Taking Back America's Values
2 Kings 21 - 23
I want to tell you about a little-known hero in the Bible named Josiah. It’s a fascinating account that has some very relevant applications to America. Josiah’s grandfather, Manasseh, had been the most wicked king the nation of Judah ever had. The Bible says Manasseh led the people to be more wicked than the Canaanites who had been vomited out of the land years before because of their sin.
Manasseh completely disregarded God’s commandments and lived a life of self-indulgence. He promoted interfaith marriages. He encouraged the worship of other gods even though it involved human sacrifice. He even sacrificed one of his own infant sons to a foreign god. Manasseh was the Adolph Hitler, or Hugo Chavez, or Saddam Hussein of Judah and shed a lot of innocent blood.
For 55 years, Manasseh led the nation in a moral freefall. God had promised His people that if you obey me you will be blessed, if you forsake me you will be cursed. Under Kings David and Solomon, God’s authority was respected, and, for over a century, Israel was prosperous and harmonious.
But now God was totally rejected, the nation was sharply divided, and there was widespread violence and moral chaos. When Manasseh finally died, his son, Amon, became king but he was just as bad. After two years Amon was assassinated by some of his own officials.
That’s when Josiah was crowned king and the amazing thing is this: he was only eight years old when he began his reign. You would think, with his family history and inexperience, that Josiah would be a disaster. But he was surrounded with good advisors and young Josiah had a heart for God. He became one of Judah’s best kings and led a campaign to clean up the country.
The Bible says in 2 Kings 22:2, “He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and walked in all the ways of his father (ancestor) David, not turning aside to the right or to the left.”
When he was still a young man, Josiah ordered the temple to be refurbished. The House of God had been totally neglected under his grandfather. In fact, it had been used as a hub of idol worship and prostitution. So, Josiah ordered that it be renovated.
While working in that reconstruction project, one of the priests discovered an ancient scroll, hidden away in a dusty closet. It was a copy of the Scriptures that no one had paid attention to for decades. When the Bible was read to Josiah he recognized it as the word of God, tore his robe in dismay and worry, and cried out, “Lord, we’ve not obeyed these commands, what’s going to happen to us?”
God answered through a prophetess named Huldah that since Judah had become so wicked it was His plan that the nation would be destroyed. Josiah took immediate action to try to prevent that from happening. He ordered all the people to gather at the temple to listen to the word of God and then to go home and obey it.
Then Josiah ordered that all the idols and the equipment used to worship the false gods be taken outside the city and burned. He cut down all the Asherah poles, which were kind of the sexually-oriented businesses of his day…the Love Shacks of Judah. He tore down the houses of prostitution and executed the priests who led in the false worship. Then he reinstituted the priesthood and the observance of the Passover.
The Bible says in 2 Kings 23: 24b - 25, “This he did to fulfill the requirements of the law written in the book that Hilkiah the priest had discovered in the temple of the LORD. Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the LORD as he did—with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with all the Law of Moses.”
Because of King Josiah’s repentance, God gave the nation of Judah a reprieve from judgment. God told Josiah in 2 Kings 22:19-20, “’Because your heart was responsive and you humbled yourself before the LORD…and because you tore your robes and wept in my presence…Your eyes will not see all the disaster I am going to bring on this place.’”.
Josiah reigned for 31 years and Judah seemed to thrive under his leadership. But when he died, the moral slide resumed and a few years later the Babylonians conquered Israel and took the citizens captive. But Josiah helped the nation reclaim its spiritual heritage and for a time he effectively delayed the judgment of God.
An obvious lesson from that account is this: There is a direct correlation between the morality of a nation and its stability. Proverbs 14:34 says, “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.”
I believe The United States of America has been a blessed nation because it has a Godly base. The reason we are the wealthiest, most free, most secure, most envied nation on earth is that we were established as a nation under God, and God has kept His promise to bless us.
Let me give a brief overview of our spiritual history. In 1620 the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. They signed a document known as The Mayflower Compact that opened with these words, “Having undertaken for the glory of God and the advancement of the Christian faith…” Our forefathers came here for the stated purpose of advancing the Christian faith.
