Are we a Christian Nation?

Are we a Christian Nation?

well, first we have to decide what that means.

A Christian Nation would be a nation that behaves Christianly.

What does Jesus instruct his disciples to do?

John 14:15 ““If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”

So a Christian nation would be a nation that obeys Jesus.

so are we a Christian nation? that answer would be obvious - no.

so what kind of nation are we?

well, assess the times. look out in the world. are we purely secular with no religious influence of any type?

there are lots of religions vying for influence in our public spheres, most recently the religion of LGBT

it’s a religion - how? - it has a purely faith based belief system.

“you aren’t really a boy”

well. the evidence would say otherwise.

or “you were made this way” or “born this way”

that’s a creation mandate. who/what determined the way in which I would be born? chance fates?

so there is obviously a fight for influence in the realms of faith.

How did we get here?

well, I think Christians got duped.

we got duped into thinking that we could just be a secularized nation, with no real ramifications.

That all our civil spheres would be neutral. Everybody would have a seat at the table, and we’d leave our faith values at the door when we walked in.

but that’s impossible.

your faith, your core beliefs, influence everything you do. And if you believe them to be true, you fight for them.

the pagans understood the assignment and have been running laps around the Christians for the last 100 years or so.

ill. - I recently got the chance to go to the state capitol to witness the veto-override session.

I talked with one conservative rep who separated his Christian faith from his job as a representative.

when we pressed him on certain issues he commented that at the end of the day “he would vote for what was best for the people”

I saw some progressives in the room that were militant, however. They had no issue pressing forward their ideals and agendas into legislation.

I think that’s a snapshot that’ll help us understand.

It’s called by many - the myth of neutrality.

there is no neutral. there is an agenda being advanced. someone’s core beliefs are being pushed down the pipe. The question should be - are you advancing the cause of Christ? or not?

But preacher - should we be a Christian nation?

well go back to Matt 28.

Matt 28:18-19 “And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,”

The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition Chapter 28

πορευθέντες οὖν μαθητεύσατε πάντα τὰ ἔθνη

some folks get into trouble with “make disciples of all nations”

I want to make this super clear.

it doesn’t say “make some disciples from all the nations”

it doesn’t say “take disciples out of all the nations”

it says “make disciples of all nations”

the KJV rings this a little better. “teach all nations”

the goal here being that we should instruct all people to follow jesus. Disciple all people. Disciple the nations.

Jesus says ALL AUTHORITY IS MINE therefore DO THIS TASK

Now does that mean that we just roll into Madagascar and command everybody to get baptized?

no. we’re teaching them what it means to follow Jesus. And those who convert, do the same, and that continues until eventually we have a nation that… by and large… follows Jesus.

But pastor that didn’t work in the west!

remember - sawtooth history - ups and downs.