FSTDT

Rev. Ralph Drollinger #fundie capmin.org

[From "Is God Judging America Today?"]

Some leading evangelicals believe and teach that America is now experiencing God’s judgment.

If that is the case, as a public servant who is sacrificing so much in your attempt to turn our nation around, it would stand to reason—if those Evangelical leaders are correct—that you are wasting your time. Are you laboring against a foregone conclusion? I think not. But let me qualify that: I do not believe America is experiencing the forsaking wrath of God, but yes, American is experiencing the consequential wrath of God.

I will explain what I mean by those terms—theological terms that you should have a working familiarity with—in this study.

Read on, my friend.

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In Romans 1:18– 32 notice the following five identifying characteristics that surface when God pulls back and allows a person or group of people to go in the way of their wicked desires. I.e., God no longer restrains the fallen nature of man as He usually does.

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Further down in this section of the passage suppressors became futile in their speculations (dialogismo). Speculations is perhaps better translated into the English understanding of “argumentation or reasoning.”3The Greek sentence structure here carries the idea of the vanity that results from godless reasoning. Accordingly, professing to be wise they became fools (moraine). It is not difficult to figure out the meaning of moraino given its English transliteration: moron.
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Man is created in the image of God whereas the remainder of the created order is not (Genesis 1:26). Therefore mankind is separate, special and superior as it relates to all God has made. It explicitly follows from Genesis 1:26 that mankind is not equal or subservient to all that God has created; conversely he has preeminence over creation and the environment. Properly understood, God has appointed man to be His steward over the earth.

Clearly indicative of God’s forsaking wrath is when the abandoned serve the creature rather than the creator.
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Indicative of forsaking wrath is a proclivity toward lesbianism and homosexuality.

In this next portion of the passage Scripture indicates the direct result—what is secured—is a depraved mind.
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Men and women inherently know what are the right and wrong things to do. A good understanding of the flow of this passage, and what depravity means is summarized by this thought: the mind that finds God worthless becomes worthless itself. It is debauched, deceived, and deserving only of God’s wrath.
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Consequential wrath is best understood through the parallel idea we commonly refer to as sowing and reaping. Galatians 6:7 states, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.” To illustrate in one of many ways: If a person or a nation sows debt, it will reap in due time the results of financial crisis. Whenever an individual or corporate group of individuals violate the inviolate precepts of God’s Word, he, she, they or the institution will suffer the respective consequences. Most assuredly America is facing this form of God’s judgment.

Let us backtrack now and answer the question whether America is experiencing the forsaking wrath of God. Unlike the ease of answering the question of the existence of consequential wrath, ascertaining the possible existence of forsaking wrath requires a much more complex biblical analysis. What follows are six reasons why I personally do not believe America as a national entity, is presently subject to the forsaking wrath of God.
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America is not similar to Sodom and Gomorrah, in the sense that there were not any faithful to be found (cf. Genesis 18:22–33). In fact to the contrary, America today is populated by tens of millions of faithful followers of Christ!

Many are those who have glibly postured, “If God does not judge America, then he owes Sodom and Gomorrah an apology!” But such thinking fails to take into account what went on between Abraham and God in Genesis 18:22–33 before He judged Sodom and Gomorrah!
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In fact, today’s America is not by in large characterized by people who are unfaithful to God’s precepts. Conversely, there is only a small minority of individuals who are grossly disobedient to God, individuals to whom the five indicators of Romans 1 apply. Unfortunately for the vast majority of faithful individuals in America, too many of the unfaithful have been allowed by the faithful to gain high positions of influence in our culture: high positions in our government, our educational system, our media and our entertainment industry. This is tragic, unfortunate, and costly.

Those individuals who are rebuked by God’s forsaking wrath are largely responsible for God’s consequential wrath on our nation.

Ralph Drollinger #fundie capmin.org

II. THE PURPOSES OF PARENTS

As a Public Servant you have to fight your scheduler in order to be a good parent because good parenting takes time; you are in a constant battle over your priorities. This means you must be especially knowledgeable and skilled at parenting, simply because you will most likely have less time to achieve this than will your next door neighbor. Accordingly, give special attention to this study and the principles expounded upon herein. The purposes of parenting are:

A. TO INSTRUCT YOUR CHILDREN
(Proverbs) 1:8 Hear, my son, your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching;

6:20 My son, observe the commandment of your father and do not forsake the teaching of your mother;

This first purpose is perhaps the most important. If you get this right and not so much the others to follow, you will probably still end up with good kids. Here’s the big principle that is so often forsaken in today’s American households: Your child needs to clearly observe the commandment(s) of his or her parents and not be allowed to forsake them.

OBEDIENCE TO ONE’S PARENTS IS NOT AN OPTION THAT THE PARENT AFFORDS THE CHILD

Rather, obedience is to be demanded — with immediacy — always. The above passages imply that the parent’s child or children must learn to revere his authority. To allow your children to show disrespect for your authority is akin to teaching them to eventually not fear God; and a healthy fear of God is the basis for your child to one day bow the knee to the Lordship of Christ (hopefully at a young age) which is the ultimate objective and purpose for parenting. There is no need to submit to God later if there is no need to submit to parents now. Such reverence for authority is created in a child at an early age through good parenting.