The first college established on American soil was in Boston on Sept. 26, 1636. The rules and precepts of Harvard read, “Let every student be plainly instructed… the main end of his life and studies is, to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternal life.”
In 1776 the colonists declared independence from Great Britain. The Declaration of Independence began, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights.” Their rights did not emanate from government but from God.
None of our founders was perfect and not all were Christians. Some, such as Thomas Jefferson, were deists and a few like Thomas Paine were skeptics. But the vast majority; were believers in Jesus Christ and respected the Bible as the ultimate source of authority.
52 of the 55 signers of the Declaration of Independence were Christians; 27 were seminary graduates. Just after signing the Declaration of Independence Samuel Adams said, “We have this day restored the Sovereign to whom atoned men ought to be obedient. He reigns in heaven, and…From the rising to the setting sun, may his kingdom come!”
George Washington, our first President, said in his inaugural address: “The propitious smiles of heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained.”
John Quincy Adams, our 6th president said, “The highest glory of the American Revolution was this: it connected in one indissoluble bond, the principles of government with the principles of Christianity. From the day of the Declaration, they (the American people) were bound by the laws of God, which they all, and by the laws of the gospel, which they nearly all, acknowledged as the rules of their conduct.”
In the early 1900’s President Woodrow Wilson said, “A nation which does not remember what it was yesterday, does not know what it is today, nor what it is trying to do…America was born a Christian nation. America was born to exemplify that devotion to the elements of righteousness which are derived from the revelations of the Holy Scriptures.”
The U.S. Supreme Court decreed in 1930, “We are a Christian nation.” In 1952 the Court stated, “We are a religious people whose institutions presuppose a Supreme Being.”
That’s why Scriptures are etched on the walls of many national buildings. That’s why all our currency has stamped on it, “In God we trust.” That’s why the Pledge of Allegiance includes the phrase, “Under God.” America has a Godly foundation.
That Christian foundation has given America moral values that provide a common consensus of right and wrong. The sanctity of life, the structure of marriage and family, the love and protection of children, the inherent value of every person, the need for integrity and civility in relationships, the respect for people in authority, the pursuit of justice for all, mercy for the oppressed, the restraint of evil desires, the right to own property and enjoy individual freedom are all values rooted in the Bible.
With those Biblical principles at our base, the United States of America became the most powerful and influential nation in the world. But now there’s a bitter division that exists in America. We’re involved in an intensifying cultural war. On one side are those of us who stand for traditional Biblical values. On the other are those who mock God, ridicule the Bible, and call for total freedom to live as we please.
Late night talk show host Bill Maher represented those opposed to Biblical values on Larry King Live during the presidency of George W. Bush. In response to a question about restoring the separation of church and state he said, “I hate to sound like a broken record. It has to take place at the top. When you have a President who is this openly religious and this openly contemptible, in contempt, rather, of the separation of church and state, I don’t think anything is going to change until that changes.”
“This is a man who proudly says that Jesus picked him to be president. You said something about, ‘You have to respect people’s beliefs.’ I know that’s what we always hear—we have to respect. I’m sorry, I don’t. I don’t respect religion. I don’t respect superstitious thinking, which is what religion is.”
“We talked about this before; this whole gay issue wouldn’t even be an issue except it says it in the Bible. The Bible, that book that has people who lived to be 900 years old and says the world is 6000 years old, and that there are people who lived in a whale. That infallible work of genius and slavery is okay. You should stone a guy to death if he works on Sunday. That’s the book that says, ‘Sorry, no queers.’”
“So, I’m sorry, I don’t respect people who believe in religion. I was religious when I was a kid. We all had dumb stuff drilled into our head. It doesn’t mean when you get to be an adult you can’t drill it out.”
We need to pray that God will soften Bill Maher’s heart. He reveals the intense hostility toward any religious expression in the public square.
The Manasseh’s of our era are attempting to discredit the teaching of the Bible and eliminate any accountability to God. The enemies of God are willing to ridicule Christians, rewrite history, sandblast Scripture off walls, redesign city seals to erase the cross, change the Pledge to remove any mention of God so we can live as we please.
