Reclaiming America

"He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:7-8

For better or worse, current events have always been the source for those people who are looking to gauge the climate of the country. Christians are no different. We often lament at the sad state of affairs of the morality in this country and it has galvanized many Christians to have a desire to "reclaim America for Christ." One organization puts it like this: "I believe God is shaking our country and this world. Man has become self-confident. In our prosperity, we have all developed a certain amount of arrogance. In the back of our minds, we all have a certain amount of independence trusting our own intelligence and wealth. God is still on His throne. Jesus still offers eternal life to “whosoever will.”  Our God is still very capable of healing our land and forgiving our sin IF WE who are called by His name will humble ourselves, pray, SEEK HIS FACE (meaning to obey Him and walk in His steps), and TURN FROM OUR EVIL WAYS!" I share the sentiment regarding the self-confidence of man, our growing arrogance in our prosperity, and our dependence on our intelligence and wealth. However, I don't agree with the latter half of the commentary where they seem to be pulling from 2 Chronicles 7:14. God is not in covenant with the United States of America. Due to the fact that our country was founded by many Bible-believing Christian men and women, there is this belief that this historical fact means that God is looking at our country the same way He looks at the nation of Israel. Therefore, He must be judging us on the basis of sin and death as well. This is why people who think this way are so reliant on using scriptures meant for the Jews of the Old Covenant and superimposing them onto our present country and world. So when you have things like legalized abortion and same-sex marriage it leads directly to people thinking "God is shaking our country" through natural disasters, health crises, economic strain, wars, and so on. Because, if you read through the history of Israel, that is all you see in their relationship with God. Their disobedience led God to cast them into slavery, out of the land He promised them, striking them with plagues, and much more. To believe all of this is not only taking the Bible out of context, but it is also missing the message of the Gospel and the New Covenant altogether.

In Acts 1:6, the disciples asked Jesus Christ, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" Jesus had just lived a perfect life, died for the sins of the world, rose from the grave, and is about to ascend back into heaven and His disciples are basically asking Him, "Are we going reclaim the Holy Land for God?" After all that they had experienced and all Jesus had accomplished they still missed what His purpose was while here on earth. In answer to their question, Jesus takes the high road by explaining that it wasn't the moment to get into the dates and times God has set. Then He transitions into the fact that He needs them to be witnesses for the Gospel throughout the world. Later, after giving the Holy Spirit to them, they would begin to see more clearly what God's plan was for them. His plan is no different for us today. While reclaiming America for Christ could be a side-effect, the reason we are here is to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the lost. One of the main things to understand about the Gospel is the forgiveness of sins. God is not counting the sins of the world against them any longer. Therefore, to pray for Him to forgive our sins in order to get Him to stop "shaking our country" is totally misguided. We are asking God to forgive sins He is no longer counting against us in order to bring healing to the land rather than to the hearts of men. Not to mention that we are subscribing blame to Him for things He may not be responsible for doing in the first place. God can use the "shaking" to get the attention of people, but this is so He can get people to come to faith in Jesus Christ, not so Christian morality can once again reign supreme. Never forget this one truth. "We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us (2 Corinthians 5:20)." We are citizens of heaven when it comes to our identity in Christ. Therefore, we are here in this world to represent the Lord Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world. We are not here to make sure the laws of the land and the behaviors of its people line up with the tenents of scripture. A change in behavior and a reverence for the Bible does not automatically mean a person has become born again of the Spirit of God through faith in Jesus Christ. If we want people to turn from anything and seek God, let us make sure it is turning from their unbelief in Jesus Christ and seeking to accept His offer of life through faith in Him.