Understanding the Identity of America

Welcome

Good morning!

It is a blessing to gather with each of you this morning to worship God.

And to gather here this morning, following such a monumental day in our Nation’s history is a tremendous blessing to not only be alive but to still live here in America.

250 years of Independence. Two and a half centuries after the signing of our Declaration of Independence.

Frankly, it seems like such a short time in the context of biblical history.

We enjoy freedoms that millions of people around the world only dream of and yet, many in our nation take it for granted and work selfishly and sinfully to turn us further away from God and biblical truth.

Opening Prayer

Let us go now to our Heavenly Father in prayer before we go any further this morning, as there is more that I would like to share regarding our Nation and its founding.

Heavenly Father, thank you for this day and for our freedom to gather and worship You on this Sunday, the day after America’s 250th year of Independence as a Nation.

You have called Americans to worship You in freedom, in and through Christ and God’s Spirit. It is only because of You that we are called into Your family and to live in the freest and most prosperous Nation in the world.

May we never take that privilege for granted.

May we always remember the heavy price it took to gain our freedom in Christ and our form of government and freedom in America.

And may we use our freedom to offer thanksgiving to You and sacrificial love to others.

We know that You are working all things for good for those who love You, whom You have called according to Your purpose.

Help us to believe that, no matter what we are going through, personally, as a family, as a church, and as a Nation.

Thank You for loving and choosing us, and for giving us freedom in Christ and eternal life, and the freedom we have here on earth in our temporary home of America.

In Your Name we pray, Lord Jesus. Amen.

Call to Worship

For our call to worship this morning, our reading is from Galatians 5:13, 16

In the NASB we read:

Galatians 5:13 “For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.”

Galatians 5:16 “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.”

The Greek word for “opportunity” was often used to refer to a central base of military operations.

In this context, flesh refers to the sinful inclinations of fallen man.

The freedom Christians have is not a base from which they can sin freely and without consequence.

Our Christian freedom is not for selfish fulfillment either, but for serving others.

In order to serve others well, we must love God and love one another, in Spirit and in Truth.

And believe it or not, this service pertains to our politics here in America.

That is right, Christians, especially Pastors, speaking to and involved in American politics.

And I believe that many of you, like me, will be surprised when you better understand Americas founding and history.

America 250

Recently I learned of William J. Federer who is a Christian nationally known speaker, best-selling author, and president of a publishing company dedicated to researching America’s noble heritage.

In one of his presentations, he outlines the biblical example that no other nation has tried except for America, when it comes to creating its form of Government.

The model comes from the Jewish Nation who lasted 400 years without a king until they complained and pleaded for one, which became King Saul.

And remember that the King of England had the largest Kingdom on earth, a concentrated power of a globalist Monarch.

But our forefathers, the founders of America experimented with separating the power of government as outlined in our Constitution.

This power was separated into:

3 Branches of government (Executive, Legislative, and Judicial)

Federal and State, and

Amendments, which are really 10 handcuffs of government to prevent taking more power away from the people.

But more than this, they took concentrated power and separated it amongst the people. Rather than top down, ruled by a King it becomes a bottom up form of government and power, which Federer likens to that of a a tree: which has roots and sucks up nutrients to keep the tree alive.

Therefore in America, our government is rooted in the power of its people; lots of people who rule themselves...Government of the people, by the people, for the people.

So where did the founders get their ideas?

Federer explains, their ideas ultimately came from ancient Israel.

Ancient Israel is the first notable instance in history of millions of people with NO KING.

Around 1400 BC, millions of Israelites left Egypt and for 400 years there was no king.

Anyone could rise up into leadership for such a time and place.

We’ll get back to this later, but I would like to share some more current thoughts regarding our celebration of 250 years of Independence.

Tony Perkins

Consider what Tony Perkins, president of Family Research Council, recently wrote of our opportunity not merely to commemorate the history of our nation but to recover it.

Perkins encourages us to rediscover the biblical foundations that shaped our nation and strengthen the shared identity that has been slipping away from our Nation and her citizens.

Perkins writes:

“The Bible is not merely a religious text but one of the foundational documents of American civilization. To understand America, one must understand the Bible.

And when that understanding is lost, we lose not only part of our history but part of our identity.”

We are indeed facing an identity crisis in America. I think most of us would agree.

Perkins also writes of what Samuel Huntington warned in His book titled “Who Are We?” which basically “… argues that a nation cannot remain united without a common culture, a common history, and a common understanding of itself.