But if there is no Creator, no validity to the Bible, then there is no foundation for right and wrong and the result is national confusion and chaos. “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people” (Proverbs 14:34).
If you neglect your car, it takes a while for the engine to become so polluted that it breaks down. And if a nation neglects its moral values, it takes a while for the complete collapse to occur, but it’s inevitable. Arnold Toynbee, respected historian, wrote that, of the 22 major civilizations in history, 19 collapsed from within. That was written before the fall of the Soviet Union. We are not exempt.
Jedidiah Morse, one of our Founding Fathers, predicted over two hundred years ago: “Whenever the pillars of Christianity shall be overthrown, our present republican forms of government and all blessings which flow from them, must fall with them.”
That’s why the decline in moral values and the hostility against Christianity are so disturbing. We sense we’re getting dangerously close to the precipice of anarchy. For example, activist judges have declared that marriage is no longer defined by God; it is defined by them. Therefore, two men or two women can be married. When judges arbitrarily disregard law, and cast aside 3500 years of Judeo Christian tradition, the stage is set for anarchy. No society ever lasts long without a moral consensus.
Now we’re witnessing a nationwide breakdown of the family—chaos in schools, collapse of corporations, abuse of children (even in churches), mistrust of politicians, overcrowded courtrooms and jails which are all indications of a society beginning to come unraveled.
Not long ago the Associated Press carried a story of a father who claimed his children were harassed because they didn’t participate in the Pledge of Allegiance and the National Anthem at Gavit High School in Hammond, Indiana. He filed a discrimination complaint with the Indiana Civil Rights commission saying, “It will be a clear and hypocritical rejection of our Islamic faith and our Moorish nationality if we pledge allegiance to a flag out of fear that if we do not, the very liberty and justice for all which is purported in the pledge shall be denied to us.”
Jehovah’s Witnesses and others have not repeated the Pledge for years; Americans are given that right. But here’s a man suing to remove the Pledge of Allegiance altogether, because repeating it may subject his child to harassment. But he still wants all the privileges that living in the United States provides.
One of the arguments of the pluralists of our day is that since we’ve become such a diverse society it’s intolerant to continue to impose Christian morality on others. But Patrick Henry wrote over two hundred years ago, “It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ. For this very reason peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity and freedom of worship here.”
The unwritten understanding with people of other cultures has been that you are free to live and practice your religious traditions, and you’re to be treated with respect. But understand that the moral foundation of this nation is Christian. If you feel oppressed by that then you can exercise one of the other great freedoms of this country, you are still free to leave. But we are one nation under God. We are a nation that respects Biblical values. People are dying to take your place. Proverbs 28:2 says, “When a country is rebellious, it has many rulers, but a man of understanding and knowledge maintains order.”
We’re so spoiled, so accustomed to freedom and prosperity that we can’t imagine what it would be like if the American system were to collapse. We can’t imagine a system so unstable that we aren’t free to travel even from state to state because of terrorist threats. We can’t imagine preachers being arrested for what they preach or children being taken from Christian homes because parents were accused of teaching hate. We can’t imagine an economy so unstable that there was no credit and little food and almost no jobs. We can’t fathom an entire city being destroyed by a nuclear bomb sneaked across the border in a footlocker by terrorists.
But 15 years ago, we couldn’t imagine the World Trade Towers being hit and collapsing taking three thousand lives. But it happened. The Bible says in Galatians 6: 7 & 8, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.” There is a direct connection between the morality of a nation and its stability.
There’s another lesson from Josiah: The spirituality of a declining nation can be reclaimed. It’s possible for a nation to repent and recover. It’s rare and difficult but it can happen.
It happened to the nation of Judah under Josiah. It happened in the city of Nineveh. The prophet Jonah told the city that their sin was so severe; that he was going to destroy them in 40 days unless they repented. Surprisingly, the entire city repented and God spared them.
It happened in America in what is called the great awakening in the early days of the frontier when worldly people turned to God by the thousands.
