“The Christian Citizen”
Psalm 33:12

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Pastor Kevin Vogts
Trinity Lutheran Church
Paola, Kansas
Seventh Sunday after Pentecost—July 3, 2016

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

In the early 1800’s the famous French philosopher and historian Alexis de Tocqueville journeyed to the New World to tour the United States. His goal was to discover the secret to America’s greatness.

When he returned to France, de Tocqueville wrote his most famous book, “Democracy in America.” He said his search for the secret of America’s greatness took him from state to state, and town to town. He visited the centers of commerce and industry; he toured the schools and cultural institutions; he examined the government of this young nation. But, in none of these places, he said, did he find the source of America’s strength.

It wasn’t until de Tocqueville visited the churches of America that he discovered the secret to this nation’s greatness. “America is great,” he wrote, “because America is good; and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.”

Holy Scripture says the very same thing in Psalm 33: “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.” But, the opposite is also true: Cursed is the nation that turns away from the Lord.  That is why our nation today faces so many problems that seem insurmountable, because we are turning away from the Lord.

Most of the early settlers in America were devout believers, who came to this land for religious freedom. And if you go through the signers of the Declaration of Independence, you find that almost all the founding fathers of our nation were self-professed Christians.

It will surprise and perhaps shock you that as recently as 1892 the United States Supreme Court declared in an official ruling: “Our laws and institutions must necessarily be based upon and embody the teachings of the Redeemer of mankind. It is impossible that it should be otherwise. . . This is a Christian nation.” It’s hard to imagine, it wasn’t Billy Graham or some other famous preacher who said that; it was actually the United States Supreme Court that once declared, “This is a Christian nation.”

However, less than 100 years later, in 1980, the same Supreme Court outlawed posting the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms. Why? The Court’s decision stated its concern was that children might be, “induced to read, meditate upon, venerate, and perhaps obey the commandments.”  Can you think of a more stark example of our nation turning away from the Lord?

One of the elderly members of our congregation recalls graduating from 8th grade in the public school at Fontana, and as a requirement for graduation she and everyone in the class were required to recite from memory the 23rd Psalm. But, today, the Ten Commandments are banished from the public schools of our land—because of the fear that children might obey them! No wonder we’re having so much trouble in our nation.

Of course, it’s easy to point to the Supreme Court, or the public schools, or some other institutions or people, and blame them for our nation’s woes. It’s a lot more painful to put the blame where it really belongs—not out there, but right here, in our own sinful hearts.

All those other things are actually only symptoms of the real problem. The fact is, this is a sinful, ungodly nation, because we are a nation of ungodly sinners, sinners like you and me. As the book of Proverbs says, “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.” It’s not someone else, but sinners like you and me, who have brought disgrace and a curse upon our land with our sin and unfaithfulness.

“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.” What can we do to turn things around? What can we do to put our nation back on track? What can we do to bring again God’s blessings upon our land?

The first step is for you personally, individually, to repent and believe the Gospel. Look to your Lord Jesus Christ, who by his blood made atonement for your sin. On his account, God forgives you, and loves you, and welcomes you with open arms. Trust in Jesus as your personal Savior.

And live, in your own daily life, a life worthy of the Gospel of Christ. That’s the place to start putting our nation back on track, for you to seek God’s way and pursue it in your own life. Personal, individual repentance; personal, individual faith in Jesus Christ; personal, individual obedience to God’s word; that is the only way to revive and restore our nation.

“You are the salt of the earth,” Jesus says. Just as a little pinch of salt has a preservative big effect to keep food from decaying, your individual life of faith and godliness as a Christian citizen of this land will have a big preservative and restorative effect upon our decaying nation.

But, I’m just one person; what can I do? “You are the light of the world,” Jesus says. And enough little lights like you, all put together, will overcome the spiritual darkness in our land.

“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.” What does God expect from you as a Christian citizen?  What does the Bible say about your duty as a Christian toward our government?  You can sum it up in three words: obey, pay, and pray.

Scripture says, first of all, it is your duty as a Christian to obey, to submit and be obedient to the civil authorities. As Paul writes in today’s Epistle Reading from Romans, “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. . . Therefore it is necessary to submit to the authorities. . .”

