because God wants to pour out His love to a lost generation. But we are so worried about whether or not we’re going to bake a cake for a gay wedding, that we’ve forgotten to reach out to a world that is dying! In our efforts to be right, we have lost our righteousness!


"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."

Good works consist entirely of the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23). A Christian—a Church—that becomes a lampstand is one that is willing to divest itself of all things that encourage selfishness and self-indulgence. It’s a Church that can’t contain its desire to reach out to the hurting and lost. It’s a Church that refuses to demand that the society around it clean up, but instead wants so to love that the holiness of God permeates from their very existence. It’s a Church that gives and gives and gives and keeps on giving because it trusts God to provide. It’s a Church that keeps one foot solidly on the earth, searching out the hurting, while one foot is gloriously in heaven, waiting for the day God calls us home. It’s a Church that gives its cloak when its coat is demanded. That will walk two miles when its required to walk one. That lives out the life of Jesus Christ every moment of every day because the only reality that’s important is preaching the gospel to a world going literally to hell.

If we can become this Church on the hill, then we will finally become relevant and desirable to our generation. Until then, we are simply another privileged group sucking the life out of the poor, the desperate, and the disenfranchised.

Which do you think Jesus wants us to be?
　

© 2015 Robin L. O’Hare. All rights reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.

Do People Become Angels When They Die? -- Psalm 8:4-5

Psalm 8:4-5


"What is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor." (NIV)

A dear friend of mine went home to be with the Lord this past week. Facebook has been flooded with condolences and posts of concern and love for the family and for our small church. My friend was a wonderful woman who truly loved the Lord and she will be missed.

What happens to people when they die? One or two of the posters made statements that indicated that there was now a new angel in heaven. While those posts may have been to indicate her sweet nature, they also might have been intended as literal. Many people believe that people who die become angels in heaven.

What are angels? Are they advanced humans who have left this earth? If we are to believe scripture, that isn’t the case. Here in Psalms 8, it is clear that humans and angels are two separate species. It clearly differentiates between the two. It also references human beings’ mortality ("a little lower than the angels").

This issue of mortality is at the direct point of the difference between angels and humans. Angels live forever always in their original bodies, which humans are born into mortal bodies and will experience death prior to eternity.

Both species, humans and angels, were created with free will, but God chose not to redeem angels. Thus, the angels who rebelled became Satan’s dark forces and will, at the time of judgment, be cast in the Lake of fire (hell). Humans also rebelled (and continue to rebel). But God’s purpose for humans was totally different than angels.

The psalmist speaks to the purpose of angels:

"Bless the Lord, you His angels, who excel in strength, who do His word, heeding the voice of His word. Bless the Lord, all you His hosts, you ministers of His, who do His pleasure." (Psalm 103:20-21 NKJV).

Angels have five purposes:

"These verses show God’s purpose for angels. Angels exist to serve God in five ways: (1) to ‘bless the Lord’ (in worship and service); (2) to ‘do His word’ (concerning activities on earth); (3) to heed the voice of God’s word (as it is spoken through the saints on earth); (4) to minister on God’s behalf (as described in Heb. 1:14); and (5) to do God’s pleasure (as His hosts are at His direction)." (Hayford’s Bible Handbook: Angels).

Some of these purposes are shared by the children of God (believers). But humans were created for a far higher purpose. Humans were created to become the Bride for God’s only Son. Thus, out of His great love and mercy, God chose to redeem the fallen humans (us), but will not redeem the angels. And although the salvation of the Church (which is made up of people) will also redeem creation, angels are not included in that process. The angels which rebelled against God are eternally damned.

We often speak of angels at the time of a person’s death, perhaps, to soften the reality of what death looks like and how it feels. The truth of death can be brutal. When someone dies who hasn’t been redeemed by the blood of Jesus, they are facing eternal damnation. This isn’t because God doesn’t love them, but because they have rejected God’s love. Their damnation is a consequence of their own choice. It’s heartbreaking to think about death in these terms. I have family who I know aren’t in heaven. Their fate is beyond gruesome, but sadly it is a fate they chose.

On the other hand, when someone dies who is redeemed, they leave this world to be immediately escorted by angels into the presence of their Savior. There they will wait until they are joined by the remainder of the Bride of Christ, at that time to live forever with Him in a paradise that we cannot begin to imagine.

