God Bless America
Our Nation is about to celebrate her 248th Birthday!
Hating the United States of America seems to be replacing baseball as our national pastime these days. Sadly, this is becoming more and more so even among some Christians. While it’s one thing to despise all sin, including our own and our national sins, it’s entirely another thing to view our Nation as something to be denounced or abhorred or destroyed.
The ingratitude of such a view is, in itself, sinful. When I hear Christians talking as if allegiance to America, or any hint of patriotism, is somehow unbiblical or anti-Christ, I wonder what Bible they are reading. And I wonder what other nation they would prefer to live in over and above our own.
If the Apostle Paul told citizens of the Roman Empire to make “supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way” (1 Tim 2:1-2), how much more would he expect Americans to do so? We enjoy the most peaceful, quiet, religiously free life of any people ever in human history! And if we keep reading Paul’s exhortation, we learn that his hope in urging prayers for nations and governments is evangelistic (see vv. 3-7). Paul understood the ways in which governments could either help or hinder gospel propagation. Indeed, Paul himself benefited greatly from the Roman system and way of life, which God ordained to enable Paul to preach and plant churches all over the Empire. And it was from that Empire the gospel was exported to Europe, and eventually America.
And from America, the gospel has been proclaimed by countless thousands of missionaries over the last 248 years. Our God-blessed prosperity and system of government has enabled our churches to literally penetrate the whole world with the good news of Jesus, the Savior of the World (John 4:42). I am hard-pressed to understand how a Christian comes to hate such a Nation or government or prosperity. Would we prefer to live under Daniel Ortega’s regime in Nicaragua? Or Putin’s Russia? Or Xi’s China? Or Kim Jong Un’s North Korea?
Of course, our Nation has corruption at every level. Of course, some of our leaders are evil, greedy, and bent on the demonic. Of course, many of our citizens are ungodly. Those are realities for every nation in a fallen, sin-wrecked, spiritually helpless world. And Christians have an obligation to call everyone to repentance, including our leaders. But anyone, especially a follower of King Jesus, who cannot see the sheer mercies of God in the structures and systems of the Constitutional Republic of the United States, “is so nearsighted that he is blind” (2 Peter 1:9). We are undoubtedly a blessed people. Not because of us, mind you. But in spite of us. That’s how grace always operates (Rom 5:8).
So, I exhort you to celebrate Independence Day tomorrow. With gusto! With gratitude! With prayer! With purity! With passion! With purpose! With Christ in your heart!
The risen, reigning, soon-returning Lord Jesus doesn’t need America. We need Him. And we pray He chooses to mercifully keep using our Nation for His purposes, to proclaim His salvation to sinners across the street, and around the world. We pray the Holy Spirit of God awakens sinners in our land and revives churches in our country. We pray God sends showers of spiritual blessing to refresh our leaders and citizens, and causes them to return in repentance to worshipful faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
We sing, “God Bless America, land that I love. Stand beside her, and guide her, through the night with the light from above!”
Not for our sake. But for Christ’s sake.
by Keith McWhorter