Evil winds blowing everywhere…

In This Edition:

America’s Lost Invincibility – By Dave Miller

The Supreme Critic – By Pastor Cornelius R. Stam

Moses And The Prophets – By Pastor Cornelius R. Stam

Holy Quietness – By Vance Havner

Why Would God Punish America Before He Would Punish Hindu or Islamic Nations? – By Dave Miller

Glorious Deliverance – By Pastor Cornelius R. Stam

Prophetic And Pastoral – By Vance Havner

Carnality With A Halo – By Vance Havner

Behold Your Savior Come! – By Vance Havner

Are You God’s Enemy? – By Vance Havner

“Saul said to Samuel (I Samuel 15:24), “…I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.” Samuel said to Saul (verse 22), “Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord?” The big issue nowadays is vox populi or vox dei, the voice of the people or the voice of God?”

~Vance Havner

“A sinister breeze blows across the world today. It is deceptive and demonic; many well-meaning souls are lulled to sleep thereby. What some call the birth pangs of a new era are but the dying gasps of this age. Strange new currents are moving everywhere, even in evangelical Christianity. It will take a double portion of wisdom from above to distinguish the true from the false, the sheep from the wolves. It is no time for us to be fitted with rose-colored glasses. We need a second touch from the Master, like the blind man of old, lest we see men as trees walking.”

~Vance Havner

America’s Lost Invincibility

The rapid rate of moral decay that blankets America is shocking and frightening. Americans who lived for the first 150 years of the Republic would find it difficult and appalling if they were here to witness what is happening. Abortion, homosexuality, gambling, sexual promiscuity, greed—and the list goes on and on. The incredible level of prosperity and technological achievement has lulled many Americans into thinking that America is invincible and well able to sustain its standing among the nations of the world.

The Founders thought otherwise. They insisted that America’s greatness does not lie in her achievements, material progress, or ability to protect herself by military means. Far from it. Instead, they repeatedly explained that America’s greatness and her ability to prolong her existence as a nation depend exclusively on the spiritual, religious, and moral condition of her people. Specifically, the Founders insisted that the citizens’ attachment to God, Christ, the Bible, and the Christian religion would determine the future of the nation. If a sizable percentage of the citizenry does not continue to maintain Christian virtue and morality, as defined by the Bible, the nation would lose its ability to survive.

Consider, for example, the remarks of Patrick Henry in his observations concerning the state of France after their bloody revolution:

But, as to France, I have no doubt in saying, that to her it will be calamitous. Her conduct has made it the interest of the great family of mankind to wish the downfall of her present government; because its existence is incompatible with that of all others within its reach. And, whilst I see the dangers that threaten ours from her intrigues and her arms, I am not so much alarmed as at the apprehension of her destroying the great pillars of all government and of social life; I mean virtue, morality, and religion. This is the armor, my friend, and this alone, that renders us invincible. These are the tactics we should study. If we lose these, we are conquered, fallen indeed (as quoted in Henry, 1891, 2:591-592, emp. added).

John Witherspoon echoed precisely the same sentiment: “He who makes a people virtuous makes them invincible” (1815, 9:231, emp. added). And Declaration signer and “The Father of the American Revolution,” Samuel Adams, likewise issued a solemn warning in a letter to James Warren on February 12, 1779:

While the people are virtuous, they cannot be subdued; but when once they lose their virtue, they will be ready to surrender their liberties to the first external or internal invader (1908, 4:124, emp. added).

These three Founders sound a sober warning to Americans in the 21st century. Our schools, courts, and centers of government continue to dismantle the Christian connections that have always characterized the nation. With the cleansing of our religious moorings is also the eradication of the virtue and morality that comes only from Christianity. As Americans continue to jettison Christian virtue and morality, the nation is brought closer and closer to the brink of destruction. Accordingly, the invincibility for which America has been known around the world is swiftly waning. Even now, we are in the process of surrendering our liberties to alternative ideologies (e.g., socialism), and our increasing vulnerability must inevitably result in America being conquered. “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs 14:34).