Humans and angels are two different species with different possible eternal destinies. When someone dies, while it might be comforting to think that they are now angels in heaven, the truth is far more important. For God’s redeemed, death brings heaven and eternity with Him. For those who have rejected Him, there is hell, eternal hell. As believers, we should be comforted with the hope of heaven and invigorated into increased evangelism with the thought of hell for those around us. Rather than, at someone’s death, placating grief, perhaps it’s time for us to become empowered with the truth that will transform lives and save even one from the fiery pit that looms before them.

© 2015 Robin L. O’Hare. All rights reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.

Another Saint Goes Home -- Psalm 116:15-17

Psalm 116:15-17


"Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His faithful servants. Truly I am your servant, Lord; I serve you just as my mother did; you have freed me from my chains. I will sacrifice a thank offering to You and call on the name of the Lord." (NIV)

My friend and sister-in-the-Lord, Dawn, died last night. She was diagnosed four months ago with a particularly virulent type of cancer and the disease advanced as predicted. As those who have lived this experience know, it was a roller coaster ride with times that we thought she might be miraculously healed and other times that we could see the course of the disease crashing in on her frail body.

Dawn reminds me of my own mom in some ways. She was thrust into the public limelight through the relationships with her mom and with her husband. Her mother is a well-known Christian country singer in Southern California and Dawn sang with her since being a young girl. When Dawn married, her husband became both a pastor and an evangelist to Native Americans. Their music ministry took them far and wide, including to Ireland and South Africa. But when I think of Dawn, I think most of a woman who was content to be with friends and family, particularly her newest granddaughter. She was a very humble person who never realized the extent of her talent nor the reaches of her love.

She will be missed.

For the past three weeks in our small church, I have stood in the place of our pastor. As he ministered to his wife, first in the hospital and then at home in hospice, I ministered to our little congregation. It has been one of the most difficult assignments God has given me. I knew, without a doubt, that each word I spoke might have vast ramifications for these dear people who were missing Dawn and wanting her back among them. As the family walked through the valley of the shadow of death, so did we from afar. As the Holy Spirit ministered to the family, giving them hope because of eternity, He also ministered to our little congregation. It has been a difficult time and now . . . she is gone.

She will be missed . . . but we will see her again.

Those of us who have put our hope and faith in the Lord Jesus will be reunited again with her in heaven for that is where she is. I can say that without a shadow of a doubt. I know that the Lord is true, that He exists, and that His promises in His Word are faithful. If I had ever had any doubts, I no longer have them. They have been washed away in the fires of grief, been made firm through the pain of loss, and been confirmed by the Lord Himself. It is definitely true that when we walk through the worst times of suffering, the Lord is especially close.

Two weeks ago, as I woke up, the Lord said to me, "Dawn will live." At first, I was overjoyed because I immediately took this to mean that God would miraculously heal her. And then the Lord spoke again. "No, Dawn will live." I knew then exactly what God was saying.

You see, as Christians, we live and then we live!

"For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life" (2 Corinthians 5:1-4 NIV)

We live here temporarily on earth only to finally live eternally in heaven. And it is in heaven that we truly are alive. Among colors that we can’t imagine, tastes beyond this world, and smells that are truly heavenly, we will live forever in a place where death can never touch us again. But more than that, we will live where we will see the Lord Jesus face to face! "For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known" (1 Corinthians 13:12 NIV).

Those of us who are older have learned that life passes more quickly than one can imagine. Only years ago I was a young mother. Now I am an old grandmother. Time goes by in the blink of an eye. And as I age, I become more and more aware that there has to be something more than this. "For who knows what is good for a person in life, during the few and meaningless days they pass through like a shadow?" (Ecclesiastes 6:12a NIV). This life rushes on. I thank the Lord that this is simply preparation for the eternity that lies ahead. I thank the Lord that He will give me a new body that won’t deteriorate as this one is. I thank the Lord that when death separates us from loved ones who are saved, it is no more than a "See you later."

My friend, Dawn, has died to this earth. But she is very much alive in heaven and rejoicing with the saints who have gone before. Most of all, she is being greeted by our Father. "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints." When we are done with all He has asked us to do here, we get to go Home where He is waiting with open arms to welcome us. He wants us Home with Him! What a reunion that is for Dawn right now and what a reunion it will be for all of us who love the Lord and are all called according to His purposes.

My friend, Dawn, has died, but she is living far greater than she ever has before! Thanks be to the Lord Jesus Who is the giver of life.
© 2015 Robin L. O’Hare. All rights reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.