Faith without Action is False!

Billy Graham once said, “Bad politicians are elected by good people who don’t vote.” Today it is hard to believe how many professing Christians sit back and do nothing about the attacks on our Christian faith. Many will complain about government or politicians and criticize the very ones they helped elect to represent themselves as “Christian Citizens”. They are also the ones who criticize the Pastor when they don’t like what they hear!

The question is why does this happen and how has it gotten so out of control? Billy Graham was the last and most respected Christian Leader recognized by the world. He was a counselor to countless Presidents of the United States and many world leaders saw him as a genuine spokesman of God. Billy Graham also reportedly said that he believed at least 80% of the people in the churches of America are not saved, (not a Christian). This is easy to believe when we see how many churches closed during Covid, how many are nearly void of men, and the throwing out of God’s laws for morality and marriage.

Pastor, when the church compromises God’s word the church is not God’s anymore! When the church embraces the culture of the world under the disguise of reaching the lost, the evidence is clear that it does not work. Just the opposite has happened, our children are sexually active at 10 years of age, divorce is the new standard, marriage looks like something from Sodom and Gomorrah, all this and more are within many modern churches.

Thankfully this is not true for all churches. There is a remnant of churches that are strong Bible teaching proactive mountain moving churches led by courageous Pastors who understand what it means to be a true Shepherd! History shows that when a country has moral decay the country will surely collapse and our only hope is in these churches who do not desecrate God’s Holy Word!

When we look back at our history Christians have suffered from persecution for centuries. The church itself has been so divided that we often killed each other over doctrinal differences. The church also was used to control entire societies with force and violence. The Catholic church charged people money to absolve sin and sometimes burned them at the stake for disobedience. The Kings would also declare national religions that every citizen had to be a part of or be imprisoned. America’s founding was primarily based on settlers moving to the New World to get away from this oppression and have freedom to worship as they believed. The Pilgrims, Puritans, and Quakers are some of the best known, but how has that affected us today? Why should we care, especially as pastors and the church?

Let’s take a quick look at a few Pastors in history and see how they set the stage for the creation of America! Puritan leader John Winthrop wrote “A Model of Christian Charity” in 1630 which became the guidelines for colonial constitutions “covenants”.
Pilgrim Pastor John Robinson was so instrumental in the settling of the Pilgrims and how they ultimately set up their civil government that there is a statue of him in the US Capitol Rotunda and every American has heard of the “Mayflower Compact” which set the tone for American governance.
Pastor Roger Williams founded Rhode Island and the first Baptist church in America. As a Pastor and the Rhode Island President, he was very instrumental in the establishment of the local government. He put his faith into action.
Pastor Thomas Hooker founded Hartford Connecticut and one of his sermons became “The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut” and for nearly 200 years stood as their State Constitution. He was a Pastor and put his faith into action!
On January 21, 1776 Pastor Peter Muhlenberg stood before his Lutheran congregation having announced this would be his final sermon for them. He said its time to stop talking and now is the time for action. He left to serve under General George Washington with his 300 plus recruits from Virginia. He let his faith speak through his actions!

These Pastors put their faith into action and many died in the process. They were not afraid to step out in faith! This is just a few examples of Pastors who put their lives on the line to have religious freedom and in the process they set-up local governments for their communities and colonies. They fully understood that it was the Bible that was the foundation for law and order and they had to establish a written covenant with the specifics of how it was implemented within the colony. They each knew that the cost of freedom was high and the cost to keep could be just as high!

Today in America the moral decay is beyond belief. Watching someone on television or movie having sex has become entertainment, killing someone on the big screen is routine, having witchcraft, glamourizing demons and worshiping evil itself is available on every phone! Our public schools are teaching students that God is dead or not real, that you may not really be a boy or girl, that you can lie to your parents and that you can have sex at any age and here is how to do it. Pastor, the world is bombarding your sheep with this and more!

For the past seventy-five years our government has blatantly been passing laws nullifying God’s laws and the “Church” has passively sat back and watched it happen. Bibles are taken out of schools, prayer is stopped, murder is legalized, parenting is challenged, Pastors are arrested, churches closed by order and the list continues.

Pastor, who is responsible for protecting and teaching God’s word. And don’t tell me God’s got this! Jesus said, “Go Make Disciples”! Jesus gave us very specific instructions and based on what is happening in America, we have failed!

I have heard it said that the greatest successes in life must be proceeded by failure, heartache and sometime defeat. It looks like America has hit rock bottom on the morality scale and God-honoring scale! Let’s consider this a wake-up call to action. If we don’t our family will fail, our church will fail, our community will fail and our country will fall. However, we can win back America, but only if we follow God and His written word.

Pastor, I want to encourage you to equip yourself and your sheep with knowledge. Study Christian history in America and especially the role of Pastors and the “Church”. Embrace “Biblical Citizenship” as a family and church. Don’t let ignorance bring about defeat and destruction on your watch. Take a bold stand and get involved with your community. Be a local leader like the great Pastors of old America. There is no reason you can’t be the great leader your community is looking for. Walk with courage into city and county meetings where local ordinances are established. Take a group to the school board meetings that decide what your children are being taught. Your sheep need and want a Shepherd they can follow proudly. You can be that Shepherd. God wants to take you farther and higher than you can envision, let Him!

Read and watch multiple sources for current events. Be willing to admit I may have been wrong about an ideology or a person. Take your obligation to select godly leaders in government seriously. History shows that it was the Pastors who use to lead this effort! Become an expert that your sheep can trust and depend on to know who to select as your representatives and why. Above all teach the entire Word of God without compromise and confusion.

I want to personally recommend Rick Green’s “Biblical Citizen” course, David and Tim Barton’s “The American Story” history book, “One Nation Under God” by David Gibbs Jr., “The Killing of Uncle Sam” by Rodney Howard-Browne and Paul Williams, “Bringing back the Black Robe Regiment” by Dan Fisher, “America in the Balance” by Rick Scarborough, “Silence Equals Consent, the sin of Omission” and “Who is the King in America” by William Federer. Each of these books has something different to offer. They each give documented historical facts with endnotes and sources. (These can all be found on Amazon)

Paul Blairs organization of “Liberty Pastors” has Pastor training Camps/Conferences that are truly incredible. If you or you know a Pastor who wants to learn more and be inspired, this is the absolute best camp possible for you. The cost is usually around $100 for 3-4 days all inclusive.

Pastor, if you say you have faith but ignore this action, let’s just say, that is between you and God. Please please don’t let your sheep continue to be eaten and beaten by the world.

In conclusion, praise God for you Pastor’s who are fighting the good fight, feeding your flock truth, training them to be disciples who can stand strong, teaching them without holding back and leading them with wisdom and boldness in the muddy waters of our society.

Stay strong and vigilant in Jesus mighty name!

You are not alone!