When the Foundations are Destroyed
Just over two hundred and forty-three years ago, on the Fourth of July, 57 men signed the Declaration of Independence, the founding document that created the American republic. These delegates represented about 3 million people grouped in a series of 13 colonies along the eastern seaboard of the United States. Interestingly, they were all wanted men, sought by the commander of the British forces in North America for sedition and treason. The commander was supported by the forces and resources of the greatest military power on earth in that day. The delegates had behind them only the goal of establishing a free nation, forming the beginnings of a new kind of government. They had minimal military power, few resources and little hope of success. Yet they had a passion for liberty!
America had a very dubious beginning. Larry Arnn wrote, “Who but the boldest could believe that the signers of the Declaration of Independence were laying the foundation of the greatest constitutional republic in history? Now that republic has spread across the continent, and its influence reaches around the world. Its population has increased over a hundredfold. Its Constitution has provided government to a free people constantly growing in size and territory, each new state joining the union as an equal, its citizens never subjects, its people ever free. There is no story close to it in the history of man.”
Amen, and thank the Most High God for using and blessing America as He has no other nation in modern history. As we sing “God Bless America,” realize that … He has, is and will!
How could America become the greatest influence for freedom across the globe, the most successful nation on earth and the “policeman” of the world in such a short time? Conservative historians, statesmen and political philosophers have attributed the strength and goodness of the nation to the principles in the Declaration of Independence. I’ve always emphasized that God has so blessed America because of her godly foundations. In the words of the Declaration of Independence we find references to “… the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God,” “Creator,” “Supreme Judge of the World” and “Divine Providence.” John Quincy Adams wrote, “[T]he laws of nature and of nature’s God … of course presupposes the existence of a God, the moral ruler of the universe, and a rule of right and wrong, of just and unjust, binding upon man, preceding all institutions of human society and government.” The vast majority of our founders confirmed these words, and there are countless recorded references to God, His attributes, His Word, prayer, salvation, biblical history, … by our founding fathers.
Yet in spite of this rich spiritual heritage and godly foundations we have been given as a sacred right and duty to guard, we have become one of the most secular and godless societies in the world. Our “God given” rights to life, liberty and happiness have been replaced with a demonic perversion that feeds on the depraved nature of humanity, which is clearly revealed in the popularity of godlessness in our increasingly secular age.
As noted in the title, taken from Psalm 11:3, it is clear that the foundations that made America great are being destroyed. So what can the righteous – every believer – do?
We must first understand the reasons America is losing her foundations. To summarize, it’s the world, the flesh and the devil that “war against the soul.” Flowing from that diabolical trio in “our world” was the rise of secularism, resulting from an increasingly atheistic and influential worldview. For example, a survey was recently taken by the “General Social Survey” which discovered that the largest religious group in America is atheism (23%), with Roman Catholicism, Evangelicalism and other miscellaneous religions following.
How can atheism be so prevalent? In the cultural milieu, secularism, with its atheistic and socialistic roots, has been accepted, taught and defended by our public education from kindergarten through graduate school, thus increasingly practiced and adopted in a self-serving culture. The result is a philosophy of life without morals, restraint, responsibility or accountability that clearly appeals to man’s wicked nature, cf. Psalm 14, 53, Romans 1:18-32, 3:10-23. Since this depth of depravity started at the fall of man in Genesis 3, clearly the shift didn’t begin in America with this generation …
The most obvious form of “secularism” is Marxism // Communism. We have had an active and deceptive element of it in America! You undoubtedly have heard the leftist fabricated “mantra” of “separation of church and state.” It’s been the effective scheme to remove “God and His Word from politics and policy,” thus increasing the secularization of the state resulting in a decreasing impact on the state and the populace by the church. As a result, we’re losing our moral foundation that was based on “the Law of Nature and Nature’s God,” i. e. the God of the Bible. Obviously, He isn’t recognized by atheists and secularists, and there is a “rejection to and exclusion of religion and religious considerations” in their worldview. Instead, “secularism seeks to interpret life on principles solely from the material world, without resources to religion.” This is a direct link to our “foundations being destroyed.”
This is nothing new confronting the faithful, gospel preaching churches. We’ve been here before, and we’ll remain in the “battle of the ages” until we are in His Presence. Until then, the battles must be fought and we must remain faithful, with the assurance that God continues to work in our fallen world through the Gospel we are commanded to proclaim. In spite of current conditions, our hope is in the Lord! There is more to say … which will be said in the January BFLW devotional.
Pastor Richard C. Rogers, Calvary Baptist Church of Sturtevant
President of the Board, Baptists for Life of WI