Exceptional

I recently read the following quote. I don’t know who said it, but I thought it fit today’s lesson, which I have entitled “Exceptional.” Here's the quote:

"It is, I think, pertinent to recall that the achievement of the Christians of the first century was due to the fact that their faith was so exceptional as triumphantly to outbalance their numerical insignificance."

Do you realize that you are exceptional if you are a faithful follower of Jesus? You may not suddenly be smarter or externally prettier when you plunge into discipleship. You are an exception to the rule. There is a wide gate leading to destruction, which many enter. Then there is your narrow (or difficult) gate that leads to life through which the exceptional few go (Matthew 7:13-14). Listen to Jesus’s statement about the extraordinary in Matthew 7:21-22 (NKJV):

21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

America began as a Christian nation. I know that is not a politically correct statement, but it is true. In the 1892 Supreme Court “Church of the Holy Trinity v. United States” decision, the Court declared America to connect with Christianity. Because America had a Christian foundation, it became an exceptional nation. Listen to Justice Brewer’s remarks:

"This is a religious people. . . 'Christianity, general Christianity, is, and always has been, a part of the common law ... not Christianity with an established church ... but Christianity with liberty of conscience to all men.'

Being an exceptional nation does not mean that America is more significant than others. Instead, it means America has been the exception to the rule. Most countries were under totalitarian monarchial control, but America is self-ruling under God by the rule of law in our Constitution.

In America, churches were exceptional. The government did not persecute churches but protected their right to serve God according to the dictates of their consciences. The governments of other countries punished those churches which stepped out of line with acceptable governmentally-controlled doctrines. The Pilgrims’ stories in England and the Spanish Inquisition are just two examples.

The first amendment to the Constitution keeps the government out of the business of churches and does not keep church members out of the government's business. The "wall of separation of church and state" goes one way, and Christian involvement in government is another exceptional example of America.

American Christians have the right (and responsibility) to be active in our government. People often want to compare us to our Roman counterparts in the first century, but we are different from our brethren under the Roman Empire, who had no say. The Romans were tolerant of religions like Judaism that predated the Roman Empire. For a time, the Romans viewed Christianity as a branch of Judaism; however, when the break came, the Romans saw Christianity as a new religion and demanded Caesar's worship or persecution. American Christians have enjoyed religious freedom from governmental interference and persecution since it was founded by and for Christians. We were the exception to the rule.

Things have changed when we consider governmental interference in our lives on every level. Think back to the COVID “PLAN-demic” and the mandates inflicted on the people. The government forced the lockdown of churches, wearing facemasks, social isolation, and, when possible, COVID injections. Instead of rolling over, Christians should have assumed their rightful place of being in charge of our government. We are not Roman Christians brought into an established dictatorship; we are free Christians in a biblically-based nation.

One other area of exception for America has been that of our prosperity. So many people have come to America for the “American Dream” of prosperity. Let’s read from Deuteronomy 28:1-2; 9-14 (NKJV) and look at why God blessed Israel with an application to America.

“Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the LORD your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. 2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God: [List of Blessings]

9 “The LORD will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in His ways. 10 Then all peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they shall be afraid of you. 11 And the LORD will grant you plenty of goods, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your ground, in the land of which the LORD swore to your fathers to give you. 12 The LORD will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. 13 And the LORD will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them. 14 So you shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right or the left, to go after other gods to serve them.