Alba 7-3-2022
THE MELTING POT
Romans 15:1-6
Tomorrow is the fourth of July and all across this vast and wide country, Americans will be celebrating the day the United States declared independence from the British Empire.
We did not become, "the land of the free and the home of the brave" by blind fate or a happy set of coincidences, but from the very beginning of its conception there was a recognition that a wise and benevolent God was hovering over us.
When Columbus discovered land on the North American Continent, he took a cross in his hands and planted it upon the new soil, fell upon his knees, kissing the earth, taking possession of it for God.
When our forefathers landed at Cape Henry in 1607 the first thing they erected was not a building, but a cross.
It was faith that brought the passengers of the Mayflower to the shores of the new world. The very purpose of the Pilgrims coming to America in 1620 was to establish a government based on the Bible.
And to ensure that future generations would know the reason why they came, they wrote the Mayflower Compact which said:
“Having undertaken for the glory of God, and the advancement of the Christian faith... we do solemnly and mutually in the presence of God and one another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil Body Politick, for our better Ordering and Preservation, and Furtherance of the Ends aforesaid.”
Governor Bradford when writing of the Pilgrims' landing, described their first act: "Being thus arrived in a good harbor and brought safe to land, they fell upon their knees and blessed the God of Heaven.."
When Rhode Island formulated its charter in 1683 it began in this way, "We submit our persons, lives and estates unto our Lord Jesus Christ, the King of King and Lord of Lords and to all those perfect and most absolute laws of His, given us in His Holy Word."
And in the Declaration of Independence itself it says, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
And the Declaration ends with an appeal “to the Supreme Judge of the world” that they would “be Free and Independent States.”
Patrick Henry wrote: “It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists, but by Christians, not on religion, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ.”
You see, the fourth of July is not about hot dogs, hamburgers, swim suits and fireworks. It is about a Nation, a Nation that came into being so people could freely worship Jesus Christ.
As Christians we have a responsibility to our country and to our God. God’s will is for people to live in harmony and peace. That is why we find these words in Romans 15:1-6.
1 We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification.
3 For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me.”
4 For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.
5 Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, 6 that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We are citizens of this great country, but we are also citizens of heaven. These verse tell us that we are not to please ourselves but should do what we can to edify others.
People in churches have not always obeyed these words. Of course we have to admit that it has always been easy for saints to get sideways with one another.
Luke chapter 9 verse 45 describes how even the twelve disciples argued among themselves. And they even did it while Jesus was right there with them!
In the late 1800s there were two deacons in a small Baptist church in Mayfield, Kentucky. They didn’t get along and always opposed each other in any decision the church made.
On one particular Sunday, one deacon put up a small wooden peg on the back wall for the preacher to hang his hat on. When the other deacon discovered the peg, he was outraged and left the church.
The church split, and a new church was formed called the “Anti-Peg Baptist Church.”
Verse three gives us the example of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who did not come into the world to please Himself, but allowed our sins to be put upon Him that He might bear them to the cross. He put us first.
If it were not for Jesus, we would have no hope in this world. His death on the cross paid the penalty for our sins so that we could be forgiven by a just and holy God.
We have a future. We were created to reign with Jesus. The Bible tells us that the stuff we go through here and now is NOTHING compared with what is coming.
Romans 8:18 reminds us, “that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”
All the trials and temptations and struggles we have now – will seem so insignificant in comparison with our future. In our future is glory and honor and praise! All because of Jesus!
Verses four and five tell us that we have a God of patience and comfort and “through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” Other versions use the words endurance and encouragement.
God’s Word encourages us. We need to read it daily. We need to mark those passages that lift us up and encourage us so we can be blessed by them over and over.
And we should do this, not just for the encouragement and comfort it gives, but also because from scripture we learn how to deal with the problems in this world today.
Verse four says that, “whatever things were written before were written for our learning.” There is a lot that our country needs to
re-learn in order to be what we were intended to be.
You know, it doesn't take a Sherlock Holmes to see what's wrong in America, to see that there is a problem, and to conclude that America is suffering because America has left God.
Benjamin Rush, signer of the Declaration of Independence and cabinet member to Jefferson, Madison and Adams, wrote an article
where he gave 12 reasons why the Bible should not be removed from the public schools.
He said that “If the Bible were taken out of public schools, we would suffer an explosion of crime.” And he said the government would spend more money and time on the punishment of crime than it would on preventing crime with biblical standards.
Sadly today's cancel culture attempts to keep God out of the public square and praises the things condemned in God's Word. The United States has been referred to as a Melting Pot, meaning that people from different geographical and racial backgrounds become one in this great country.
