A Shining City on a Hill

As our former President Ronald Reagan said, "America is a shining city on a hill." But yet, I must differ with him on this point, at least a little bit, as much as I hate to. America was once that shining city set on a hill, and this was so good, largely, at least a lot more of the time than it now is, regrettably. Sure we still do a lot of good in the world, but I feel that we also undo the good that we do. And so we must ask ourselves, do we actually break even in all of our efforts today? Let me explain.
I believe that America's goodness was built upon the foundation of a purer theology that adhered more strictly to the guidelines of Scripture fact and content and did not pass beyond that boundary line into the areas of theory and conjecture that we now see so significantly predominating many peoples' minds in the churches of this day. And this was brought to light as a result of the great Protestant Reformation of the 1500's. There was much less room for such indulgences in empty human speculation, invention, and tradition in our earlier days, and as a result more of the pure Gospel light permeated American culture, in its churches, society, and its laws.
I wouldn't say that our nation had total sight, for very little seemed to be pursued in the entire area of our Lord's new covenant in the Protestant Reformation, regrettably, though the Westminster divines had very great intelligence and wisdom, and recognized many wonderful doctrines that shed a broad light for Christ across the land. I will address these later on at some point, but for now my major concern must rest with my Lord's new covenant, for it is so very badly needed., since it has been so greatly neglected. The lack of information about it has caused much mischief, hardship, and even calamity today in our most holy faith, and in the world. When the true doctrines of the faith are ignored and neglected, it follows along that people suffer as a result. Sadly, this is just as true today as at any earlier time of the dark ages. But we have the Scriptures readily available today, so what is our excuse?
There was a time when the church knew of the doctrines of God's grace and adhered to them. In these, one thing we recognized, that all men are sinners, totally depraved, just as the sacred Scriptures explain.
Americans also believed that" all men are created equal, and that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Though sadly, it seems they still saw "through a glass darkly" (I Co. 13:12), and failed most miserably to apply it to everyone, for this would have been the Christian thing to do, and also the decent and lawful thing to do.
One foundational Bible fact that the opening sentence of the Declaration of Independence, referred to above, exemplified in human form is found in Romans 2:11. There we read that "there is no respect of persons with God." All are equal (see also Acts 10:34-35), and all are equally born in sin, and lost, except they come to Christ, who justifies the lost "by faith" in Christ (Ro. 3:28, 5:1), who imputes his righteousness to them. Thus we see the Scriptures declaring the rights of all men. We are all in the same fallen condition, until God's grace enters our lives and redeems us out of our fallen state, and lifts us upward on the first leg of our heavenly journey. It is Christ's Holy Spirit who quickens us to accept God's grace and salvation. Without him none would come if left completely to ourselves. We just don't have it in us to come, for we are all totally depraved, just as the Scriptures teach.
And so also, when it comes to Jew and gentile, Christ tore down the middle wall of partition that separated us. "He abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; and that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: and came and preached peace…" (Eph. 2:14-17).
Here is peace for the Jew among the gentiles, and peace for the black man among the whites. Peace for the Palestinians in the Middle East, and true equality, with life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for them also. But we must be very careful here to be sure that this is really being offered to them, and that they are not being treated in something lesser than a first class way, for there are very real signs that this is what is actually happening.
Do American Christians care today? American Christians need to make sure that all people are treated fairly and equally, and not play favorites with only a handful. God has not given us any command at all in Scripture to play favorites, for God does not do so, just as we have seen in the Scriptures above. So, too, Christian doctrine ought to be consistent with these Scripture guidelines, and not contradict them. Christian doctrine should compel believers to be respectful to all peoples on the earth, for Christ died for all. When it claims special favored status for the Jew over the Palestinian, for whatever reason, then it is not following the mandates of Christ's new covenant. Certain modern American Christian ideas, or "doctrine", have espoused an unequal treatment of some who never deserved it, and so America has a very serious problem today at the very core of its belief system.
It is hard to get the attention of a group of people who insist that they are right, even though they are in serious violation of the very foundations of God's wonderful better credential of the new covenant, and our very own wonderful documents of freedom and rights. When all that they care to see is the erroneous idea of glorious earthly kingdom over any of the truer ideas brought forth in Christ's new covenant, then it becomes a really serious problem! When an indigenous people must give way, and maybe even be annihilated in order for another people to reestablish their old cancelled law system and set up their glorious earthly kingdom in place of the heavenly prescribed in sacred Scripture, modern Christianity has run amuck!
All people need mental peace and space to make up their own minds about the things that God has laid before them. They need to hear the Good News of Christ and his Gospel of love and peace. And they need the godly counsel of the straight and narrow way that contains the credential of Christ's new covenant, so that they can grow in his grace and enter into his heavenly Kingdom some day. What they don't need is to be placed theologically on a side rail waiting for the next train to come along to proceed forward into some other earthly destination. There is no benefit in such a message. The beneficial message supreme is in the glorious new covenant that is filled to overflowing with his rich blessings. This alien message is wrought with calamity from start to finish! People don't need an extension of the old covenant, and this is what we have in many of today's churches!
Do American Christians really believe in the opening sentence of our Declaration of Independence, but maybe for just a certain few that they favor, and not for others who stand in the way of what they want and are pushing for? This is the danger of the premillenial mindset. And it is misguided, because it is outside of Christ's new covenant. It is outside the boundary lines that God has set in place to provide for his people, and to keep them safely on the straight and narrow way.
In Heb. 8:13 we read, "In that he saith, a new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away."
The shadows and rules of the old covenant have indeed been cancelled. They have all been replaced by the new covenant. This is extremely important information, and we need to pay closer attention to it than we have in the past, for the new covenant has been seriously neglected. This has created great confusion and problems that would not have been, had the church down through the years been diligent to learn of it and to apply it to the church's teaching. I'm sure the apostles would have agreed, for they diligently labored to impress it on our minds. But we read right over it anyway!
It does not have to be that way any longer. We can see clearly now, if we have the will to.
The way of Christ's new covenant has been laid out for you. I especially wrote my book, There Is A Kingdom, to expedite anyone's progress into the place of God's richest blessings. There one can discover God's new way that is so beneficial and rewarding for any whose hearts are waiting on him for their help. There they will not be disappointed!
Pick up your copy today on Amazon.com in the Christian books department, and settle in for a truly happy journey that leads upward to Heaven.