Matthew 5:13 reads: “Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.”

Dennis Woods in his book “Discipling the Nations”, pg.105, comments: “Too often in pluralistic America, Christians have hidden behind the banner of “traditional values” to avoid a direct appeal to the Bible or biblical values. In the process their political/cultural vision has become blurred, and their message has been diverted from the Word of God.”

Carl Henry, theologian and author, states: “We hear much today about the need for values, but values are not absolutes--at least not necessarily. They are preferred ideals of individuals and societies. We need again to have the commandments of God emblazoned on our consciences and the redeeming grace of God throbbing in our hearts.” Carl Henry, World, Vol. 9, No.29 (December 24, 1994), pg. 28.

Because American Christians have not understood their responsibility to be salt in the government, our legal system has degenerated into an endless volume of decisions comprised by humanists who search for past precedents or traditions by which to judge their current case. This is why I Corinthians 6:1-8 tells us that it is a shame and a travesty of justice to allow civil authorities to judge the Christians, as the heathen cannot possibly restore a person back to God and society without holding the person accountable to God’s standards. Instead, the beast type of government continues to evolve, and the righteous continue to become prey, as Isaiah 59:13-16 warns!

II Peter 2:6-8 reads: “And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly; And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)”

Conservative and liberal political positions both seek humanistic solutions and ignore the authority of the Scriptures. Liberals focus more on state solutions, while conservatives stress the autonomy of the individual. Both continue to erode the values of God and the character of people as they replace the laws of God with the philosophies of men.

God holds both citizens and governments accountable to His Word. I Timothy 1:4-10 states: “Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do. Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned: From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling; Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm. But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;”

We see that Old Testament law against crimes such as murder, homosexuality, kidnapping, perjury, etc., is enforced in the New Testament. Modern governments have no godly authority to improvise the codification of the law. Law originally came from God, and governments are required by God to study His standards established in the Scriptures and pattern civil law accordingly. God holds governments responsible for enforcing His laws, as my articles on “The Science of Judgment”, a 4-part series, explains.

Democracy (the will of the people) is not Scriptural, as the majority of people rebel against God, wanting their own selfish ways at the expense of the righteous. Refer to Sodom and Gomorrah, Nineveh, the world in Noah ‘s day, etc. America was meant to be a Republic under God; not a Democracy which ends up in socialism as the majority want what others have without following God’s conditions to possess material prosperity. Finally, selfishness (democracy) is blind, and fools who have turned their backs on the truths of God come under a spirit of deceivableness, eventually accepting the leadership of a dictator as their nation deteriorates under the laws and philosophies of men. Refer to II Thessalonians 2: 7-12.

Romans 13:1-4 reads: “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? Do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.” We see here that civil government governs by delegated authority from God. The king, president, government, etc., are under God and are subject to the laws of God which they are to enforce--not make up their own laws. Consequently, government should not be a social contract, as taught by Locke, Rousseau, and Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence. Civil authority was established by the sovereign will of God, not the consent of the governed.

During the governments of Rome, the emperor, Caesar, had a saying: “neither is there salvation in any other name than Caesar”. The apostle Paul deliberately challenged this statement and boldly corrected Caesar, telling the Roman government that they, too, were under Jesus Christ. Acts 4:10,12: “Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole...Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”

Leviticus chapters 17-20 makes it abundantly clear that God holds governments responsible for enforcing His laws. Leviticus 18:24-28 warns: “Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you: And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants. Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations: neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you: (For all these abominations have the men of the land done, which were before you, and the land is defiled:) That the land spue not you out also, when ye defile it, as it spued out the nations that were before you.”

In these chapters of Leviticus God warns civil government to enforce His laws concerning food, swearing, stealing, lying, profaning His name, fraud, prostitution, incest, adultery, fornication, abortion, homosexuality, beastiality, psychics, wizards, murder, etc. Both in the Old and the New Testaments God’s warnings are clear that He holds human governments responsible for teaching and enforcing His commandments. Refer to Romans 1:18-32, etc.

Genesis 15:13-16 reads: “Then the Lord said to him (Abraham), Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years, But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterwards they will come out with great possessions. You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a good old age. In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.”

NOTE: God holds all nations responsible for following His laws. When the governments continue to fail to enforce God’s statutes, which strengthen the stability of the nation, those governments and nations self-destruct, whether it is the Israelites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Babylonians, the Romans, or the Americans.