Adams, Samuel (1904-1908), The Writings of Samuel Adams, ed. Harry Cushing, 4 vols. (New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons).

Henry, William (1891), Patrick Henry; Life, Correspondence and Speeches (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons), [On-line], URL: http://www.archive.org/details/pathenrylife01henrrich. See also George Washington Papers at the Library of Congress, 1741-1799: Series 4. General Correspondence. 1697-1799, Image 1071, “Patrick Henry to Archibald Blair,” January 8, 1799, [On-line], URL: http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=mgw4&fileName=gwpage113.db&recNum=1070.

Witherspoon, John (1815), The Works of John Witherspoon (Edinburgh: J. Ogle).

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We are happy to grant permission for items in the “America’s Culture War” section to be reproduced in their entirety, as long as the following stipulations are observed: (1) Apologetics Press must be designated as the original publisher; (2) the specific Apologetics Press Web site URL must be noted; (3) the author’s name must remain attached to the materials; (4) any references, footnotes, or endnotes that accompany the article must be included with any written reproduction of the article; (5) alterations of any kind are strictly forbidden (e.g., photographs, charts, graphics, quotations, etc. must be reproduced exactly as they appear in the original); (6) serialization of written material (e.g., running an article in several parts) is permitted, as long as the whole of the material is made available, without editing, in a reasonable length of time; (7) articles, in whole or in part, may not be offered for sale or included in items offered for sale; and (8) articles may be reproduced in electronic form for posting on Web sites pending they are not edited or altered from their original content and that credit is given to Apologetics Press, including the web location from which the articles were taken.

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The Supreme Critic

by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam

About 1900 years ago St. Paul wrote to Timothy, with regard to the sacred Scriptures:

“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (II Timothy 3:16).

This truth has been confirmed by overwhelming evidence, and those who have tried, through the centuries, to overthrow the Bible have been about as successful as a man trying to overthrow the Rock of Gibraltar with a pea shooter.

Furthermore, the Word of God towers above the clergy as well as above the laity. The Bereans were called “noble” because they put the words of even the great Apostle Paul to the test of Scripture, to see if he taught anything contrary to it.

That blessed Book is the Supreme Critic. If we overlook vital doctrine, it is the Book that will “teach” us. If we handle the Word deceitfully, it is the Book that will “reprove” us. If we go astray in our conclusions, it is the Book that will “correct” us. Where moral questions are involved, it is the Book that will “instruct us in righteousness.” Well do we remember when we were first convicted by the Bible as the written Word of God — and we have never ceased to thank God for the blessed results.

This Book condemns men as sinners before a holy God, but presents salvation free and complete through the vicarious death of Christ at Calvary.

“Christ died for our sins” (I Corinthians 15:3).

“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31).

“Dr. A. J. Gordon was a great preacher of the second coming of Christ. His son and biographer writes, “Advocacy of this doctrine cost him much. It seems to awaken suspicion and lead to estrangement – this great doctrine of hope.” Dr. Gordon himself said, “It is not wanted by a church with millionaire merchants and great universities. But, after all, it was for the assertion of this doctrine that Christ at the last was crucified” (Matthew 26:64). To this day certain churchmen resent the enthusiastic proclamation of it. To declare that our Lord may return at any moment may disturb their grandiose plans and programs.”

~Vance Havner

Moses And The Prophets

by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam

Now our Lord, when on earth, encouraged, indeed He even challenged His audiences to “Search the Scriptures” for themselves (John 5:39). Indeed since God revealed Himself and His plan of salvation in the written Word, we are responsible, each one for himself to study the Scriptures. When the rich man Dives begged Abraham to be allowed to go and warn his five brothers about the horrors of hell, Abraham replied, “They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them”. And when the rich man urged that a word from him would be more effective, Abraham answered, “If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead” (Luke 16:29,31).

Don’t depend upon your clergyman, my dear friend, to interpret the Scriptures for you. See for yourself what God says in His Word. For “every one of us shall give an account of himself to God”, says Romans 14:12. And it won’t be enough in that day to say, my minister or my priest told me so and so. You are responsible, you, to search the Scriptures for yourself, to see whether these things are so.

