The Amputated Church

What is the Church of Jesus Christ? A body. A bride. A family. An army.

And where do we see this manifested?

In the local church.

It is in the local church where we exercise our gifts. (Rom. 12)

It is in the local church where our love for the saints is expressed. (John 13:34+35)

It is in the local church where church authority is exercised to punish sin and guard and lead the flock. (1 Cor. 5)

It is in the local church where we fill roles as members of the body of Christ. (1 Cor. 12)

It is in the local church where we celebrate the New Covenant Passover. (1 Cor. 11:23-27)

It is in the local church where we labor together for the cause of Christ and build the bonds of family-friendship. (1 Tim. 5:1-2)

It is in the local church where all the functions of the Church towards the believer and of the believer towards the Church become real and practical. The Bride of Christ is a global institution, but we cannot fulfill our Scriptural duties towards the global Church without fulfilling them at a local level.

So how we relate to the local church is very, very important; choosing a church, attending a church, tithing to a church, joining a church, being invested in a church, and leaving a church are all matters to be taken very seriously.

The Scriptural picture of church fellowship requires deep relationships, pastoral involvement, confession of sin, accountability, fellowship, hospitality, generosity, prayer, perseverance, humility, the pursuit of Christ, and lots and lots of love. Real love. A love that says and does the hard things when it needs to.

And this requires commitment. Hard-charging, long-term commitment to a local body.

Today, it seems that the church is not taken so seriously; choosing a church is a buffet-style proposition. A little of this, a little of that, go back for more of the one you like.

It is certainly appropriate to vet a church before becoming a member. We should indeed examine the doctrines taught, consider the practices modeled, and see living Christian love in the fellowship.

But the first and foremost question must be "where does The LORD want me to plug in?" The decisive question must not be one simply of preference or comfort but of submission to the will of Christ and a desire to be used by Him to fill a need in His bride. As in every area of the Christian walk, we should be driven by love for God and for others- not by self-focus.

That's all foundational to the title of this article- the amputated church. That's what happens when someone leaves a local body.

If we are all members of the local body- "individually members of one another"- what happens when one leaves? Pain. Loss. A hole in the fellowship and the efficacy of the church.

If it's easy to leave; if there is no pain; if nobody misses the family that stopped attending- these are signs that something was already awry in the bond of fellowship.

It should be hard to leave. This doesn't mean that it's never right to leave a church; there are very good and legitimate reasons for doing so. However, leaving a church should be done with the seriousness and formality of amputating a limb- not with the impulsive or emotion-based decisiveness (or indecisiveness) of no longer eating pizza on Friday nights.

Before an amputation, there is first and foremost a significant reason for making such a drastic decision. Leaving a church should be a matter of "doctor, I have leprosy spreading up my leg- I think we need to cut it off"- and not a matter of "hey doc, my elbow hurts a bit after yesterday's baseball game- would you do me a favor and pull out your bone saw?" There are valid reasons- and they are not limited to problems with the local church, either. God could be calling you elsewhere. Regardless the reason, there should be a reason for breaking the fellowship of the local body. Like the founding fathers declaring independence from England, a proper farewell to a local body involves a list- either of grievances or simply of rationale for why God is calling you elsewhere. It doesn't have to be a physical list, but there should be real reasons.

Sharing those reasons with the church, or at least with the elders of the church, not only clarifies why you are considering leaving the fellowship, but it gives them the opportunity to hold you accountable if your rationale is not Scriptural, to repent if they are convicted that you are right, to agree that what you are seeing is a problem that needs addressed, or maybe just to agree to disagree. Even in that last case, at least both parties know what they are disagreeing over!

An amputation is only done after much counsel has been sought and any other way to solve the problem has been considered. Doug Wilson, in his Practical Christian Living talks, points out that generally we are prone to see defects in the thing we are gifted in. Someone God has gifted with teaching will notice that the sermon wasn't very well organized. A servant will notice that nobody is doing the dishes after the potluck. An evangelist will wonder why the stack of Gospel tracts by the door always seems just as tall.