Deuteronomy 9:3-5 tells us: “But be assured today that the Lord your God is the one who goes across ahead of you like a devouring fire. He will destroy them; he will subdue them before you. And you will drive them out and annihilate them quickly...After the Lord your God has driven them out before you, do not say to yourself, ‘The Lord has brought me here to take possession of this land because of my righteousness. ‘No, it is on account of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is going to drive them out before you. It is not because of your righteousness or your integrity that you are going to take possession of their land; but on account of the wickedness of these nations...” Here the government of the Canaanites is overthrown because they would not teach and enforce the laws of God!

Understand that God uses civil government as one means by which He rules His creation!

Following the conquest of Canaan, Joshua led the children of Israel into a covenant with God. Joshua 24:20-25: “If ye forsake the Lord, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good. And the people said unto Joshua, Nay; but we will serve the Lord, And Joshua said unto the people, Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you the Lord, to serve him. And they said, We are witnesses. Now therefore put away, said he, the strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto the Lord God of Israel. And the people said unto Joshua, The Lord our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey. So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.”

Another encouraging example to show us all that it is never too late to establish and reaffirm a national covenant with God is II Kings 22:11 - 23:3. When King Josiah had heard the words of the book of the law of God, he immediately repented and led his nation into repentance, and God’s wrath was temporarily turned back as the nation was led by a godly king who enforced the commandments of God. When the godly king died and the nation forsook enforcing the laws of God, the nation suffered again (as America is doing today) until the nation was overthrown.

Psalms 67:4: “O let the nations be glad and sing for joy; for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon the earth, Selah.” Again, God holds all nations accountable, without exception, to His standards of values and enforcing His statutes.

Jeremiah 18:7-10 warns: “At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it; If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them. And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build to plant it; If it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them.”

Jonah chapter 3 is a great example how a leader can lead his nation into repentance so God, who is holding all nations accountable to His laws, can avoid the wrath and judgment of God for idolatry!

What is the church’s responsibility in society? What is the Christian’s responsibility?

Dennis Woods states: “If the foundation of civil government is laid by God, it follows, therefore, that the “right of revolution”—the right to overthrow an existing government—rests in God, not in man. Thus, the only legal revolution is one in which duly ordained “lesser magistrates” lead the people against a tyrannical “higher magistrate” with the blessing of the clergy. Government that rejects its biblical purpose of restraining evil and administering justice becomes itself a violator of God’s law. As such, it forfeits its biblical authority to function as a minister of God in this capacity. This does not, however, provide citizens a carte-blanche excuse to flagrantly disobey government or enter into anarchical revolutionary coups. Historically, such attempts almost invariably lead to dictatorship. Witness the rise of Napoleon following the lawless and bloody French Revolution. Instead, the attitude of the people should be one of longsuffering under oppression, preparation for hardship, and prayer that God would raise up a deliverer. There should be a spirit of acquiescence to God’s rod of discipline. Such a spirit is fostered with the recognition that in Scripture God raised up foreign invaders to discipline His people for disobedience. Rather than chafing under God’s discipline, our first response should be one of repentance and a return to His law.” (Discipling the Nations, pg. 136)

Our government in America is in idolatry. It makes laws in direct opposition to the laws of God. For example, abortion and protecting and encouraging the lifestyle of sodomites. As Jonah warned Ninevah, so we should be sharing truth without compromise concerning God’s attitude toward people and nations who engage in such abominable acts. Christians and churches are commanded by God in these areas to be politically incorrect when the nation they live in has hostile attitudes to God’s commandments. Citizens are called upon in Scripture to engage in civil disobedience when the law of men and governments go against the laws of God! This is what being “persecuted for righteousness sake” is all about. This is why the apostles, prophets and first century Christians suffered being arrested, tortured and killed. They refused to obey the civil laws concerning values and lifestyles. They refused to offer their children to the gods (abortion). They refused to engage in incest, fornication, adultery, sodomy, etc. They refused to accept that all religions are the same. Instead, they held firm that only through the name of Jesus Christ can men be saved and escape the wrath to come, thus gaining eternal life. In other words, they would be guilty of being politically incorrect. They would be charged today with crimes of hate and intolerance. We, like Jonah, are called by God to preach and teach the truth and call all men to repentance and salvation through Jesus Christ.

