ShareThis:

Print: On/Off

Font: S/M/L

The Value War

Is there a cure for America?

by Dennis Pollock

"Alas, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a brood of evildoers... The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faints. From the sole of the foot even to the head there is no soundness in it, but wounds and bruises and putrefying sores. They have not been closed or bound up, or soothed with ointment." — Isaiah 1:4-6

America is in trouble. That, in itself, is no secret. The fundamentalists know it and the liberals know it; the politicians know it and the social workers know it. From the proverbial "rocket scientists" to the bag ladies who sleep on park benches, we Americans have lost our once characteristic optimism in the wake of the violence, drug abuse, AIDS, and other scourges that continually ravage our land and destroy our youth.

While the world flails vainly at the symptoms of our malaise, Christians recognize that the real battle has more to do with values. A man's behavior can rise no higher than the values he cherishes and the convictions that have captured his heart.

America's values are under a savage attack today, as television and other forms of the media are working feverishly to erase all sense of shame and guilt from promiscuity. Divorce runs rampant in our generation because there is no longer any sense of shame or failure associated with it "things just didn't work out so we'll call it quits and try again."

The Retreat from Christian Values

America has come to a watershed in its history where values are concerned. For the first time in our history Biblical values are becoming limited primarily to born again believers. Our nation has always had a sizable portion of its population who were not born again believers. However, in other generations, most of these individuals, while not having any testimony of a life-changing experience with Christ, nevertheless believed the Bible to be true, and recognized the validity of Christian values.

Benjamin Franklin is a good example. From what we know about him, Franklin was not an evangelical believer. Yet he spoke reverently of the Bible, believed in the efficacy of prayer, and encouraged the French government to adopt Christian principles as the basis of their government. Franklin would have had little respect or tolerance for organizations such as the ACLU, had they existed in his day.

Even the most ungodly men of previous generations rarely dared deny the reality of God, or challenge the authority of the Scriptures. While they did not live in accordance with God's precepts, they usually admitted their own state of sinfulness, and contented themselves with the thought that, though they were surely on their way to hell, at least they would have plenty of company there.

Thus we had a situation where, although the majority of our nation were perhaps not born again believers, when you combined true Christians with the unregenerate persons who held (at least verbally) to the authority of Scripture and Judeo-Christian values, the United States was a solidly Christian nation with a Christian ethic which would have been unthinkable to challenge. The concepts of heaven, hell, the sanctity of life, salvation through the blood of Christ, the sinfulness of man, and the creation account in Genesis were accepted by nearly all.

How Far We've Come

It hardly needs saying that such is no longer the case! Today, Biblical values are scarcely believed in the professing Christian church, and those who have rejected the church have frequently stripped themselves quickly of any remaining vestiges of Christian values.

Secular Humanism has arisen and declared man to be a cosmic accident, which necessarily makes the whole concept of values a moot point. Chemical accidents can have no values; you can't declare a lump of chemicals good or bad or suggest that its behavior is moral or immoral.

The New Age Movement, with its emphasis on reincarnation, is likewise capturing the hearts of many. While not abandoning values altogether, this movement would tell us that our main task is to avoid "negative karma" by treating everybody fairly. The fear of God, living sexually pure, and the forgiveness of sins become irrelevant in the light of this philosophy which encourages all to recognize their own deity.

A third group of dissenters are those who have essentially decided to create their own personal value systems. They have mixed a little religious upbringing with the many concepts they have learned from that great source of philosophy the television set. They have then added large pinches of selfishness and hedonism, producing a set of beliefs which is reminiscent of ancient Israel during the days of the judges, when "every man did that which was right in his own eyes."

The result of these powerful forces at work in our society is that Americans, as a whole, are fast developing a value system which is totally alien to our Christian heritage and Biblical foundation. This is vividly demonstrated in our attitudes toward three current issues: abortion, homosexuality, and "safe sex."

A generation ago it would have been laughable to try to engage in serious debate about these things anywhere in our nation. Today we evangelical believers are finding ourselves forced to defend our positions against a savage onslaught of ridicule. The liberal press mocks our values and gleefully paints us as homophobes, bigots, and prudes. The powers that be have now declared the homosexual holy, the abortion sacred, and premarital sex the sovereign right of our youth (as long as it is "safe").

