It is Settled!

A series of lessons from the Bible

by Howell Lasseter

Salt of the Earth

On this date each year, the citizens of the United States celebrate the freedom gained for us by our forefathers. Many men and women gave their lives for this freedom. The early settlers came to this land because of religious persecution. The revolutionary soldiers were protesting heavy taxation. We owe much to the brave men and women who had a part in shaping our great nation. Yet, the true freedom cannot be obtained by human bravery, laws, or sacrifices. Even the highest court of the land is not able to free any person from the slavery and bondage of the soul. Every human being who has not accepted God’s law of pardon, obeying His requirements, remains enslaved to sin. The true freedom is freedom from the bondage of sin.

We are seeing today attempts by the judicial system to design laws that disregard God’s laws. To date, God has continued to bless our nation, but we may be sure that He will not continue to bless a country that turns its back on Him. When all manner of immoral behavior is declared by the courts to be acceptable, and laws passed by the citizens of the states are struck down, the people have lost their right of self-governance. Citizens of the United States do not have the opportunity to vote for the Supreme Court justices. The Old Testament is filled with history of both the nation of Israel and other nations of the world. A study of this history will clearly show, while God is patient and longsuffering, a point comes when His patience runs out. Noah’s contemporaries perished because their thoughts were evil continually. Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed because of the immorality that flourished there.

God’s faithful servants will live free, even within a nation that imposes laws protecting immorality. His servants will live, in their respective communities, according to His commands. Christians are the salt – the preserving, flavoring, cleansing element that can slow the descent of our nation into destruction. Christians can raise voices against decisions such as the Supreme Court decision we witnessed recently. We can speak out for those politicians who uphold God’s moral code, and we can vote for them. We can use our communications means – the telephone, the postal and electronic mail systems, the “Letters to the Editor” pages in newspapers – to call attention to what God says in His Word. We can know whether our political leaders follow God, or Satan. Read Matthew 7:15-23. We can know whether our fellow-citizens, our workplace partners, our entertainment or sports figures, are God’s servants, or Satan’s. Read Romans 1:16-32, Galatians 5:19-21, to name just two. Yes, we see many banners requesting that “God Bless America”; He has already spoken on the subject, and will bless the nation that obeys Him.