Remove those foundations, and a society inevitably fragments into competing tribes, interests, and identities ...

Huntington ‘... argued that America’s political institutions and civic ideals did not arise in a vacuum but were rooted in a culture shaped by Protestant Christianity.’

The Founding Fathers were immersed in biblical imagery. Benjamin Franklin famously proposed a national seal depicting Moses at the Red Sea.

The Israelites’ exodus taught lessons about liberty, tyranny, divine providence, and national purpose.

The Bible shaped how Americans understood freedom, law, covenant, human dignity, and self-government.

Even those who were not orthodox Christians were influenced by the biblical worldview that permeated colonial America.

But what happens when that biblical literacy disappears?

A nation that forgets its story loses its identity. And when people lose their identity, they become fragmented. That is precisely what Huntington warned about.

Americans increasingly identify themselves by race, class, political ideology, or special interest rather than by a common national story.

The consequences of this loss of historical memory extend beyond America’s understanding of itself.

They also affect America’s understanding of one of the most important sources of its cultural inheritance: The Jewish people and the biblical story of Israel.

America’s affinity for the Jewish people did not begin with the modern State of Israel.

For generations, Americans viewed Jewish history through the lens of Scripture and found in Israel’s story lessons about liberty, covenant, and national purpose.

As biblical literacy declines, Israel is increasingly viewed only through a contemporary [or modern] political lens, ignoring its biblical and historical foundations.

Tony Perkins lays this out so clearly and yet so urgently warns us all, especially Christians.

Robert Jeffress

It is exciting to consider, as Pastor Robert Jeffress points out, that the traditional motto of the United States of America is Pluribus Unum, meaning “Out of many, one.”

This motto conveys the necessity of unity, which was eventually accomplished across the original 13 colonies and led to a Constitution that has become the envy of the world.

However, since the motto of E Pluribus Unum first appeared on the Great Seal of the United States of America, Americans today, with the exception of the time during the civil war, have never been more divided.

In his book titled Praying for America: 40 Inspiring Stories and Prayers for Our Nation, Pastor Jeffress expands on the aforementioned text, by writing:

Today our nation seems to be closer to the motto... “out of one, many.”

He continues, and I’ll read directly from his book:

page vii.-viii.

END READING

And I’ll echo what Pastor Jeffress says in his book:

We must heed the wisdom of America’s official national motto:

In God We Trust.

Moreover, we need to advocate for just laws, vote for ethical politicians which will uphold the Constitution, defend the rights of the unborn, and guard our families from moral corruption.

But to do these things without asking God to attend to our work is foolish, because it cuts us off from the greatest power in the universe.

Worship in Song

Now, before we go any further, let us all stand to our feet and Worship God in Song this morning.

So much has changed and continues to change in America and around the world but one thing is true, our God is alive and eternal, all powerful, and without a doubt unchanging, faithful and unfailing!

More now than ever, we need the help of God’s Spirit to see Christ and the glory of our King in our lives, and across America and the world.

He is our hope and our light!

Our first song is titled:

“Help Us See Christ” by Sovereign Grace Music (3:58).

For our next song which is performed by Danny Gokey, and you may be seated.

This song is titled:

“My America” (4:14)

Our nation was built for a moral and religious society, rooted in Biblical truths; not entirely or perfectly.

But without morality and acknowledgment and reverence to God, the risk is extremely high in terms of our turning away form God and losing our freedom to worship Christ, assemble, and influence our national culture for good and for Christ’s sake.

When we become more and more immoral and irreligious, and more disobedient to God and His Word, less active in biblically influencing our culture, we will struggle to be a land of life, liberty, and happiness which ultimately comes from our Creator, our spiritual joy that can only ever, rightly, and truthfully, and freely come from Him.

What can happen to our Nation?

Much more evil and wickedness.

A hunger for power and control, and in our immorality and irreligious actions as a society many will become unrestrained champions for death.

Persecution of Christians will increase.

Many seeing no value in any ones life, much like we saw recently when Charlie Kirk was murdered for openly and peacefully discussing his views and Christian beliefs.

Sermon

As we transition to our teaching this morning, we are taking a detour away from the Book of Genesis. But we will come back to this book in the near future.

However, with this 250 year celebration of America’s independence, as well as the chaos and confusion when it comes to not only our American identity but especially our Christian identity, I believe this detour is timely and necessary.