The Christian's Response

As these developments began to unfold, the church hardly knew how to respond. Being mired in a tradition which rejected Christian activism and found it carnal for believers to become politically aware, we sat on the sidelines and watched with dismay as our nation deteriorated before our eyes.

Finally, a few brave souls began to lead the way into a more activist stance. They amazed the church and the world by declaring that not only could Christians become involved in the political process in America, but it was actually our duty to do so. Ever so slowly the sleeping giant began to awake.

Christians began to get involved in abortion protests, and they started giving active support to pro-family candidates. Christian broadcasters turned their attention to the societal ills of our day. Christian activism became part and parcel of the Christian experience; so much so that the indignant liberals were suddenly alarmed and started making reference to the "dangerous religious right." (For some reason the religious left didn't arouse such fears).

While I praise God for the victories won through Christians becoming socially active and politically aware, I fear the American church today is at risk of forfeiting the war altogether if we focus exclusively upon the political and forget that the real battle is a spiritual one. There is a very real danger, among Christians who have seen the importance of becoming politically active, of forgetting that the real problem in America has to do with values which no legislation can change, and that the real answer is to be found in a person: the Lord Jesus Christ!

Liberal Zealot

In my late teens you could hardly have found anyone more liberal than I was. I voted for George McGovern, I strongly espoused the legalization of marijuana, and I considered Biblical morality to be old fashioned and prudish. Caught up in the hippie movement of the late sixties and early seventies, I would have laughed at arguments by conservatives against "safe sex," and would have yawned through films portraying the dangers of drug abuse. Abortion was not much of an issue at that time, but if it had been, you can be sure that I would have constructed some most compelling arguments on behalf of a woman's right to "choose."

And yet all my liberal convictions and anti-biblical arguments melted as wax in the fire once I came face to face with the Lord Jesus Christ and received Him as my Savior. I required no lectures by impressive men with Phd's; no recitation of statistics or scary films changed my mind on these things. I simply met the Savior, and He put His laws in my mind and wrote them on my heart. Practically overnight I was transformed from a flaming liberal to a stalwart conservative as the Holy Spirit began His renewing and transforming work in my values and attitudes.

The simple truth is that America will return to Biblical values and morality when we return to the Author of morality, the Lord Jesus Christ. Our pressing need is not merely for a president who holds Christian values, or a new law making abortion illegal (although they would be wonderful in themselves). More important than these, we must have an outpouring of the Holy Spirit which will sweep millions of Americans into the kingdom of God and will give us the moral base which stems from the true knowledge of God.

The Nature of Revival

In the classic sense of the word, a genuine revival (or spiritual awakening if you prefer) would do far more to bring America back to Biblical values than any and all other Christian activities combined. Northampton, Massachusetts was a cold, spiritually dead community just prior to the Holy Spirit descending upon it in revival, but listen to Jonathan Edwards' description of the town afterwards:

"There was scarcely a single person in the town, either old or young, that was left unconcerned about the great things of the eternal world. Those that were wont to be the vainest and loosest... were now generally subject to great awakenings. And the work of conversion was carried on in a most astonishing manner, and increased more and more; souls did, as it were, come by flocks to Jesus Christ."

Those who have not taken the time to read of the great awakenings of the church which God has accomplished in the past tend to consider situations like Edwards described as freak happenings which were psychological in nature, and they assume such events could not possibly occur in today's hardened and socially sophisticated society. But we need to keep in mind that God has not changed! The Holy Spirit is just as able to transform churches, cities, and nations today as He ever was in the past.

Shall we then forget about social involvement, retire to our prayer closets, and leave our nation to the hands of the ungodly? May it never be!

Be assured that we at Lamb & Lion will continue to speak out against the evils of our day, and will emphasize the importance of God's people being actively involved in working for righteous government and righteous laws. To do any less would be to deny the calling God has placed upon us.

Yet we are not so naive as to think that our nation's problems can be solved by political action alone. "When God's people, who are called by His name, will humble themselves and pray, and seek His face, and turn from their wicked ways, then He will hear from heaven, forgive our sin, and heal our land" (2 Chronicles 7:14).