Let us read what Jim Rudd, Washington, D.C., Director of Christian Street Preachers Alliance, states concerning homosexuality: “Sodomy is not a light or transient crime. It is an abomination (Lev. 18:22). It is the culmination of man’s apostasy and hostility toward God and His Church (Rom. 1:18-32). For lawmakers and judges to approve of sodomy brings eternal damnation upon themselves (Rom. 13:2) and God’s righteous judgment of death on the society as a whole (Gen. 19:24, II Peter 2:6). Therefore, such lawmakers and judges are not only anti-Christian by approving of sodomy; they make the civil government a vile cesspool from which the abominations vomit out across the land. By displaying such a contempt for the administration of Justice, such civil officials are not only the source of defilement (Lev. 18:24-25), they are the criminals (Rom. 1:32), and a hostile enemy authorizing the destruction of the society in which we live (Jude 7). Not only should Christian men fight for the safety of their families by demanding that these civil officials repent, or resign from office immediately; Christians should be demanding the strongest laws and punishments against sodomy be put into effect so as to cleanse the pestilence from our society, (Lev. 20:13). Sodomy is an abomination (Lev. 18:22), and those who engage in sodomy are so vile that their very presence defiles the land (Lev. 18:22,25). Through the administration of Justice, God gives the civil officials the authority to prevent society, the land, from being defiled. The civil officials swing the sword to ‘...execute wrath upon him that doeth evil’ (Rom. 13:4) and in this case sodomites...It should also be noted that because of the pro-active, intrinsic nature of God’s judgments upon any society defiled by these abominations (Lev. 18:25-30), it is impossible for Christians to passively coexist in such a vile society. Our demand that the civil officials administer Justice is based upon the concern for and protection of innocent people, and what iniquities will come upon us all should Justice not be upheld...What are you going to do about it? Are you going to be a man of God, stirred in the spirit, and call men in your church to come stand with you as you go confront those sodomites with the Word of God? Or, are you going to teach the children in your church, by example, how to passively co-exist with these vile unbelievers that bring God’s righteous judgment of death upon all who passively co-exist with them? (Jude 7)...All preachers are commanded to ‘do the work of an evangelist’ (II Tim. 4:5). As the Book of Acts clearly illustrates, the primary attacks in the battle of overcoming a society’s sinful moral conditions are not to be fought by the laity (Acts 13:2), but are to be fought by the ‘men of God’ going out from behind their pulpits into the real world (Acts 13:47), and confronting sinners in their sin with the Word of God—it’s their business! (II Tim. 3:16-4:5) There are absolutely NO substitutes for the ‘men of God’ (II Tim. 3:17), with Bible in hand, going to the places where sinners are publicly flaunting their sin and confronting them with what God says about their sin. The sheer weight of conviction upon unbelievers being confronted by real ordained men of God cannot be substituted by the Christian butcher, baker, candlestick maker, or the mom with three kids.”

I just finished a 3-hour short wave series called “Sodomites”. This series discusses the responsibility of the government concerning this behavior. It also goes into statistics showing how 3 percent of the population in America are homosexuals, yet eight out of ten serial killers are sodomites. How the average length of a somdomite’s life is 30 years less than a normal man. How in America we are facing a major health catastrophe over this lifestyle, yet the major news agencies and the government itself are not alerting us to this fact or making laws to protect the population from this plague. Proportionately the sodomite community are much more violent, and they are much less healthy; yet, we are not warning the general population of America of the dangers.

Reading II Peter 2:6-8 again: “And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an example unto those that after should live ungodly; And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteousness soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)”

The Bible is clear. If we continue to listen to the propaganda which classifies homosexuality as a good, acceptable alternate lifestyle without raising our voices in opposition, then we vex our souls and the soul of our nation. Now society starts to accept this rhetoric by being brainwashed with a one-sided view, etc., and the nation and all those living in it come under the judgment of God.

WMI is now focusing on the following 42 nations: The United States, Canada, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, Philippines, India, Jamaica, Honduras, Kenya, Madagascar, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Ghana, Rwanda, Burundi, The Congo, Iran, Sweden, Norway, England, Russia, Germany, Finland, Austria, Poland, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Sri Lanka, Yugoslavia, Romania, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, and Turkey. In these countries we are trying to saturate the nation with the prophetic warning through articles, newspapers, radio, television, etc. We encourage you to study the prophecies on many of these nations on our web site at www.worldministries.org. They will help you know how to pray for each nation. We need intercessors in and for these countries.

© 2001 World Ministries International