I have titled our sermon, which we will cover for the remaining weeks in July:

“Understanding the Identity of America, the Church and Christians.”

I’d like for us to get back to William Federer’s teaching on America’s experiment that worked and has set the modern example for national government.

And remember we can trace our system of government, a Republic, back to the roots of the Jewish people.

Also, we must understand that literacy was necessary, as everyone was taught the Hebrew Law, beginning in their youth and was passed on through the teaching of one generation to the next.

We see this in Deuteronomy 4:9 “Only give heed to yourself and keep your soul diligently, so that you do not forget the things which your eyes have seen and they do not depart from your heart all the days of your life; but make them known to your sons and your grandsons.”

So think of it from this perspective, Ancient Israel was the first literate people in terms of how to act; their behavior if you will.

Okay, so we know the law, but what would motivate people to follow the law.

Kings of course could force and punish people to follow the law of the land, but in the case of the Jewish people, they had a God, the true God.

A God they learned:

Is watching everyone

He wants you to be fair, and

He will hold you accountable in the future.

And because of this eternal and all knowing God, and holding you accountable for your wrongs, your conscience grows and you question if what you are doing is right or wrong.

Federer explains:

“If everyone believes this you can maintain order with no King.”

And consider the grace and mercy here, God knowing they would sin and feel guilty about it, instituted the law of atonement for the Israelites sins, which would enable them to start a new year with a clean slate.

We read in Leviticus 16:34 “Now you shall have this as a permanent statute, to make atonement for the sons of Israel for all their sins once every year.” And just as the Lord had commanded Moses, so he did.”

And this foreshadows exactly what Christ would come to earth to be and do, in the form of man, becoming the sacrifice, the atonement for our sins. Not just for a year but for our whole lives and eternity.

Praise Jesus!

Back to America, so we see our founders experimenting with an entirely new way of government, much like a covenant between the people....rooted in real biblical history, from the drawn from the narrative of ancient Israel.

Basically, our rights come from God and we are held accountable to God, and through these rights and accountability we voluntarily choose to care for our neighbors.

But then the Hebrews, especially the Levitical priests went, what Federer describes as “woke” and stopped teaching what was right in the Lords eyes and allowed people to do whatever they wanted.

Sound familiar? Many have gone woke in America too.

Our government has gone woke in many ways in the 20th and 21st century.

And by the time we get to Judges 17:6 we read “In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes.”

Judges 21:25 “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”

Then the people go to Samuel the Prophet and complain that this self-government isn't working and we need a King.

And we read in 1 Samuel 8:7 “The Lord said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them.”

Israel had rejected the sovereign rule and absolute power of their God.

So what does this have to do with America?

Federer brilliantly explains that the King of England looked to the Bible after King Saul for their knowledge of rule and government.

And America’s founders looked to the time before King Saul.

Amazing isn’t it. I bet you won’t here this in our public schools or see this in a textbook if they even still have these anymore.

So in America, our nation was birthed out of biblical truth and the understanding of God and living a life freely, out from under a King, with a conscience to choose and serve God, loving Him and one another in a covenant relationship.

But not perfectly of course and we know that there are sheep's and goats, those who are saved and those who are not. Those filled with the Spirit of God and those who are not.

And we’ll pause here for today on our teaching from William Federer. But we will revisit his insight over the coming weeks.

Matthew 25

However, I would like to press on and jump into Matthew 25.

Turn with me in your Biles to Matthew 25:31-46

Let us hear Christ's words in Matthew 25, verses 31-46 as He speaks to the judgement of the nations.

Keep in mind before we begin our reading that the judgment described here in verses 32–46 is different from the Great White Throne judgment of Revelation 20:11–15.

This judgment here precedes Christ’s millennial reign, and the subjects seem to be only those who are alive on earth at His coming.

This judgment is sometimes referred to as the judgment of the nations, but Jesus’ verdicts address individuals in the nations, not the nations as a whole as we’ll see in verse 46.

Moreover, this occurs after the tribulation, the Lord Jesus will sit in judgment over the Gentile nations. They will be judged according to their treatment of what appears to be believers but some include the treatment of Israel during the tribulation.

This judgment is also called the judgment of the sheep and the goats because of the imagery Jesus uses in the Olivet Discourse.

Those who showed faith in God by treating believers and possibly Israel favorably (giving them aid and comfort during the tribulation) are the “sheep” who will enter into the Millennial Kingdom.

