CULTURE

CULTURE

There is a lot of folks speaking about culture today. They are suggesting that Americans need to return to American’s previous culture. Let’s look at what ‘culture’ is shall we? My dictionary tells me that culture defines a particular civilization/group/population at a specific time. One could obviously say that it defines the actions, attitudes and ideas of the people at the time.

We have a party about to come into power who call themselves the MAGA Party. Make America Great Again. That necessitates the need to find where America was great previously.

There was only one time in America’s history when people referred to America as being ‘great.’ It was during the Holiness Movement, which moved across the country in the early nineteenth century. Preachers like John Edwards were actually preaching what the bible teaches us. The rest of the world was awestruck by the way Americans had surpassed them all in innovation, science, infrastructure, construction, transport, education, and every area of success and advancement. In fact, this was so prominent around the globe that the French government sent a political philosopher and historian to America to see what actually made America so great.

Alexix de Tocqueville sailed across the Atlantic, and spend several months in the USA searching for the answer to that question. He examined the young national government, schools and centers of commerce, but still could not determine what made America so great. Somebody suggested to him that he may want to check out some churches. He was not above that, so he did exactly that. Satisfied he had found the answer, he sailed back to France and told his fellow countrymen, “America is great because Americans are good, and if Americans ever cease to be good, America will cease to be great.” That was an incredibly profound statement! He also told them that when he visited the churches, he witnessed the pulpits being ‘aflame with righteousness.’ The preachers of that time actually taught the truth of the bible!! Imagine that!!

As a result, those who attended those churches believed what the bible says, and did what it tells them to do, and lived lives that were pleasing to God. It’s quite simple, logical and reasonable to accept that. The easiest and quickest way to show the truth of the bible is to look at just a few passages. They each confirm the other, and every other teaching through the bible. Well after Jesus had finished His work on Calvary’s cross, shedding His blood for the forgiveness of sins, Paul wrote, ‘the wage of sin is death.’ He also wrote:

Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. 1Cor. 6:9-11

We must remember that Paul had been thoroughly trained by Jesus, as to how to teach His gospel before he came on the scene as an apostle. Paul also wrote to the saints in Rome:

What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?

By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?

Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?

We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his.

For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.

For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him.

The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.

In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.

Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.

For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace. Rom. 6:1-14

Now we must remember that when Paul wrote to Titus he told him this:

For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.

It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age. Titus 2:11

So, we see that grace ‘offers’ salvation, it does not cause salvation. To live ‘self-controlled, upright and godly lives,’ leaves zero room for any kind of evil/wickedness/sin or iniquity. If the blood of Jesus had removed all consequences of sin from that time on, then Paul was surely not aware of that. Remember he was writing to holy saints who lived in Jesus, yet he writes an awful lot about this sin problem. Nobody seems to be teaching about a sin problem today, do they? They simply teach that the blood of Jesus washed all their sins away. The bible never teaches that.

John also left us with very clear teaching in his letters. Let’s look at his first letter, for starters.

This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.

If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth.

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. 1 Jn. 1:5-7

This assures us that in order to have one’s sins purified by the blood of Christ one must move from darkness to light. Clearly, If we are in God, or God is in us, we are in the light. In Him there is NO SIN or darkness. But if we sin, we are in the dark. That is a very common theme all through the bible. So, a sinner MUST repent of his/her sins, before he/she can move into light. As repentance is only a once-in-a-life-time event, it is clearly not the request for forgiveness each night.

It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. Heb. 6:4-6

Paul assures us here that repentance is what results in his description of a child of God. And that event cannot be repeated. James offers us an insight into what repentance is, for those of us who live under the New Covenant, post Calvary.

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom.

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. Js. 4:7-10

Repentance is not only a once-in-a-life-time event, but an incredibly emotional event. The Old Testament saints who repented because they had displeased God would never repeat that, I am certain. Stripping, putting on sackcloth, sitting on dung heaps, throwing dung dust and ashes over themselves for days without eating or drinking would be incentive enough to never sin again. My experience of repentance surely was enough incentive for me to cease sinning as well. It opened my eyes to James’ teaching very clearly.

But let’s look at John’s second letter, shall we?

We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands.

Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person.

But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him:

Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did. ! Jn. 2:3-6

Here we have a litmus test to see if we really do know God. The words ‘do you know God/the Lord?’ are used so many times today with zero regard for this passage of scripture. We all know that God’s foremost command is that sinners all repent.

The Lord is not slow in keeping His promises, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 2 Pet. 3:9

However, John continues with this essential truth, that all God’s kids must live the life Jesus lived. Here we come to the culture issue. Jesus demonstrated the way we must live that will display our cultural beliefs/ideas. Jesus never did anything that He did not hear His Farther tell Him to do. Jn. 5:19

So, for us to live the life Jesus lived, God must be able to look at us at any time of the day or night, smile with appreciation, and say, “this My beloved son/daughter in whom I am well pleased.” That is clearly not possible if we sin. God hates all sinners.

For you are not a God who is pleased with wickedness; with you, evil people are not welcome. The arrogant cannot stand in your presence. You hate all who do wrong; you destroy those who tell lies. The bloodthirsty and deceitful you, LORD, detest. Ps. 5:4-6

That does not in any way deny God’s ability to agape sinners. This is where today’s preachers and evangelists deceive us. They assure us that God and Jesus love us. But the bible uses the word love in an active way, rather than an emotional way.

Agape means one chooses for the highest good of the other without regard for personal cost. God displayed that ‘love’ by sending His Son to make a way possible for Gentiles to become God’s kids as well as Jews. That cost Him more than the human mind can imagine.

In John’s third letter we get the truth of God’s gospel, plainly told.

Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin.

No one who lives in him sins. No one who sins has either seen him or known him.

Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.

The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.

No one who is born of God will sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot sin because they have been born of God.

This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister. 1 Jn. 3:4-10NIV minus the words men added when they compiled the modern versions. The KJV still has it right.

The pew-warmers of the early nineteenth century lived this life!! Righteousness prevailed in churches across the land. That was clearly evident to all those who did not attend church. They lived the life Jesus lived!!

The Peter began to speak, ‘I now realise how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear Him & do what is right. Acts 10:34-35

Doing what is right is what God calls ‘righteousness.’ Gen. 4:7, Rom. 2:11, 6:16, 1 Jn. 3:7.

That was the culture Alexis saw once he visited the churches of America. That is the ONLY culture that will bring healing to this mighty nation!! There needs to be a massive spiritual awakening to the truth of God’s holy word.

My book’ A Nation Broken,’ details the truth of God’s message of salvation, and His plan to heal America. Amazon Books has it ready to ship to all who love America enough to truly want to see it great again. And their own lives truly made abundant and free.