We are remarkably good at turning good things into reasons for pride. "I'm so good at expressing these difficult doctrines. Most of the people here just don't get it as clearly as I do." "No one notices just how often I serve everyone. People here just don't love others enough." "If the folks in this church really loved Jesus, they would be evangelizing more."

"I have the gift of humility and I'm proud of it."

Before leaving a church because of a deficiency in its battlefront, perhaps we might consider that God has put us in that body to fill that void. Maybe the church doesn't evangelize enough because they need someone passionate about evangelism to come in and start poking them. Maybe the music isn't very good because no trained musician has ever come in and said "hey, I can help y'all with that!"

Maybe you see that problem in the local fellowship because God sent you there to fix it. If the focus is not on ourselves but rather on the Kingdom of God and the brethren, will we not be hungry and eager to fill those very voids?

If the problem is not a deficiency but rather an issue of sin or conflict, then healing must be sought through the Biblical patterns of conflict resolution. Fleeing from a problem only causes it to fester, and it destroys the freedom and openness of fellowship that should happen between brothers and sisters in Christ.

Even doctrinal problems are opportunities. It is one thing to decline to join a church because of bad doctrine; it's another to leave a church because they are compromising. If you are a part of that family, maybe God has you there to strengthen the hands of your family in the faith against the lies that are deceiving them. Or maybe God is showing you something that they haven't seen yet- that is your chance to edify the brethren. But maybe you're wrong... and that's their chance to edify you. Regardless, Scripture encourages dealing with stuff. Sin stuff, doctrinal stuff, conflict stuff. Deal with the stuff- don't run from it.

There will be stuff everywhere we go.

An amputation is decisive. People know when it happens and why. So if there is a doctrinal issue that cannot be resolved; if the pastor will not confess his sin; if you've tried every means to "be at peace with all men" that you can, but the conflict is still destroying the fellowship; if The LORD is just calling you to go elsewhere- then do so decisively. Please don't fade away and leave the brethren to wonder what happened. Let them throw you a party and send you away with their blessing- or, if necessary, let them know that you feel you've done all you can and are leaving them and praying for God's mercy on them- something. But don't, please don't leave the limb half-amputated; those don't heal very well.

It leaves others behind hurting. Missing you. Wondering what happened and if they should hope to see you again... or if they should resign to an occasional chance encounter in a room featuring an elephant and a floor of eggshells.

And it cheapens and devalues the realness, the depth of intimate Christian fellowship- just as divorce cheapens marriage. Is it real? Will it last? Can I be so open and vulnerable to this family? Or will they leave too, and take a piece of my heart with them?

If The LORD does want you to leave a good church, and it's not because they are failing to be a faithful body, then don't worry- He will bring someone to fill the void you leave. And the tears of goodbye, like those shared by the pilgrims on the shores of the old country before they left for the new one- they will be sweet tears. And the reunions, the chance encounters, the wedding invitations and the Facebook pictures will be marked with the signs of Christian fellowship- love, joy, wholehearted openness, the good old honest pain that comes with missing a dear friend.

That kind of love for one another will proclaim to the world that we are truly disciples of Jesus Christ.

Those aren't amputations.

They're transplants.

Happy Tears

If you've ever been to a wedding, you probably know the feeling. You can't help but smile, and you can't help but cry. It's so happy that it hurts. There's a deep, aching, longing, bittersweet joy that leaves everyone there inspired and almost depressed (in a happy sort of way). Hearts so light and so heavy all at once.

This feeling of bittersweetness happens at other times through life, though the occasions are rare. A perfectly golden autumn day lit by warm sun through cool, dappled shade. A funeral for a Christian warrior released to glory. The end of a movie where the hero has died and died well. A piece of music that somehow transcends simple audio enjoyment and etches a mark on our soul. A day of fellowship at church where the love and unity is so real that no one wants to leave until long after the daylight has.

