In the Gospel of Matthew, the twenty-third through twenty-fifth chapters, Jesus deals with many circumstances of His time, and prepares the disciples for His coming scourging and death. He explains that dark times are ahead, but there's a brighter day coming. Today we continue to look at these chapters, and see if they might shed some light on the dark days we are experiencing here in America, and how the Christian should embrace our "dual-citizenship" as citizens of both the United States of America and the Kingdom of God.
At the end of the twenty-third chapter of Matthew we find Jesus reviewing the lack of honesty in the leadership of the Temple. These, as I have previously pointed out, were those who conducted the business of governing those under Jewish authority. While the Roman Empire’s government had an iron grasp on the land as a whole, the priests of the Temple held authority in most matters of carrying out the day-to-day government conduct.
Jesus very pointedly explained that they were
no better than those who had hunted down and killed the prophets in the
centuries past. He explained that He
would send them new prophets (the
Apostles and Christians of His newly founded “Church”), and they would prove
themselves to be the murderous brood they truly were. While they condemned the actions of those in
the past, they would, themselves, do the very thing they accused those of old
for.
After explaining to them just how unholy they
were (asking them how they would “escape the condemnation of hell” (Matthew
23:3), He laments over the people of Israel as a whole in His address to
Jerusalem.
“Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those
who are sent to her! How often I wanted
to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings,
but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate; …” (Matthew 23:37-38 NKJV)
First, it should be noted that Jesus was
speaking in the present tense. He was addressing them as those that were
actively killing those sent to
them. These were His people! These were those who knew better!
This should be a troubling sign to those of
us in this great nation, the United States of America. God has truly shed His grace on us. There
are multiple quotations of our Founders, men and women, which clearly address the need for us to be Christian.
Abigail Adams, wife of one of our chief Founding Fathers, John Adams, wrote to her husband in a letter dated November 5, 1775 that, “…a
true patriot must be a religious Man.”
And in a later paragraph she answers his request for receiving
information regarding specifics on how things are in the area.
I enclose the paper
you sent for. Your Business in
collecting facts will be very difficult, and the Sufferings of this people
cannot be circumscribed with pen, ink and paper. Besides these Ministers of Satan are
rendering it every day more and more difficult by their ravages and
devastation, to tell a tale which will freeze the young Blood of succeeding Generations
as well as harrow up the Souls of the present.
The concepts of Christianity and the
“ministers of Satan” permeate her correspondence with her husband and son, John
Quincy, who would later become President as well.
Many examples of men who wrote of the
necessity of Christianity to prevail may be offered, including those of George
Washington, Commander in Chief of the Continental Army and, later, first
President of the United States, as indicated in my last post. Among those examples is the urging by the
first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, John Jay:
“Providence has given
to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty, as well as the
privilege and interested, of our Christian nation to select and prefer
Christians for their rulers.”
This is written in a letter to a Pennsylvania
House of Representatives member, John Murray.
He preceded his statement about securing Christians for election to
government leadership by emphasizing that, “Real
Christians will abstain from violating the rights of others, and therefore
will not provoke war. Almost all nations
have peace or war at the will and pleasure of rulers whom they do not elect,
and who are not always wise or virtuous.”
While many will read this as a statement that
Christians do not go to war, this is merely stating that Christian leaders will
not impose their will empirically on
others. We certainly have a right to
fight for and defend our freedoms. After
all, they are endowed to us by our Creator,
according to our founding documentation, The Declaration of Independence.
The key is that Christian leadership will
follow a particular code of ethic due to their foundations in the Bible. They will engage in the activity of
government, from being part of the People, elected from among us, by virtue of
their God-inscribed morality. They will
not only represent a godly people, but will do so in a godly manner.
Also, Chief Justice Jay indicated at another
time, “No human society has ever been able to maintain both order and freedom,
both cohesiveness and liberty apart from the moral precepts of the Christian
Religion. Should our Republic ever
forget this fundamental precept of governance, we will then, be surely
doomed.” I pray it is not too late for
us to avoid this prophetic word from one of our Founding Fathers.
And here is where we find ourselves today:
far-removed from these founding principles.
We, as a whole, do not seek the Bible’s instruction on our laws. We do not formulate our opinions upon that
which we will stand in account for at the final judgment. Instead, we delve into our own feelings and
attempt to impose those onto the populace at large as “rights”.
Jesus told the leadership of the Temple, the
prevailing government of His day that
they had led the people down a path to destruction: “…Your house is left to you desolate!”
(Matthew 23:38) He stated that He had,
on many occasions, attempted to bring them back to Himself… but they “would
not”.
There is a cry rising in our nation, from
amongst the people of God, the Christians, to return to the fundamental
principles those of our First Freedom proposed, fought for, and defended with
their “Lives, Fortunes, and sacred Honor”.
It is a call to repentance and reversal of direction.
Once Jesus has issued His sadly proclaimed
statement of judgment on the people, He proceeds to speak to His disciples of
the “end times”. Whether you are
“pre-trib”, “mid-trib”, or “post-trib” the truths of the end days are upon
us. I will not deal with my feelings on
the issue of when “the Rapture” will
occur at this time. What I will discuss
is how Jesus approached the topic in regards to our service in obeying Him and
serving our fellow man.
