“Two Laws That Changed America”
October 7, 2012
2 Timothy 3:1-5
“You should know this, Timothy that in the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that.”
We live in the most exciting time in history! We are living in the very end of the age. We have the privilege of seeing the bible come alive. It would be pretty scary – but I have read the end of the book. We will be okay – at least those of us who continue to walk faithfully with the Lord. But the Scripture is clear. We live in very difficult; very perilous time.
We who live in America are doubly blessed. We live in such wealth and luxury compared to the rest of the world. We live in safety with the best healthcare and education and government in history. But things are changing. People are changing. Does anyone not think that the people described in our Scripture are in our world and in our society today? Look at them again.
“Loves of self (selfish); lovers of money; boastful and proud; scoffing at God; disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly.”
This could be a modern day writer writing about our people today. These are the character traits of our society. And the character of the people in a society changes society. This morning I want to talk about two historical moments in my lifetime that has changed our country and literally is changing the world. There may be more defining moments – but to me, these are the greatest destructive things to happen to our country in my lifetime.
The most important happened in 1963. In 1963, Madalyn Murray O'Hair won a lawsuit against the Baltimore School System, which voted in her favor 8-1 to ban school prayer and label it "unconstitutional". In two landmark decisions, Engel v. Vitale (1962) and Abington School District v. Schempp (1963), the US Supreme Court established what is now the current prohibition on state-sponsored prayer in schools. While the Engel decision held that the praying of an official state-school prayer stood in violation of the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause (thus overruling the New York Courts’ decisions), Abington held that Bible readings and other (state) school-sponsored religious activities were prohibited.
I was reading a rebuttal of an atheist to this and his position was that there is no law prohibiting prayer in school. Anyone can pray anytime they want and no one even needs to know. And that is true. What the problem is that when we as a society prohibited collective or official prayer out of a Judea-Christian culture that our forefather founded – the results went deep and long. When I was a boy we had a “canned” morning prayer. The inference of that prayer; the unspoken lessons were – 1. There is a God. 2. If there is a God, He cares about what we do. 3. If there is a God – then there is right and wrong. 4. If there is a God who determines what is right and wrong – then we will have to answer for our actions one day.
I’m sure there is more to it than that – but those are a few simple things that were obvious to me. Today, the kids are not taught about God; they can’t pray as a group; they are left in confusion about moral values; and the bottom line is that our schools teach, at least by inference, that there is no right and wrong and you can do anything you want to or think you can get away with. So let’s see what the result of that mind set is. Let’s see the fruit that taking prayer out of school produced.
(Power Point on taking prayer out of school)
Choices have consequences. The day we took prayer out of school was a day that America Changed. From a Christian nation we progressed toward a pagan nation. And look what the result in society has been.
First, Abortion. The Scripture says,
“Israel failed to destroy the nations in the land, as the LORD had commanded them. Instead, they mingled among the pagans and adopted their evil customs. They worshiped their idols, which led to their downfall. They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons. They shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters. By sacrificing them to the idols of Canaan, they polluted the land with murder.”
Psalm 106:34-38
“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed.” Proverbs 31:8
God calls killing these babies ‘murder’. He tells us to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves. In America there are about 20 million babies killed each year. The high was in the early eighties with almost 30 million babies aborted that year.
But some claim that fetus' aren’t babies. Tell that to the Fish and Game if you poach a deer illegally that has an unborn fawn in her. You will be charged with killing TWO deer. Tell that to the Judge if you get caught robbing an eagle’s nest. You will be charged with killing eagles. But humans are somehow different? How foolish. The Bible says,
“You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.”
Psalm 139:13-16
“The LORD gave me this message: “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:4-5
God sees us before we are born. He has plans for us. We are not a mass of cells or clumps of flesh. The fetus is a living human being. And to kill one is murder. But we have fallen so far as a nation we have legalized murder. Most Americans are prolife. But where is democracy when it comes to this and other godly issues? Some people are selective in their standards. They use whatever means to accomplish their will. The end justifies the means – if the end result is what they want. We have to get involved. We have to a stand.
Here’s another issue that has changed in the last decade or two. The stance on homosexuality. When I was a kid it was called for what it was – perversion. It was regarded as a perversion of nature. How long do you think a species would last that was homosexual? It goes against nature and it goes against natures God. The Word of God says,
“If a man practices homosexuality, having sex with another man as with a woman, both men have committed a detestable act. They must both be put to death, for they are guilty of a capital offense.” Leviticus 20:13
“...God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved.”
Romans 1:26-27
“Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God.” 1 Corinthians 6:9-10
Today we have a big debate raging about whether to legalize same sex marriage. In the early days of our country the act of homosexuality was considered perversion and was illegal. We have already legalized it – but now we are asked to view homosexuality as being on the same level as heterosexuality. Even a child knows this is wrong by their natural instinct. The Bible says,
“What sorrow for those who say that evil is good and good is evil; that dark is light and light is dark, that bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter.” Isaiah 5:20
“You have wearied the LORD with your words. “How have we wearied him?” you ask. You have wearied him by saying that all who do evil are good in the LORD’s sight, and he is pleased with them.” Malachi 2:17
“Therefore do not let what you know is good be spoken of as evil.”
Romans 14:16
Folks, we have to stand up for what is right. We need to change our country – back to our roots. We need to be bold. We need to be courageous. We need to turn this country around. And be warned. It is not without danger. It is not without consequences. The Scripture says,
“In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” 2 Timothy 3:12
Our forefathers were so wise; so godly. They were Christian and the Bible was a huge influence on them. They were aware of Scriptures like these:
“When the righteous thrive, the people rejoice; when the wicked rule, the people groan.” Proverbs 29:2
“Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.”