What is it, exactly? Why do we get this feeling, and what does it mean?

I can't speak authoritatively to that, but I have a theory, and my theory is not without at least some Scriptural support.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 says that God has set eternity in the heart of men. I suspect that maybe this feeling- the feeling of something so beautiful it is almost too beautiful, of something so bright it is blinding, something greater than our capacity for greatness, something so overwhelmingly, painfully good- maybe that feeling comes when events throughout our temporal life filter in and strike the chords of eternity which God has hidden in our hearts. Like sunbeams dancing through the suffocating dust of an attic and finding their way to grandpa's old prism, suddenly everything is light and beauty and it hurts not because it's too bad but because it's too good, hurts not because we want less of it but because we want more of it- and yet we couldn't handle it if it were given to us.

These moments throughout our lives- maybe they are pointing to something greater. Maybe they hurt because we can feel deep down that our eternity is calling; that we were made for something beyond, for a deeper satisfaction and a fuller joy than anything this world can offer- anything this sinful flesh could bear even if this world could offer it!

Maybe these moments are so overwhelming because they are little tastes of paradise, of the new heavens and the new earth, of the wedding feast of the Lamb.

Which brings me to a few things I can say confidently from Scripture.

Last weekend, my bride and I attended the Southwest Family Vision Conference. It was an enormous blessing; so rich and inspiring and convicting.

One of the themes that was really brought into crystalline focus for me was that earthly marriage between a man and a woman is a physical picture of the heavenly, eternal marriage between Christ and His Church. (Eph. 5:22-33)

The wisdom of God is truly so vast, so unfathomable, so unsearchable. He has spoken and woven into being a world full of foreshadows, of echoes, of tastes, of symbols. Everywhere we look there is a new illustration of Who He is and how He is. Leaven, fire, doors, bread and wine, water, rocks, lambs, lions, fruit, birth, death- it's constant. He has spoken and is speaking His glory all throughout the world around us. (Ps. 19)

And perhaps the greatest of all of His perfect metaphors is marriage.

A few things in particular struck me about the marriage analogy as I've rolled it around in my mind.

The first is the idea of the exuberance of the bridegroom. Every husband knows the feeling. It's finally the day, finally the hour, finally the minute, and then the moment- there she is. Beautiful. Breathless and breathtaking. He couldn't hold the corners of his mouth down if he tried. It's really happening.

All throughout Scripture is painted this picture of the joy of the wedding feast. (Rev. 19:7) Scripture says that Jesus endured the cross for the joy set before Him (Hebrews 12:2).

Notice that in both Rev. 19:8 and Eph. 5:26 the Church is given the white garments; Christ sanctifies His bride. The Church is made up of sinful people- people who were the enemies of God (Rom. 5:10). Yet Christ makes her a perfect bride through His blood.

And then there's the wedding.

And all of creation explodes into celebration.

And God makes us- unworthy sinful dust-to-dust us- the bride in the nuptial consummation of the ages.

To think that we, somehow, get to be a bride who brings joy to her Husband- to imagine that maybe, just maybe, Jesus Christ will smile at the sight of His bride- we are not worthy. That the creation could somehow bring pleasure and glory to the Creator- what a story God has penned!

And of course it's never about us. It's about the Bridegroom. We are not worthy. He is. But the amazing thing is that He makes us worthy. He makes us clean. He makes us pleasing to Him. That we could be pleasing in the sight of God- this truth should at once humble and excite us!

But there's another thing about this truth which brings us full circle. If all of creation, all of history is the love story that God the Father wrote by and for His Son, then every wedding from the beginning of time to its end is a foreshadow. Every "I do," every first kiss, every cheer and clap and wedding cake and first dance- they are all testifying to something greater. Every bride is a picture of the perfected Bride. Every groom is a picture of the perfect Groom. It's like hearing an echo from a celebration miles away. It's a taste. A hint. A picture. The joy. The smiles. The beauty. The covenants. The love.