It happened for a few weeks following September 11, 2001. Churches were full and people were reevaluating priorities.
It can happen again with more lasting results. The atmosphere is right for a spiritual awakening. A lot of people are fed up with activist judges, political correctness, and lack of decency that exist in our nation right now. We know instinctively something has to be done and soon.
The Apostle Paul said, “A great door is opened for me, but there are many adversaries.” Although there are many adversaries this may be our best time to reclaim our heritage.
Josiah also teaches that: If change is to occur, the leadership will most likely come from young people. Josiah was in his 20’s when he led this spiritual revival. If we’re going to reclaim America’s values then leadership needs to come from some courageous, young people.
Many older Christians are discouraged and burned out. They’re appalled at what’s going on but they’ve just about given up.
Jeremiah, a contemporary of Josiah, talked about those who were so numbed that they lost the ability to blush. There was no longer any shame. Some older Christians have seen so much transition and decadence that they’re numb to it. Familiarity hasn’t bred contempt, it’s bred indifference.
For example, the polls told us that a significant majority of American voters opposed same-sex marriage. Yet congressmen and senators told us that they hardly got any calls on the subject at all—not even from Christians.
So, most leadership for revival is going to have to come from young people who still have youthful ideals and courageous energy. 1st Chronicles 12:32 describes the men of Issachar as men, “who understood the times and knew what Israel should do.” The cause of Christ needs young people who understand the critical times in which we live and are willing again to pledge their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor to reclaim the values that made America blessed.
I think we have more reason to start a revolution now than our forefathers had in 1776. They rebelled against England because of taxation without representation. We have imposed morality without representation. Unelected activist judges are overriding the laws passed by the representatives of the people.
My friends, our government is to be a government “of the people, by the people, for the people.” The people pass a law against partial birth abortion, and yet a district judge overturns it. Our representatives pass a law disallowing gay marriage, but a liberal judge overturns it. We pass a law attempting to protect children from Internet exploitation, but the Supreme Court overturns it. There is an attack on the family and the Bible without representation.
We need young people who understand the times and are perceptive enough to know what should be done and who have the courage to do it. Surprisingly when young people step up to the plate and take the lead, the older people will follow, though the opposite is not always true.
Something else Josiah teaches us is that: Spiritual renewal demands dramatic measures. Josiah took drastic steps that disturbed a lot of people. He removed pagan shrines that were the source of pleasure for many. He eliminated the false prophets, who were relatives and friends of a lot of people. He acknowledged the Word of God as the basis of morality and insisted the people follow, and many undoubtedly resented that.
The prophet Jeremiah began as a contemporary to Josiah, but after Josiah was gone, Jeremiah was treated with disdain by people. He was later imprisoned and beaten. Surgery hurts and Josiah initiated spiritual surgery that was painful.
When our forefathers grew tired of King George’s oppressive tax and heavy-handedness, they took drastic action. In frustration, they sneaked onto the English ships that had just delivered tons of tea and dumped all the tea into the harbor. It was called “The Boston Tea Party” and it cost British merchants a lot of money.
There were many colonists who thought that was too extreme. That was going too far. The King of England retaliated by sending troops to suppress the revolt and enforce the tax. The colonists responded by forming their own military and then signing a Declaration of Independence. When that document was signed there was no turning back. People had to make decisions to either be pro-revolution or against it. Some returned to England, others attempted to remain neutral, but it was almost impossible to do so.
If you saw the movie, The Patriot, you know that Mel Gibson played the part of a colonist who attempted to remain neutral to the revolution because he rightfully hated war. But when the English troops shot and killed his own son, this Patriot became very much involved.
Some would like to remain neutral today. But I don’t see how you can be a dedicated Christian and not get involved. This is not about Democrats, Republicans, and Independent members; it’s about the future of our children and grandchildren.