Jesus speaks parables to His disciples after
telling them of the signs of the days that will come upon the world. He tells of the servants He leaves to be
responsible for feeding those of the household “in due season”. (Matthew 24:45) When the master returns, if he finds the
servant being mindful of properly distributing the food and making sure there
is plenty for the duration, he will make him a ruler! If, on the other hand, he finds him
carelessly wasting the resources and providing for his own pleasure, he will
cast him out “where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth”. (Matthew
24:48-51)
He tells of the five wise and five foolish
virgins who were to keep their lamps full of oil and burning. While five followed the instructions, five
did not. The careless five allowed other
issues to cloud their focus and they were distracted from remaining vigilant in
their assigned responsibilities.
(Matthew 25:1-13)
I do not believe they intentionally allowed their lamps to run out of fuel, or that they
made a conscious decision to wait until the last second to attempt to find the
necessary oil. They were caught unaware.
Today the Christian Church has fallen into a
state of unawareness. The Believer heard the message presented
repeatedly and persistently from those who badgered the airwaves and societal
influence with the “separation of Church and State”. This phrase is NOT in the United States
Constitution, contrary to what many are led to believe. We were made to believe that our Christian
faith should be maintained in the confines of religious practice in places
of worship. We were distracted by
all the activity around us, and the continual barrage of in-your-face materialism.
Even the Church became obsessed with numbers.
It was not focused on the actual numbers of people truly giving their
hearts to Jesus Christ and accepting Him as their personal Savior; but became
enamored with the total attendance within
any particular structure on a regular basis.
Please know that I realize numbers are important. They represent souls that need to be reached
for an eternal place in Heaven. However,
what is troubling revolves around the way
the Church focused on larger attendances.
In order to reach out to more, the gospel
became watered down in many instances.
The Truth was replaced with a
more seeker friendly message. I remind the Christian of Jesus’ warning that
“not everyone who says to (Him), ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of heaven”.
(Matthew 7:21 NKJV). This is actually
another sign that we are, indeed, living in the last days. The Apostle Paul warned his son-in-Christ
Timothy that in the last days “they will not endure sound doctrine, but
according to their own desires <seeker friendly, anyone?> because they
have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers”. (II Timothy 4:3
NKJV)
This is not a popular message, but one which
the Church MUST hear! We must not be
caught distracted by the intensive assault on our faith and morality, or the
focus on increasing numbers (that is what ‘businesses’ focus on), but on the
proclamation of the truth and teaching others to “observe all things that (He
has) commanded (us)”. (Matthew 28:20)
The very next parable of Jesus similarly spoke
of the need for His followers to be working diligently while they have the
opportunity. He stated that a ruler went
away to a far country and left his workmen with varying amounts of money to
deal with on his behalf. While gone, the
workers utilized the investments in varying degrees of success. Most were able to provide some level of
return, since they had worked to build upon what he had entrusted them with,
except for one. The one gave the excuse
that he hid the money for safe keeping because he was afraid to lose it.
Many in the Christian faith are afraid to
stand up and proclaim the truth of God’s Word.
They are afraid of what might happen to them if they dare to speak out
on God’s behalf. It is not a popular
thing to do in our society. Yet this one
workman in the parable, who hid the funds away, simply waiting for the ruler to
return, received a horrific “reward”.
The money he had been given was taken from him and given to the one who
had received the most return on his investment, and then he was to be “cast
into outer darkness” where, once again Jesus warns, “There will be weeping and
gnashing of teeth”. (Matthew 24:30)
I know…
these are not the messages we want to hear today. I am a crazy “old timer” who doesn’t
understand the “way things are” in today’s society… Unfortunately, however: I DO!
And this is why I speak up. There
is coming a day of judgment, and I fear the Church in general is facing a most
eye-opening experience when they stand before the King of Kings, if they make
it to that judgment.
The Bible warns us that as Christians we will
stand before Jesus and give an account of what we have done. It also warns that the five foolish virgins
did not make it to the marriage supper, but the door was closed and they were
kept out. The servant who hid the funds entrusted to him was “cast into outer
darkness”. I do not know at what point
one may lose their place in God’s Kingdom, but why risk getting there only to
have your works judged as ineffective by the “trial in fire”. (I Corinthians 3:12-13)
It is time for the Christian to arise and
speak out. It is necessary that, if we
are to restore this great nation to the position it once had as a God-fearing
nation, and re-secure the blessings of God and avoid the impending judgment, we
do our part as Believers and call the land to repentance and restitution.
If we are to truly serve our fellow man, it
must be in reaching out to them with the truth of God’s Word. We are to serve in manners of benevolence,
but the essential assistance to the rich and poor must be to help them see the
coming judgment of souls. The place they
will spend eternity is the critical fact of their lives.
Regardless of their “feelings”, though we are
to be “wise as serpents and gentle as doves” (Matthew 10:16), we must confront
them with the fact that they must come face to face with the choice of
salvation through Jesus Christ.
Lifestyles, choices and habits which are disobedient to the Word of God
cause separation from Him and the eternal “death” of existence in a dark and
miserable lake of fire.
The time has come to sound the clarion cry of
truth to a lost and needy nation. It is
time to challenge the accepted immoral morality of the present age. The Bible, in all its fullness, must be
taught to those wishing not to hear it so that we may lead some to follow the
life that Jesus commanded.
May God bless you as you find your place in
this effort. May He show you the path
you are to walk, and give you strength to do so.
My next post will deal with the message of
Christ that follows: John chapters
twelve through seventeen. I may have to
break that one up into two posts as well, but we will see. Until then, blessings upon you and yours.
In His Service,
Rex Louth
Author, God
Shed His Grace On Thee (2013) Westbow Press
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