But sadly we are no longer a unified country, especially when it comes to moral issues. We who value life as a creation from God rejoice that now states can make their own laws concerning abortion.
But others who want no laws regulating or banning abortion have been attacking and damaging pro-life pregnancy centers.
It appears that our laws are not followed and crime is on the increase. There are even some who actively work against what we treasure in this country.
So with this kind of situation, what do we learn from scripture, from the things that were written before? For example, what happens when the unity of a nation is torn apart and people forget God?
Look back at the time of Solomon. His father David had left a strong and united country. Solomon led with wisdom except for one major flaw. He married women from pagan cultures and allowed them to worship their pagan gods.
Solomon’s negative influence (idol worship, following after other gods) resulted in countless people throughout the nation breaking and continuing to break again and again and again, the very first commandment, “Thou shall have no other God’s before me.” Exodus 20:3
Solomon had been warned that disaster would strike the nation of Israel if they forsook God. Right after Solomon dies (his son Rehoboam becomes king), and the break-up goes down, and the nation of Israel is divided.
The ten tribes that were in the north aligned themselves under a guy by the name of Jeroboam. They became known as Israel (The Northern Kingdom).
And the tribes of Judah and Benjamin down in the south were loyal to their leader Rehoboam (the son of King Solomon). And that area became known as Judah (The Southern Kingdom).
Listen to how Scripture summarizes the life of King Rehoboam. It says in 2 Chronicles 12:14 that Rehoboam “did evil, because he did not prepare his heart to seek the Lord.”
So what led to the breakup, to the division, to the disunity? Well, one of the primary causes was that God’s people in both the north and the south had major issues in their walk with God.
They did not fear Him. They were not obeying His commands. The bottom line is that having issues with God, often leads to having issues with other people. Being good with God, often leads to being good with other people.
Solomon made other foolish decisions. He took on massive building projects all over the nation, projects that required huge chunks of cash. And he funded those projects the old fashion way, he raised taxes… (and no one wants to pay more taxes).
And not only that, but he also forced tens of thousands of his own people into working on his building projects. Those decisions put a huge burden on the people, a burden that would play a significant role in the future break up of the nation.
We need to understand that the decisions we make today, and the way we live our lives, will affect generations to come in either a positive or a negative way.
That’s true in our home. It is also true at work, it’s true in our relationships, and it’s certainly true in our country. Think of it this way: Our present decisions will one day be the past to which future generations will be able to trace either their blessings or hardships.
As a nation, America needs, not to be “woke”, but to wake up. Christians need to be awake, and once again be the moral fiber of this nation. We need to put into office people who have the courage to follow biblical principles and put them into practice.
On the fourth of July we celebrate freedom. Our freedom didn’t come cheap. The patriots fought and died to give us our “freedom of religion”.
There are those today who are trying to tell us that the intention of our founding fathers was to give us “freedom FROM religion”. There’s a difference between “freedom OF religion”, and “freedom FROM religion”.
If we want to change the way America is headed, we need to live our lives “in all godliness and honesty”. How do we do this? By living according to the standards set forth in God’s Word.
We need to, as it says in verses five and six, “be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, that (we) may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Our country may not be the melting pot, but in Christ we are made one. Our unity is not based on physical characteristics or where we live. It is based on our faith and obedience to Jesus.
We may be different from one another. For example: We don’t look alike, we don’t act alike. We don’t dress alike. We have different tastes in the foods we eat.
Also there are differences in the books we read, the films we watch, the cars we drive and the music we enjoy. We support different football teams, and have different leisure interests; we may even differ some over politics. Our weights vary, our heights vary, so does the color of our hair and even our skin.
In spite of all of that, we do have one thing in common; IF we know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord of our lives!”
And that is a reason to give God praise!
CONCLUSION:
Here is an old story but a good one. One Sunday as they drove home from church, a little girl turned to her mother and said, "Mommy, there’s something about the preacher’s message this morning that I don’t understand."
The mother said, "Oh? What is it?" The little girl replied, "Well, he said that God is bigger than we are. He said God is so big that He could hold the world in His hand. Is that true?"
The mother replied, "Yes, that’s true, honey."
"But Mommy, he also said that God comes to live inside of us when we believe in Jesus as our Savior. Is that true, too?"
Again, the mother assured the little girl that what the pastor had said was true. With a puzzled look on her face the little girl then asked, "If God is bigger than us and He lives in us, wouldn’t He show through?"
We need to let Jesus show through as we live as citizens of this great country. It is what this country needs. Everyone needs Jesus.