Why don’t you search the Scriptures, especially the epistles of Paul, our apostle. For it is Paul who says, “For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the Apostle of the Gentiles [Nations], I magnify mine office” (Romans 11:13). Learn in his epistles this mystery among the Gentiles which is Christ in you the hope of glory and how it is that Christ’s death on Calvary’s cross can save you.

“In Whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Ephesians 1:7).

Holy Quietness

By Vance Havner

Study to be quiet.
I Thessalonians 4:11

One of our national leaders some years ago expressed doubt as to whether there could have been a Constitution of the United States if the Convention had been currently reported by radio, telegraph, and newspapers over the thirteen colonies. Now, with television added, he might wonder some more. The tempo of the times and our publicity gadgets have had a devastating effect on contemplation and deliberation. It shows up in the documents and dissertations we are turning out.

Unless somebody gets still long enough to hear from God we are going to have scant word from heaven these days. Our Lord made the people sit down before He fed them. Samuel said to Saul, “Stand thou still a while, that I may shew thee the word of God.” We are all living in a commotion and we do not know how to break out of the frenzy. Solitude is maddening to us, for we run in herds.

Habakkuk was in a stew of complaint about the times until he got off to his tower to hear what God would say. In our text Paul is calming some overexcited saints – and we could take a few lessons today!

Why Would God Punish America Before He Would Punish Hindu or Islamic Nations?

Essentially, this question was asked by the ancient Hebrew prophet Habakkuk. When he complained to God regarding the corruption of his nation and inquired how long God would tolerate it, God informed him that He was bringing the Chaldeans against the nation to punish them. But this divine response perplexed the prophet, causing him to make a second inquiry: “Why do You look on those who deal treacherously, and hold Your tongue when the wicked devours a person more righteous than he?” (1:3). In other words, yes, Israel deserved punishment, but why inflict that punishment using a nation even more wicked than Israel—a polytheistic, pagan nation? God’s answer was that, in His own good time, He would ultimately deal with the more wicked nation as well.

What is unique about America is the fact that it was borne amid an almost unanimous desire to possess the favor of the God of the Bible in the establishment of the Republic. The Founders repeatedly expressed their concern that Christianity (what they repeatedly styled “true religion”) be maintained among the citizenry in order to retain divine assistance (Miller, 2010). This basic orientation was sustained as a national attitude for over 150 years. After World War II, sinister efforts were well underway to strip God and Christianity from civil, judicial, and educational institutions (Miller, 2008).

Unlike Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist, and polytheistic, pagan countries—which do not claim to be “Christian”—America has been recognized the world over as a “Christian nation.” We have been blessed accordingly—beyond all other nations in human history. America’s origins so positioned her among the nations of the Earth that, in effect, many would see God’s reputation as “on the line.” Do we think He would allow America to jettison Christian values, flaunt moral degradation, and defiantly boast to the world that America is “tolerant” of perversion and immorality—without calling her to account before the world? As prominent Founder George Mason, often called “The Father of the Bill of Rights,” stated at the Constitutional Convention: “As nations cannot be rewarded or punished in the next world, so they must be in this. By an inevitable chain of causes and effects, Providence punishes national sins by national calamities” (as quoted in Madison, 1840, 3:1391, emp. added; of course, God’s timetable varies from human expectation, so any future retribution is unpredictable as to timing).

The Founders understood this principle emphatically. Take, for example, prominent Founding Father John Witherspoon. Serving as President of Princeton from 1768 to 1776, Witherspoon served on both the Provincial Congress of New Jersey as well as the Continental Congress (1776-1782) where he signed the Declaration of Independence. After the Revolutionary War, he was a member of the New Jersey State Assembly as well as a member of the State ratification convention for the federal Constitution. In a treatise titled “The Dominion of Providence over the Passions of Men,” written the same year the Founders declared their independence, this quintessential Founder insightfully observed:

It is the prerogative of God to do what he will with his own; but he often displays his justice itself, by throwing into the furnace those, who, though they may not be visibly worse than others, may yet have more to answer for, as having been favoured with more distinguished privileges, both civil and sacred (1776, emp. added).