It's the greatest novel ever written.

We are living in God's love story.

And every wedding is a foreshadow of the triumphant conclusion.

A Call to War

Please note that in this post I am speaking in general terms about events like 9/11, but I do not at all wish to detract from the very important duty held by every American to remember the brave and courageous individuals who chose honor over life on that day, and on many days like it, throughout our nation's history.  Their legacy should be treasured and honored by every one of us.
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What exactly is it that we remember on September 11th?  What is it that we constantly remind ourselves and one another to "Never Forget"?

On September 11th, this year, I received a soundtrack I had ordered; the music from the film United 93.  On the back of the case, the dedication is begun thus: "This music is a prayer for peace..."

And I am left to ask- a prayer to whom?

I love America.  But in times like these, it is worth asking- what is America?

I love America like Maximus loved the dream that was Rome.

America represents so many wonderful and precious things, and for years has been the bastion of Christian civilization- a city on a hill sending the darkness into terrified retreat before the light of freedom, truth, and law, all of which stem from the Holy Word of God.  And I love those things.  I am, by God's grace, ready to die for those things.  And I love the dream that was America.  And I am ready to die for that dream.

But America is not what she used to be.  Shackled by oppressive government, muzzled by political correctness, and, worst of all, gradually succumbing to a cancer of the soul, America is dying the long, painful death of a nation whose sturdy foundations are slowly crumbling beneath the deteriorating shambles on top.

And all the patriotism in the world, all the bumper-stickers and troop-supporting and #neverforget- they are powerless to change that fact.  Electing Romney instead of Obama might stick some bungee cords on the burning wreckage, but in the long term it is all coming down anyway.

So when days like 9/11 come up, and the cries to remember and the cheers for the American spirit and all the happy hoopla and empty jingoism of today's great American facade explode across social media, I find myself at a loss for words.

The true patriot, it has been said, will not say "my country, right or wrong."  He will say "my country- when right, to be kept right; when wrong, to be made right."

Real patriots are honest, not blind.  So let's be honest.

- Islam (and it's not radical Islam; it's true Islam) is on the rise, flexing its tyrannical muscles and slashing and burning and beheading as it marches over lands protected by Crusaders and forsaken by their children.

- The entire political structure of our nation has hit a point of self-perpetuating implosion.  The economy still has some foundational pieces left, creaking and groaning under the weight of tyranny, and weakening from within because of the rot of moral decay; it is only a matter of time before Atlas shrugs.

- Christendom as a whole- Western civilization, the beacon and anchor of the prosperous world- is committing a convenient suicide, slaughtering millions of their own children and "controlling" the rest from ever entering the world.  We may say with pride that no enemy is necessary; we have found a way to dwindle ourselves into nothing on our own.  If Islam weren't such a bloodthirsty religion, they could wait a few years and rule the world anyway, given the drastic multiplication of their families and the rapid subtraction of ours.

Meanwhile, the Church of Jesus Christ has largely forsaken His Word, throwing the Lion of Scripture into the cage of dispensationalism, retreating from the head of the culture to pass out Gospel tracts among those at the tail.

Judgment starts in the house of God (1 Pet. 4:17), and when we look at the nation we, the Church, have built for ourselves, or rather destroyed for ourselves, this truth should make us tremble.  For "culture is religion externalized," and the culture of America is American Christendom externalized.

To return to my newly acquired CD, the "prayer for peace" is representative of the broader state of "good-ol-boy" religious America.  We're a big fan of "God," though we're generally pretty good about being ambiguous as to his identity, and we hope "God" blesses America, and we send both prayers and good feelings and thoughts to our neighbor in need, and our politicians are good church-going folk, and we are all happily happy in our politically correct mess of religious pottage.