Proverbs 14:34
Our forefathers left us with the greatest country on earth. But now we are changing. And a large part of the blame falls on the pastors and religious leaders of our country. They have been intimidated by man made law.
Another day that changed our country was in 1954. Sen. Lyndon B. Johnson had experienced a tough campaign with a lot of oppositions from the clergy of his district. Consequently, Sen. Johnson was no ally of the church. As part of his political agenda, Johnson had it in mind to silence the church and eliminate the significant influence the church had always had on shaping "public policy." So he authored a law that Churches be added to section 501c3 of the tax code. To be tax exempt the church had to abide by this law.
For a 501c3 church to openly speak out, or organize in opposition to, anything that the government declares "legal," even if it is immoral (e.g. abortion, homosexuality, etc.), that church will jeopardize its tax exempt status. The 501c3 has had a "chilling effect" upon the free speech rights of the church. LBJ was a shrewd and cunning politician who seemed to well-appreciate how easily many of the clergy would sell out.
Did the church ever need to seek permission from the government to be exempt from taxes? Were churches prior to 1954 taxable? No. Churches had never been taxable. To be taxable a church would first need to be under the jurisdiction, and therefore under the taxing authority of the government. The First Amendment clearly places the church outside the jurisdiction of the civil government: "Congress shall make NO LAW respecting an establishment of religion, nor prohibiting the free exercise thereof."
The reasoning of our forefathers was that God was sovereign. To put the church ‘under’ the government would make the state sovereign over God. It would make man the authority – not God – and that is exactly what has happened.
There are thousands of pastors today who are rebelling against that. Today is “Pulpit Freedom” Sunday. We don’t believe the government has the authority to tell pastors and churches what to say or what not to say. In protest, we are speaking the Word of God on these contemporary issues. That is an unusual thing to do these days. You might get in trouble. But that never stopped the pastors in our Colonial years. Have you heard of the Black Brigade? Most people haven’t. Let me give you a little history lesson.
The Black Brigade or Black Regiment were the preachers, because they wore black robes. Black preachers, white preachers — they all wore black robes. And the British specifically blamed the preachers for the American Revolution. That's where the title "Black Regiment" came from.
The British hated what the preachers did. They hated what they had to say. They claimed if it hadn't been for the preachers, America would still be a happy British colony. So they blamed it on the preachers.
When they come to America, they started decimating churches. They went to New York City where there were nineteen churches. They burned 10 to the ground. They went across Virginia burning churches. They went across New Jersey burning churches. Because they blamed these preachers.
Let me tell you about one of those preachers. This was a preacher in Virginia in 1776. He pastored two churches in a little rural town. He was also a member of the legislature — John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg.
While in Williamsburg, the British came marching in town. No big deal, because we haven't signed the Declaration yet. We were still British colonies. But they started going in private homes, taking things - especially guns and ammunition. And so Patrick Henry said, no way. Patrick Henry got 5,000 farmers to go get 200 British soldiers and get all their stuff back.
Pastor Muhlenberg, who pastors on the other side of the state thinks, "My guys need to hear about this. So he jumps on a horseback and rides all the way back. He preaches a sermon Sunday morning, January 21st, 1776.
His side of the state doesn't know what's happening with the British. He's in the pulpit and he's in his black robe, his clerical robe. And he's preaching from Ecclesiastes 3, which says, "There is a time of peace and a time of war." When he read this, he said, "Brethren, this is no longer a time of peace. This is now a time of war." And he gave them a news flash of what was going on. And of course, they were all, “Oh, my! What do we do?”
Then, instead of doing what he always did — have a dismissal prayer, go to vestment room and disrobe, he started undressing right in front of the congregation. And much to their shock — when he took off his clerical robe, underneath, he was wearing the full dress uniform of an officer in the Continental Army. That scene was show in “The Patriot” with Mel Gibson.
The pastor then dismounted the pulpit, went to the back of the church and said, “We came here to practice our liberties. And if we don't get involved, we're going to lose our liberties. Now, who is going with me to defend them?” Three hundred men got up and met him at the back of the church.
But the pastor had a brother. Let me tell you about him.
His brother is Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg who pastored up in New York City. And when Pastor Frederick in New York City heard what his brother Peter had done, he said, “Wrong! Wrong, Brother! You should have stayed in the pulpit. Church shouldn't get involved in this stuff.”
And that's what his brother believed until the British came marching into New York City in 1777 and threw him out of his church. And as he stood outside, they desecrated his church. And he has this epiphany and says, maybe I ought to get involved as well or I'm going to lose my liberties. So he decides to get involved. He actually ends up being the speaker of the House in Pennsylvania, helps write their original Constitution. And he is the first ever speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. There are only two signatures on the bottom of the Bill of Rights and one is his — the Rev. Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg.
That is the kind of pastors and Christians we had when our country was founded. We were unapologetically a Christian nation. Christians were involved in politics. Pastors led the way. They were involved in government.
We need to get back in the battle, folks. We need to get involved. Vote. Run for office. Speak out for truth – even if it isn’t popular. Defend the defenseless. Jesus said,
“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.” Matthew 5:13
A lot of people who call themselves Christians are good for nothing. They are already being walked on by the world. Let’s not let that happen to us. Let’s become the force for Christ He has called us to.
SONG