America has been blessed with so many more privileges and blessings than other nations. But our moral decline seems to be proportional to those blessings. America has a lot to answer for. It’s only a question of time—unless a massive, nationwide, spiritual awakening is forthcoming. That is precisely what America most desperately needs—not a stronger economy, not more handouts, and not more concern for the environment. She needs to repent and fall before the God of Heaven and beg His forgiveness.

Now do not be stiff-necked, as your fathers were, but yield yourselves to the LORD; and enter His sanctuary, which He has sanctified forever, and serve the LORD your God, that the fierceness of His wrath may turn away from you (2 Chronicles 30:8).

Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him (Psalm 2:12).

But the LORD is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King. At His wrath the earth will tremble, and the nations will not be able to endure His indignation (Jeremiah 10:10).

REFERENCES

Madison, James (1840), The Papers of James Madison, ed. Henry Gilpin (Washington, DC: Langtree & O’Sullivan).

Miller, Dave (2008), The Silencing of God: The Dismantling of America’s Christian Heritage (Montgomery, AL: Apologetics Press).

Miller, Dave (2010), Christ and the Continental Congress (Montgomery, AL: Apologetics Press).

Witherspoon, John (1776), “The Dominion of Providence over the Passions of Men” (Philadelphia, PA: Town & Country), http://goo.gl/nLihJK.

Copyright © 2014 Apologetics Press, Inc. All rights reserved.

We are happy to grant permission for items in the “America’s Culture War” section to be reproduced in their entirety, as long as the following stipulations are observed: (1) Apologetics Press must be designated as the original publisher; (2) the specific Apologetics Press Web site URL must be noted; (3) the author’s name must remain attached to the materials; (4) any references, footnotes, or endnotes that accompany the article must be included with any written reproduction of the article; (5) alterations of any kind are strictly forbidden (e.g., photographs, charts, graphics, quotations, etc. must be reproduced exactly as they appear in the original); (6) serialization of written material (e.g., running an article in several parts) is permitted, as long as the whole of the material is made available, without editing, in a reasonable length of time; (7) articles, in whole or in part, may not be offered for sale or included in items offered for sale; and (8) articles may be reproduced in electronic form for posting on Web sites pending they are not edited or altered from their original content and that credit is given to Apologetics Press, including the web location from which the articles were taken.

For catalog, samples, or further information, contact:

Apologetics Press
230 Landmark Drive
Montgomery, Alabama 36117
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Phone (334) 272-8558(334) 272-8558

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Glorious Deliverance

by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam

In I Thessalonians 1:10, the Apostle Paul, by divine inspiration, assures believers that the Lord Jesus Christ has “delivered us from the wrath to come.” He refers, of course, to deliverance from the penalty of sin. But in other passages he declares that we are also delivered from the power of sin.

In Colossians 1:12,13, for example, he gives thanks to God “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son.”

This deliverance, and the glory of our heavenly position and blessings in Christ, we may enjoy experientially now, by grace. Romans 6:14 says: “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for ye are not under the law but under grace.” This does not mean that it is not possible for the believer to sin, but rather that it is possible, in any situation, not to sin. Thus the same passage in Romans goes on to say that we should not yield ourselves as servants to sin, but to God, who, in grace has broken sin’s power over us.

Finally, the believer in Christ will one day be delivered even from the presence of sin, for at our Lord’s coming for us “we shall all be changed” (I Corinthians 15:51). Believers should long for Christ’s coming for them, not merely because these bodies of humiliation will then be glorified, but because from that moment on they shall never again be tempted or defiled by sin. What a change that will be!

In II Corinthians 1:10 the Apostle includes all three tenses of the believer’s deliverance. Here he tells how God has “delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver, in whom we trust that He will yet deliver us.” This is why he could write to the Philippians about his confidence that “He who hath begun a good work in you will perform [complete] it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).