Oh yeah, and we pray for peace.

Problem is, this world is a world at war.  Since the fall of man it has been the children of the woman against the children of the serpent.  Peace is a wonderful thing, but true peace will only happen after complete victory.  Until then, we need to keep the Crusader cross painted bright across our shields, our swords sharp, our arms strong- both physically and spiritually.  Spiritually, for offense, for the Gospel will conquer (Matthew 16:18); physically, for defense, for the godless will kill (Proverb 8:36).

Islam will not hesitate to behead me, or you, or our loved ones.  Humanism generally prefers something more sterile, like abortion, or gas chambers, or euthanasia.  Socialism is happy just to kill the society and leave everyone in it to scrape out whatever existence they can.

But they're all at war against Christ.

What is the solution?  Violence?

No!  Not at all.  Christians should be ready to take up physical arms and shed real blood in real battle if the time comes where they must do so in defense of the innocent.  But Christianity, unlike Islam or Marxism, was never to be propagated by the sword.  The solution is to fulfill the two primary missions of Christendom- the Dominion Mandate, and the Great Commission.  Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; go therefore and make disciples of all nations, and teach them to observe all- all- that Jesus has commanded.

We must have kids, and teach them.  We must love people.  Preach the Gospel.  Live the Gospel.  Grab a trowel and spread the Gospel thickly into every little crack and cranny of life.  Make disciples, not just converts.  Run for office, and make Scripture our platform.  Vote according to Biblical principle, not just conservative ideals.  Engage the culture.  Make the movies, write the music and the books, paint the pictures, tell the stories, take the helm for the Glory, by the Grace, and under the Word of Christ.

The gates of hell cannot prevail against the faithful Church of God.  So if the gates of hell are prevailing, then we need only look at ourselves.  How are we failing in our duty?

There are a few that come readily to my mind; a few gaping holes in the walls of Jerusalem that the reformer-Nehemiahs of today have the opportunity to repair.

- We are ashamed of God's Law, and we are afraid to bring The Bible into the political realm.  We have a cart-before-horse perception of the "separation of Church and State," and it has rendered the Church's influence on American politics largely impotent.

- This has left us, politically, advocating a spayed-and-neutered "conservatism" which tries to adhere to a form of Godliness while denying its power, which is God's Word; the result is just a cleaned-up humanism which, rather than warring against the advance of the realm of darkness, jumps into its sandbox in hopes of slowing its progress on the tower of Babel.

- We have a truncated view of the Gospel.  Instead of a multi-generational, dominion-taking, life-and-world-changing Message, we have reduced It to a matter of "praying a prayer," going to church on Sundays, and exchanging swear words for bywords.  We have made the Gospel into an invitation to a party instead of a call to war.

- Maybe that's the biggest thing.  I think we've lost sight of the antithesis.  We've so highly spiritualized Christianity that we struggle to see Its ramifications for the myriad speculations and lofty things raised up against the knowledge of God which swirl around us day-in and day-out.  Until we realize that we are in the war, we will continue to lose it.  The movies we watch, the food we eat, the jokes we tell, the very way that our children learn math- this is all part of the war, and we must learn to identify it as such and take it captive to the obedience of Christ.

The twin towers were a symbol, and their fall was also symbolic.  Prophetic, even.  That is America's future, unless we repent.

So when we remember the tragedy of September 11th, let us not remember it with the pride of a nation of overcomers looking back on another trial we have surmounted.  Let us remember, and shudder, knowing that, unless we repent and return to the ways and the Word of God, that was only the prelude to the nightmarish symphony that is the future of America.

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P.S. There is hope.  Lots of hope.  God is doing amazing things in our country, and I'm excited to see His Hand moving and reforming and building the new even as the old collapses around it.  But hope is to be found in Christ, His Word, His Church, His War- not in conservatism or patriotism as an ideal apart from Him.  And that, in a nutshell, is the entire sum of what I'm saying with this post!