Do you know who led out in the call for a revolution? Many of the preachers in the New England Pulpits got involved. This past week I read a long list of titles of some of the sermons preached prior to and in the beginning of the Revolutionary War. They included:
• “An Appeal to the Public for Religious Liberty” – (Isaac Backus – 1773)
• “The Bible and the Sword” (John Fletcher 1776)
• “God Arising and Pleading His People’s Cause” (Abraham Keteltas –1777)
• “Divine Judgments on Tyrants” (Jacob Cushing 1778)
Preachers took it upon themselves to educate people according to God’s word regarding the political issues of their day. The church leaders got actively involved in the conflict.
We can no longer sit on the sidelines and be neutral. But, what can we do?
First, we can repent and pray. 2nd Chronicles 7:14 ought to be our theme verse, “…if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
Pray every day for America and for our leaders and seek to live repentant, righteous lives. Let’s be faithful to our families, pure in our thoughts, honest in our business dealings, wise stewards of our money, appropriate in our language.
Understand that to experience revival and renewal we don’t have to turn the entire nation to God, just a few people at a time. God has often blessed a people through a small remnant of righteous followers. God blessed Laban’s family because of Jacob. God blessed Egypt because of the presence of Joseph. God blessed Babylon because of Daniel. God would have spared Sodom and Gomorrah if there had been only 10 righteous people living in the city.
God will bless America for a repentant, righteous remnant. We can make a difference if, like Josiah, we serve God with all our heart, strength, and souls.
Second, we can be informed about the issues. It’s hard sometimes for me to read articles or watch television news anymore. So much is depressing. But we can’t disengage from the culture. We must be informed enough to engage the culture in intelligent debate and discussion.
I read an article some time back in which people were quoted who had just come out of the theater after seeing Michael Moore’s movie, Farenheit 911. That movie was a pseudo documentary that suggested that President Bush, under the powerful manipulation of Vice President Dick Cheney and Halliburton, started the Iraqi war so he and his Republican cronies could line their own pockets with access to Iraqi oil. It suggested President Bush, his cabinet members, and his ties to big private sector oil companies was a bigger threat to America than Osama Bin Laden. It was so bogus that even many liberal democrats were embarrassed by it.
That movie was released early in the war against terrorism with terrorists whose stated purpose was and is to kill us. To deliberately slander the President of the United States during wartime is to undermine trust and further divide the country. I think Michael Moore should have had to stand trial for treason. But people were coming out of that movie saying, “I can’t believe our president would lie to us like that.” Folks, be informed enough that you can see through the propaganda and inform others as to why it’s erroneous.
Thirdly, we must vote and vote values. For a variety of reasons, the next round of elections may be the most important series of elections in our history. For us who live in the Commonwealth of Virginia this critical election cycle began with the primary on June 13th. On November 7th, the 100 seats in the House of Delegates will be up for grabs. The gubernatorial election is taking place as well. I hope you voted on June 13th and are planning to vote on November 7th. We must vote. This election helps to set the tone for the election of 2020. The Bible says the Christian is to honor the king. We’re to respect our government. In America’s governmental system that means we vote. If you haven’t registered to vote, you need to. There’s no excuse for you not voting.
So, vote—but vote values, not party. Don’t vote because someone is a Democrat or a Republican or an independent or they make a nice appearance. Find out about the people you vote for and vote for those who share traditional values.
Also, understand that there are some issues that are more important than others. Those who operate hospital emergency rooms have to prioritize patients based on the severity of their injuries. A guy with a broken finger isn’t as crucial as a guy who has a broken face, fractured neck, brain bleed, and isn’t breathing on his own, as was my case in April of 2013. We have to recognize that health care and social security aren’t as crucial as same-sex marriage or partial birth abortion. Have wisdom enough to understand the times.
Fifth, we can also speak up with boldness. We can’t just retreat into our little bunkers and sing Christian songs and hear inspirational sermons. We’re under the commission of Christ to be the salt of the earth and to go into the world with the light of the Gospel.
We can’t be so easily intimidated by officials who tell us what we can say and can’t say. This is a nation that gives us freedom of speech. The Bill of Rights says, “Congress shall pass no law prohibiting the free exercise of religion.”