Some may not feel the need of deliverance now, but we all need deliverance from sin and its results. If you have not yet experienced this deliverance, why not place your trust in Christ who died to “deliver us from the wrath to come.”

Prophetic And Pastoral

by Vance Havner

And he gave some,…prophets; and some evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers.
Ephesians 4:11

In the middle ages the church retired into solitude and seclusion and God had to raise up awakeners. There come high tides of revival and evangelism, and God balances them with pastors and teachers. Moody was a messenger to the multitudes, but he had the good judgment to associate with him men like Morgan and Meyer, who could teach and build up the saints.

We must have both. If we have only teachers we may become passive Bible students and fail of aggressive evangelism. We may spend ourselves in public activity and starve the inner life. The church needs both and the individual Christian needs both. It is pitiable indeed if the evangelist disparages the work of the teacher or the teacher belittles mass evangelism.

Some saints need a prophet to blast them out of a comfortable quietism. Some need a teacher to make them be still and take in that they may have something to give out.

Our Lord combined both in His perfect ministry, quietly teaching His disciples and shepherding His flock, while at the same time He was a prophet and challenged us to a life of service in His Name.

““Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God” (Matthew 22:29). The source of error is ignorance. The man who does not know the Scriptures nor the power of God is an ignoramus. In the days of Noah, “…they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage…and knew not” (Matthew 24:38,39). “…as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Matthew 24:37).”

~Vance Havner

Carnality With A Halo

By Vance Havner

For ye are yet carnal:…are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
I Corinthians 3:3

Let it be observed that the marks of carnality Paul had in mind here were not card-playing, dancing, and theater-going. They are, indeed, marks of carnality, but Paul was concerned with some sins we overlook while we lambaste other forms of evil. “Whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?”

Some who have long prided themselves that they do not smoke or haunt the movies seem not to have discovered that in their partyism and church strife they are just as carnal as the worldlings they censure.

Nothing has harmed the cause of Christ more than the Paul-Cephas-Apollos factions. And they are all the more deceptive because such carnality looks so much like zeal for the truth. “Nothing is so like conviction as simple obstinacy,” and more than one dear brother has fancied himself Mr. Valiant-for-truth when, indeed, he is Mr. Fond-of-a-fight.

Be sure your “conviction” is not carnality.

Behold Your Savior Come!

By Vance Havner

Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.
John 1:29

We often hear these days the question, “What is the world coming to?” It is an interesting subject and most of the discussion relieves the speakers but not the situation. The chief theme of the Gospel is not what the world is coming to but rather the One who has come to the world.

It is also very popular now to behold the sin of the world. There never was more of it and it never was more evident. But John the Baptist was pointing out the cure for sin, the Lamb who came to take it away.

Of course, there is a very real sense in which men need to see their sin and themselves to be sinners. There had not been enough preaching on sin with that in view. But the Gospel is Good News that the problem of our sin finds its answer in the person of God’s Son. He has been made sin – not a sinner or sinful, but sin – for us, though He knew no sin, that we might be made righteousness of God in Him.

Let us not be so taken up with beholding the sin of the world that we do not behold Him who came to take it away.

Are You God’s Enemy?

By Vance Havner

Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
James 4:4

If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
I John 2:15

How conclusive these statements! The friend of the world makes himself thereby the enemy of God. We would not use so strong a term as “enemy,” but God does. “The friendship of this world is enmity with God.” Not mild disagreement but utter hostility!

And John does not say that if any man love the world the love of the Father is weak in him – it is not in him at all. Why is it that we hear so little of this today? Because Christians and churches that have compromised with the world and gone into alliance with it are in no position to say “amen” to such an unequivocal pronouncement at this. We have become artists at soft-pedaling Bible verses that come too uncomfortably close to where we live, and these certainly are two that are played pianissimo while we pull out all the stops on others.

But no exegetical sleight of hand can tone down these texts. The friend of the world is God’s enemy. The lover of the world has no love of God in him.