Marshmallow Boy

How many young men out there have big dreams for the Kingdom of God?

How many of those young men are actually doing big things for the Kingdom of God?

I myself have wrestled with this; I've talked to brothers in Christ about it; the recent Southwest Family Vision Conference put an exclamation point on it.  

"In all labor, there is profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty."  That's how Solomon put it.  Mike Wazowski took a more in-your-face approach- "Less talk, more pain, marshmallow boy!"

Guys, we're getting old quick.  If you're like me, you probably have big goals and dreams.  I want to marry young, have a boatload (read: army) of kids, be an elder in my church, a successful entrepreneur and businessman, maybe write a few books...

Those dreams are great.  Taking those dreams out of the metaphysical realm and applying them to our daily decisions, however, is not an easy task. 

We’ve all heard of the “starving artists”; people who, ostensibly for the noble love of their craft, are still flipping burgers at 30 years of age, eking out a living so they can chase their dream.  And our culture tells us that this is a noble thing.

I don’t think Scripture agrees with our culture, though.

As young men, we all have a huge calling as members of the Body of Christ.  We can’t be spinning our wheels; we can’t be wasting God's time (Eph. 5:16).  We’re in the middle of a war, and we’re at a cataclysmic point in that war.  This is not a time for apathetic, lackadaisical manhood.

We can't be playing video games and watching movies.  Rome is burning, and we, the young men, who should be using our youthful vigor to build the Church of Christ and tear down the gates of hell, are fiddling around on our Xbox.

Now is the time to be seeking God, building foundations for our families-to-be, working, working, and working.  Now is the time to be getting married.  Now is the time to draw swords and leap into the colosseum of Reality.  Now is the time to be doing manly things.  Not tomorrow.  Not next week or next year.  We don't have time to waste.  We must assume the responsibilities of manhood.  We are the next wave, and we are sorely needed on the forefront.

We need to be focused leaders-in-training, loving our local churches, praying, studying, honoring our parents, investing in our families, making the most of our single years (and trying to bring them to a rapid conclusion!), paying our own bills, starting the next generation of Christian households, cutting out the good to invest in the best.

Or, as Kipling put it, filling every unforgiving minute with sixty seconds of distance run.

So guys- men- what are you doing?  Are your works and your words matching each other?  Are you a man, or an adolescent?  Has God called you to marriage?  Then what are you waiting for?  Does something prevent you?  Then what are you doing to eliminate that barrier?  Are you paying your own bills?  Driving your own car?  Are you contributing to your local church?  Are you making disciples and being discipled?

Are you working, or wishing?

Please pray for me on this.  I need it.  I want to be a faithful warrior- not one who spent so much time sharpening his sword that he never actually joined the fight.

All it takes is a little sleep, a little slumber, a little free time, a little dreaming, and enough busy work to make us feel like we're actually accomplishing something, and ten years of marriage and five kids have been lost in the great black hole of "could have been."

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Many a man claims to manhood,

Many a runner to run,

Many a runner to finish the race,

Which yet he has hardly begun.

Many a man is convinced

That what he's done is good enough,

Many a man has calmly called quits

Just because the going got rough.

Many a man has spent many a year

Dreaming his life's thrilling plot,

And come to the end and realized

He'd already done it- or not.

Yet there are a few who have chosen,

By the Grace which God chose to outpour,

To turn the few talents they're given,

To run 'til they can run no more,

To forsake the good for the better,

And the better for that which is best;

Spend six full days upon labor,

And the seventh on diligent rest;

Rather to work for slight profit,

Than talk of great things and have none;

Spend their time waking than dreaming;

Embracing the sweat and the sun;

To live out their life to its fullest,

And breathless, arrive at the end,

Knowing they've done, and not talked about doing,

Chose to climb, even slow, ne'er descend.