Those who followed the Antichrist’s lead and persecuted believers and possibly Israel are the “goats” who will be consigned to hell.

We’ll begin in verse 31:

31 “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. 32 “All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; 33 and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. 34 “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

35 ‘For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ 37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 38 ‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 39 ‘When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 “The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’ 41 “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; 43 I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ 44 “Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’ 45 “Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46 “These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Now Sheep here in this passage symbolize believers, as Christ is our Chief Shepherd over all the church.

They, meaning we as believers, receive the place at “His right hand,” the place of favor.

Who are the goats then? These represent unbelievers, consigned to the place of dishonor and rejection.

As sheep our salvation is a gracious gift of God, not something merited by the deeds described in verses 35 and 36.

Who then are the least of these brethren in verse 40?

This phrase refers in particular to other disciples. Some would apply this to national Israel as I mentioned, others to needy people in general.

But here Christ is specifically commending “those on His right” which we see in v. 34 for the way they received His emissaries; Christ’s disciples sent on mission for Him.

In our culture today, we have become a seeker sensitive culture in the church and in many ways sacrifice our own faith and our own brothers and sisters in Christ for the sake of worldliness and caring for many, what Christ refers to as goats in the world.

We saw this in our own Nation with open boarders, favoring and supporting criminals and illegal immigrants over our own law abiding citizens, changing our laws, many of which are championed by democrats and believe it or not, men and women in the church, who vote for these far left-liberals.

Politicians who have spearheaded:

redefining marriage to include gay couples,

redefining what a man and women are

allowing the mutilation of children’s private body parts to supporta lie and deception in becoming a different gender

legalizing the killing of the unborn and profiting from it,

allowing gay couples to adopt children

allowing men to play in women’s sports

allowing children born to foreigners who are temporarily visiting the US to automatically become US citizens

Allowing anyone to come freely across our borders

allowing the releasing of criminals back on to the street to continue their crime sprees,

allowing for stealing, rioting and destroying property,

And on and on an on...a party of wickedness, not righteousness.

The church is responsible for its own and yes, we can and should care for people in society and to do good things for them but not at the cost of our own faith, families, and service to one another and our own responsibilities.

We read in 1 Timothy 5:8 “But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”

Post

I recently shared a message and a close brother responded to me, saying if your intent was to help spur those people to your thinking as in the previous paragraphs, then your last paragraph has the opposite effect.

Here is what I said, which I tweaked slightly to include myself and changed my tone a bit from “get out” to “step down.”

This is what I wrote:

We are called by our High Priest, Jesus Christ, to make a difference in this world, to be the salt that preserves truth and righteousness in our families, our churches, our government, and in the land we live.

And here is where the debate comes in, I continued in my writing, closing with:

If, as Pastors, we cannot and will not do this, then we, for Christ's sake, must step down and stay silent for the love of God and our fellow neighbors in the land we temporarily call home, the United States of America.

Folks, I wholeheartedly believe this and expect you to hold me to this same standard as well.

My challenge was and still is this:

May we, as Pastors and all Christians (saints and ministers) across America, reevaluate if we are:

1. A sheep or a goat

2. A servant of the Chief Shepherd or enslaved to the devil

3. A literate or an illiterate dual citizen of heaven and America

4. A biblical truth teacher or a false teacher

5. A protector and proclaimer of God's word or man's word

6. A supporter of life and righteousness or a supporter of death and evil, and

7. A godly influencer or a wicked liar and deceiver in America

Therefore I encourage all of us to choose this day, in the power of God’s Spirit, to think and act like:

1. Sheep

2. Servants of the Chief Shepherd

3. Literate or educated and knowledgeable citizens of Heaven and America; biblical truth and Americas true history.

4. Biblical truth teachers

5. Protectors and proclaimers of God's Word

6. Supporters of life and righteousness

7. Godly influencers in America

Consider the small book of Jude.

And keep in mind that Jude lived at a time when Christianity was under severe political attack from Rome and aggressive spiritual infiltration from gnostic like apostates and immoral and irresponsible men who sowed abundant seed for a gigantic harvest of doctrinal error.

Thus, Jude called the church to fight for the truth in the midst of intense spiritual warfare.

Jude is the only NT book devoted exclusively to confronting “apostasy,” meaning defection from the true, biblical faith.

He wrote to condemn the apostates and to urge believers to contend for the faith. He called for discernment on the part of the church and a rigorous defense of biblical truth.

