The Problem with America

This is a continuation of the prior post. Sounds kind of like a broad subject area, wouldn't you say? Well, not really. You see, most of the 'problems' in our country are really symptoms and consequences, not causes. There is but one primary cause, with several sub-causes...one of which I will consider.

The root of America's problems is, simply, covenantal unfaithfulness in the church by the ministers and, consequently, the laity: "...if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." (II Chron 7:14) We have abandoned God in the public sector, for sure, but worse, we have abandoned our first love in the church.

Pastors, even many of the evangelical ones, don't preach (and some don't believe) that the Scriptures both Old and New are the absolute truth and therefore relevant. Many don't even believe in 'absolute' truth at all. And certainly, most do not preach God's sovereignty over His entire creation (every cubic centimeter), the totality of Jesus' lordship, and our need to repent of sin and eat of the Lord's Supper on a frequent (I would argue for weekly) basis. Pastors (and elders) have allowed our worship to become flippant, syrupy and altogether unbiblical. And not surprising, unfaithful preaching has led to unfaithful shepherding and unfaithful following, as well. That leads to point number two.

Fathers have abandoned their various responsibilities as faithful heads of their households. As an example in Ephesians 6, Paul gives fathers both a negative and a positive command: 'do not provoke' and 'bring them up'. Many children are provoked to wrath because they do not see their fathers living out what they say. A thankful, humble, and repentant lifestyle is not in evidence. Further, children are taught one thing at home (and the same in church presumably) and the total opposite in government schools (ie. creation vs evolution). That is why so many church-going, young people either temporarily park or totally abandon their faith on the side of the road when they go through college. Some recover it, by God's grace...most do not. I have heard many a testimony of a high school or college student start with the phrase, "I grew up in a Christian home, BUT..."

When the ministers in the church do their job according to the Scriptures, and the ministers in the homes (fathers) do likewise, we will see a remarkable reformation in the church and consequential transformation in the culture that our faithful forefathers fought and died for.