Ralph Drollinger #fundie capmin.org

I. INTRODUCTION
The Bible clearly teaches that today, there is to be an institutional separation of Church and State. To think otherwise is to believe in a theocratic or sacerdotal form of Government. What the Bible does not teach — and what the secularist would like to say the U.S. Constitution supports — is an influential separation of Church and State. Clearly however such thinking is not supported in the Constitution or the Scriptures.

“Render unto Caesar” represents one of the biblical passages that supports the idea of institutional separation. Let us examine this more closely from a historical perspective.

As primitive Christianity began as recorded in the book of Acts the separation of the Church from the State of Rome clearly existed. It was not until the fourth century A.D., when Constantine co-opted Christianity as the State religion (in his attempt to unify the vast and diverse Roman Empire), that the clearly, previously existing, separation between the two institutions disappeared. Tragically, this lack of separation occurs even during the Post-Reformation period! Luther, Zwingli and Calvin practiced a sacerdotal societal structure, versus a composite one per the clear teaching of the NT (cf., Matthew 20:20-22; Romans 13:1-8; 1Peter 2:13-14). In that much of the reformer’s emphasis on doctrinal correction of heresy related to soteriology (the doctrine of Salvation) no surgical exercise was performed relative to the aberrant earlier wedding of Church and State.

Important to this study is the thought that in the NT era — save the first three centuries of it — a theocratic, sacerdotal system has existed in most countries of the world. Historically, it is not until the American experiment in government, in which our founding fathers in reaction to sacerdotal England (wherein the Church of England and the State of England still remain one in the same), sought a pragmatic solution to separate themselves from a forced religious belief system incumbent on one being born in England.

If biblically speaking, the Church and State are to be separate institutions, does that suggest, as the secularist would postulate, a total disenfranchisement of the Church from the State — i.e. an influential separation as well? Is that the extrapolation Christ would desire from the aforementioned text of Matthew 22:21? No!

As we will see from this study, the Institution of the State is quite dependent on the existence of a strong and healthy Institution of the Church (which it does not control) to build men and women in righteousness for service in government.

WITHOUT A STRONG CHURCH THAT MAKES DISCIPLES, THE STATE SOON GOES WAYWARD DUE TO THE SINFULNESS OF ITS LEADERS.

Since this is such a vital need and concern of the State itself, and the State’s leadership, what more so and specifically does the book of Proverbs state about the absolute need for righteous governmental leaders? Let us turn our attention in pursuit of the answer to that question.

II. UNDERSTANDING THE SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE
Every statesman needs to take a lesson from Proverbs 14:34. Here in this important Proverb is a nationalistic, (versus personal) bestowal of truth. Here is a sound political maxim:

Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.

Righteousness in the lives of individuals — both in a country’s citizens and leaders — is the superior virtue over all others. It is a nation’s number one national resource! The writer of Proverbs is stating that it is the one ingredient that assures the exaltation of a nation.

It is not the international trade or the gross domestic product, nor is it the presence of natural resources that is most fundamental to the exaltation of a nation. Rather, it is the righteousness of a nation’s individuals that is the greatest resource — and the greatest commodity that a nation needs to manufacture!

The same principles which build individuals in righteousness (as expounded by the Word of God) are the same principles, wherein multiplied by and through individuals, that build a nation. It is when a nation is impregnated with highly principled individuals that it gains well-being.

Given this cut-to-the-chase analysis of our greatest need, the question then quickly becomes one of how righteousness is formed in the lives of individuals. Having said that, therein exists, in terms of serving the Institution of the State, the absolutely critical preeminent duty of the Church in an institutionally separated society: to convert the soul and disciple — Christianize — the leaders of the State and its citizenry.

Conversion is even preeminent to education; without a moral foundation, knowledge makes arrogant (ICorinthians 8:1) and is of little value in terms of nation building. Therefore in our composite country, the State is highly dependent on an Institution it does not control: The Church in regard to its own health and sustainability. Conversely, for the Church to spend her energy in the Capital Community attempting to affect policy with little manifest concern for the souls of the State’s leaders is to practice, biblically speaking, a misinformed and misguided sort of involvement: it is to attempt to do what others — strong in Christ Public Servants — can do much better! It is to be less than efficient. It is to misunderstand the primacy of her God-ordained role in a composite society.

The Church can best influence the State by building and sending righteous Public Servants to serve in government. Keep in mind the State is not in the business of manufacturing righteous individuals. Rather, God has designed it to punish unrighteous individuals (cf. Romans 13:4; 1Peter 2:13-14). [...] States Proverbs 11:10-11 in this regard:

When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices, and when the wicked perish, there is joyful shouting. By the blessing of the upright a city is exalted, but by the mouth of the wicked it is torn down.

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As you can see, Proverbs has much to say about the necessity of righteous governmental leaders! Scripture shouts about this matter! The Church must be in the business of manufacturing them via evangelism and discipleship at all levels of their career paths.