In the Letter of Jude, we are warned in:

Jude 3–4 “Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.

For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”

And Jude 16 “These are grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts; they speak arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage.”

Jude speaks in verse 4 of certain persons who crept in unnoticed. These were infiltrating, false teachers pretending to be true, who on the surface looked like the real thing, but whose intentions were to lead God’s people astray.

We also see in v. 16 grumblers, finding fault, not in terms of judging one another in Spirit and Truth, but murmurings of Israel against God and complaining and venting of dissatisfaction to God’s will and way.

Likewise, Apostates are especially driven by a desire for sinful self-satisfaction.

They speak arrogantly, pompously, and even magnificently, but with empty, lifeless words of no spiritual value.

Their message has external attractiveness, but is void of the powerful substance of divine truth.

For example, flattering people. They tell people what they want to hear for their own profit rather than proclaiming the truth of God’s Word for the hearers benefit.

Sound like Joel Olsten and many other prosperity and new age pastors, both men an women.?

As we read in Matthew 25, the judgement is real and the judgement is eternal, we want to be sure for ourselves and to encourage and edify those around us to be sure of their salvation as well.

Likewise, we must be careful with our own proximity to sin that can so easily and quickly enslave us and our loved ones.

I would argue that most of us, if we take a hard look into our lives are borderline, if not mostly, for example:

Illiterate and uneducated when it comes to America’s history, because the media and modern government leadership, our education system, and social media has misinformed us and we have allowed it to penetrate our minds and hearts.

Partnered with and allowed false teachers to speak into our lives, and frankly, on many occasions, we are probably not even aware that we are, as we scroll Facebook and YouTube or other social media platforms, the books we read, and many other sources of media and frankly, even the elders and pastors we listen to, as well as much of the modern Christian worship music that entertains us.

And living like Goats on occasion or often. We may not be goats but from the outside and especially when alone, we act like one. Living a life of hypocrisy and enslaving sin; Going along to get along with the world and those who live in it. And frankly, we must consider that some pastors and ministry leaders and those in local churches may not be saved at all.

I do not raise these questions or concerns to speak ill of anyone but to warn us all of our tendency to fall into the ways of the world so easily and quickly and rely on the wrong people and organizations for our biblical truth and our American history and current state of the union.

As well as our responsibilities to influence the American culture.

And frankly, there are so many lies and misinterpretations of separation of church and state, along with ignorance or the outright refusal of Pastors to speak to the politics and governmental and societal issues across our nation.

Or worse, they choose the wrong side to be on and advocate for the wrong candidates when it comes to Christian theology and biblical values.

The primary reason we planted Formed For Christ, a non-denominational church is for this very reason, as we stand firm on Biblical truth and believe wholeheartedly Jesus Christ is our Chief Shepherd and Priest and no other man needs to come between our local church and Christ.

Not allowing any man or organization to dictate to us what we can and cannot do, what can and cannot say, what we preach and teach on, not only from a biblical teaching perspective, but national (American) and global issues.

We teach from the Bible and speak and adhere to, and encourage others to abide by the the laws of our Nation, as long as they don’t go against God’s word.

The Bible speaks very clearly about the relationship between the believer and the government.

We are to obey governmental authorities, and the government is to treat us justly and fairly.

Even when the government does not live up to its role, however, we are still to live up to ours.

When the government asks us to do something that is in direct disobedience to God’s Word, we are to disobey the government in faithful confidence of the Lord’s power to protect us.

This can be terrifying and yet, we must trust in our God and Jesus Christ to get us through and to the other side of our earthly trials and sufferings, and one day, into eternal life.

Also, consider that whether the Bible uses the terms “master,” “ruler,” “government,” or any other name for an established authority, the instruction is always the same – obey.

Unless of course it goes against God’s Word.

Pray

Let us pray.

Heavenly Father, Thank you for being in control of the universe, including the United States and our elections.

And thank you for giving us a say in who represents us in our government.

Help us to fulfill that responsibility faithfully by voting in elections.

Whenever we are tempted to worry about the future of our nation, remind us of Your great love and provision.

Forgive us when we give into anxious thoughts instead of trusting You to work out Your purpose in America.

May Your perfect will be done in all our elections.

May the political candidates seek after You and Your wisdom.

Bring revival to America before Your Son’s return.

Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

In Jesus’ Name.

Amen

Have a good and godly week in Christ everybody.