The only exception is when the laws and commands of the government go against the laws and commands of God’s word. Then, as the Peter and the other apostles declare in the book of Acts, when they are forbidden to preach about Jesus, “We must obey God rather than men.” But, apart from that exception, Peter later wrote in his First Epistle, “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men.”

“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.”  As a Christian citizen you will also pay.  You will first of all pay respect and honor. As Paul also says in today’s Epistle Reading, “Give everyone what you owe him. . . If you owe respect, give respect; if you owe honor, give honor.” As a Christian citizen, you respect and honor the leaders God whom appoints over our nation; you respect and honor those who serve to protect and defend us and our freedoms; and you respect and honor the symbols of our nation, such as the flag.  That is why, despite all the faults of our nation, we still have in our church’s sanctuary our nation’s flag, to which we pledged allegiance today: “If you owe respect, give respect; if you owe honor, give honor.”

“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.” As a Christian citizen, you will also pay in another way: paying taxes. As Jesus says in today’s Gospel Reading, “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s.” And as Paul says in today’s Epistle Reading, “If you owe taxes, pay taxes.”

Paying taxes is not only an obligation the government places upon you; paying taxes is a divine obligation, which the Lord commands. So, paying your taxes is not just a duty decreed by the laws of men, but also a fulfillment of God’s divine decree. Therefore, paying taxes is actually for you as a Christian good work, commanded by God and pleasing to him.

“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.”  As a CHRISTIAN citizen, you also have a very special and unique responsibility, which you are commanded by God to perform on behalf of our government and its leaders: to pray. Paul writes in 1st Timothy: “I urge first of all that requests, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made for everyone—for kings and all those in authority, that we may lead peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior.”

Just as King Solomon prayed to God for wisdom to rule over ancient Israel, you as a Christian must pray that God will grant our governmental leaders today wisdom to rightly rule over us. It is easy to complain about the government, but what the Lord really wants to hear from your lips is not complaints, but prayers, on behalf of our government and its leaders.

Pray that God grant them wisdom from on high to meet the challenges and overcome the problems facing our nation. Pray that they lead our nation in the ways of prosperity and peace, so that, as Paul says, “we may lead peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.”  Pray that they make judgments and decisions pleasing to God and according to his will.  Pray, as Paul says, “for all those in authority.”

“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.” Your duty as a Christian citizen is to obey, pay, and pray. And in our democratic system, you also have the privilege of participating in our government, especially the right to use your vote to bring about changes for the good. That means when election time comes, as a Christian citizen you need to be aware of the issues, how your representatives voted, what the candidates’ positions are, and then use your vote to make a difference for the better. That is a special privilege and obligation given you by God in our democratic form of government.

“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.” But, what is the most important thing you can do to put our nation back on track? Joshua puts it this way in today’s Old Testament Reading: “Choose this day whom you will serve. . . but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” 

What is the most important thing you can do to put our nation back on track? Your children. Like Joshua, set them an example of serving the Lord; as Paul commands in Ephesians, “Bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.”

We worry so much about passing on to our children money and possessions.  But, what we TEACH our children is really the only lasting legacy one generation leaves for the next. For the sake of their souls, teach your children to trust in Jesus.  And for the sake of our nation’s future, teach your children to be good Christian citizens: leading godly, law-abiding lives; being obedient and respectful to the authorities; paying taxes and praying for our rulers; participating as Christian citizens.

“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.” Can Christian citizens really make a difference in our nation? In 1904 a great Christian revival swept across the small country of Wales. In just five months 100,000 people—a huge percentage of the population—turned to God in repentance and faith. And what does history tell us the consequences were for that country, of all those souls coming to Christ? Many judges retired, because there were almost no cases to try. Robberies, murders, burglaries, and other crimes were almost entirely eliminated. The district councils had emergency meetings to discuss what to do with the police, since most of them weren’t needed anymore.

That’s the kind of revival we need in our troubled land! It all starts today, right here, with you, in your heart, and your life.

“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.”