We’ve all got to find ways to boldly speak the truth. Don’t be intimidated by those who flippantly tell you what you can and can’t say. Just because the ACLU threatens to sue doesn’t’ make it illegal to say what you believe. They don’t establish the law. Just because someone says something is inappropriate doesn’t mean it’s inappropriate.
The officials of Babylon decreed that no one could pray to any god other than the king. Daniel knelt by his open window three times a day and prayed for all to see. He was arrested and thrown into a den of lions but he boldly let the world know that serving God was more important to him than obeying man.
Peter and John were commanded by the authorities in Jerusalem to never speak about Jesus again in the marketplace. They immediately responded, “We must obey God not man.”
We are commissioned to go into all the world and share the good news.
But, we must always act in love. Even though this is such a crucial and emotional issue we must remember not to lose our cool. Love is stronger than hate and gentleness is more powerful than anger. We’ve got to remember that we represent the One who was full of grace and truth. We are commanded to speak the truth in love.
But, something else to consider is that we must be willing to take dramatic action when we are led of God to do so. In the future, if bold leaders suggest some drastic measures, don’t immediately dismiss them as fanatical. Don’t be intimidated for fear that the press will characterize you as extremist. Revival and revolution will require some counter-culture measures.
A few years ago, we thought it was extreme to start Christian Schools or home school children. But today most see the wisdom of that. What if all public schoolteachers who are Christian decided to teach creation and the Ten Commandments regardless of the consequences? Could the system fire hundreds of thousands, or would the government be forced to reevaluate its “no religion” policy? Leadership for that kind of revolution has got to come from a handful of courageous Christian educators who say with Peter and John, “We must obey God, not man”.
What if every Christian businessman informed the local media that continued bias against America’s spiritual heritage and continual ridicule of Christians would result in the cancellation of advertising? That’s not something that can be led by a preacher, but could be led by some courageous businessman or businesswoman who will say with our forefathers, “We pledge our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.”
What if, when a constitutional amendment to define marriage as between only a man and woman is voted on, every Christian gets publicly behind that effort with testimony and personal support? What if we boldly say with Joshua, “It doesn’t matter what others choose, but ‘as for me and my house we will serve the Lord’”?
If those extreme actions were initiated, the liberals would cry separation of church and state, and the press would complain that Christians were attempting to hold America hostage, but they’re critical anyway, even when we’re passive.
Jesus said, “I didn’t always come to bring peace but a sword” (Matthew 10:34). He said, “All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved” (Matthew 10:22). He said, “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men” (Matthew 5:11-13).
There’s one other thing we can do: we can be hopeful. It’s easy to become discouraged because, from a human standpoint, we’re losing the battle—we’re outnumbered. But we’re assured through Scripture that ultimately the battle is the Lord’s.
Gideon was an Israeli general who led his troops against the mighty Midianite army with only 300 men. The odds were more than a 1,000 to 1 against him. But God told him to be strong and courageous and He would deliver the enemy into his hand. Gideon’s army won without having to fire an arrow.
The Bible says, “If God be for us who can be against us?” The Bible says, “Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.” The Scripture promises that in the end God is going to have the victory. “At the name of Jesus, every knee will bow and every tongue confess; that Jesus Christ is Lord.”
Years ago a preacher friend of mine was driving along Interstate 75 just north of Knoxville, Tennessee heading for a leadership convention. Just off the interstate at one exit there was a huge adult bookstore with signs inviting passersby to stop in. That store was so prominent it always attracted attention. But this time it was different. A local church decided to do something about it. They didn’t burn down the store. They bought a vacant lot next to the adult bookstore and erected a massive cross. It was a huge monument that must have been at least 150 feet tall and 5 or 6 feet across. That magnificent cross drew attention away from the adult bookstore and reminded passersby of what really matters.
That’s what we’ve got to remember—the preaching of the cross has got to overshadow the allure of the world. The truth of the gospel must become more powerful than the appeal of the world. The magnetism of Jesus Christ must become more dynamic than the Manasseh’s of this world. Then, maybe one day, we’ll be able to say with confidence again, “This is one nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all.”