Few men can say this, for most, in their prime,

Succumbed to the comforting whisper of time,

Which says that tomorrow will gladly fulfill

Whatever today is too difficult still.

But that far-seeing man who prays for the grace,

To redeem the time he may run,

That is the man at whom history quakes,

That is the man who has won.

Four More Years

The dust has settled. The 2012 elections are in the past. Barack Obama won. America reelected a president who left Americans to die in Libya, who supports the murder of children, whose policies are communistic, whose methods are tyrannical- indeed, a candidate who stands directly opposed to almost everything that made America great.

Were the elections really honest? Does America really want more of the hope and change that brought them 8% unemployment, $4.00 gas, and $6 trillion in additional debt? Is Obama America’s choice, or the choice of the man behind the curtain? The entire election process is certainly not beyond scrutiny. How much of this victory may be attributed to voter fraud is, at least for now, uncertain, but it is not uncertain at all that America’s political system is no longer trustworthy. It’s for sale.

Whether or not the election process was honest, the question remains: who is to blame for this electoral catastrophe? Is it the Paul-bots? The uncompromising conservatives, the principled third-partiers, the stubborn constitutionalists, the exclusivist Christians? Or is it the GOP? Does the blame rest with a campaign that failed to make Romney a rock star, a party that couldn’t attract the minority vote, a candidate who just wasn’t cool enough? Or maybe conservative principles are too old-fashioned for the New America. Maybe the only way for conservatism to survive is for conservatism to become… well… liberal.

The truth is that conservatism has become liberal, and continues to become liberal, to the point where the distinction between the two is often one of degrees and not of essence. Mitt Romney was not a conservative candidate- he was a less liberal candidate, and so it is with most of the solutions, selections, and salvations offered up by conservatism today. To be a conservative is to be a less-liberal. The basic principles of limited government have been thrown to the wolves. This year, America was presented with two bad choices. Most of conservative America went for the less bad choice, while some pled the third option and elected to vote for someone whom they could actually stand behind. Yes, the party was split, and the wishy-washy politicking of the GOP must be given some credit for this. The Republican establishment has proven to be ambiguous on the issues, untrustworthy in the political process, and, indeed, traitorous to any who do not play their game. After building a reputation like this, the GOP sealed their irrelevance with a kiss by nominating a moderate (read: liberal) as an alternative to Barack Obama.

But this does not go deep enough. The GOP’s impotence is a symptom, not a cause. For politics are only a large-scale representation of the most pervasive worldviews of the populace.

So the problem must be something else entirely. Maybe the blame for this political fiasco must be handed to a group which is, and must be, according to the cultural narrative, the least political institution on earth.

Yes, the blame for the reelection of Barack Obama must rest squarely on the shoulders of the Church.

It is the Church who was told to be the pillar and support of the truth. It is the Church who, as trustees of the word of God, holds in her hand the document which was the foundation for American liberty. It is the Church who allowed herself to be bound and gagged, who accepted permission for what was her right, who neglected to proclaim God’s Truth to every area of life. It is because God’s people have forsaken their place as the leaders of society that America is crumbling. It was the church that hesitated to condemn homosexuality as a crime and sin. It was the church that neglected to preach Scriptural principles of free market economics. It is the church who still fails to expose property and inheritance taxes as theft, public schooling as both unbiblical and unconstitutional, social justice as injustice. We cannot expect the blessing of God on our nation while we continue to walk in contempt of His Word, and we cannot expect secular America to accept this if the American church will not proclaim it. “We are all children of God,” and platitudes like it, may make Americas feel good. “In God we trust” and “God bless America” may give us a feeling of piety, of “God-is-on-our-side.” But, as Ronald Reagan said, the question is not whether God is on our side, but whether we are on His.

The God Who blesses nations and who brings them to their knees has told us in His Word what exactly it means to be “on His side.” Until we submit to His Law, we can expect nothing but judgment.