“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord!”  Psalm 33:12

I believe the passage above was written by King David as he pondered the nation of Israel and their tumultuous history.  As we recall from our studies in the Old Testament, there were a number of times that the “chosen ones” of God found themselves wandering from the devotion they were to have for the one true God.  As a result, God would withdraw His blessings and protection and Israel would soon find themselves under oppression of enemy forces and eventually turning back to God for the blessings He alone can provide.

As I reflect on our own nation’s turbulence I shudder at what lies ahead for us.  We have gone from a nation built upon strong Godly principles to a nation that is seemingly pushing God from the forefront of our society.  Some would have Him erased completely, if they could.  I recently heard a news report of a group in the U.S. that seems to take the words of the psalmist seriously.  From their web site; “ChristianExodus.org seeks a return to constitutionally limited government founded upon Christian principles, and has decided that the best strategy for achieving this goal is to reform the local and state governments. To accomplish this reform, we will relocate thousands of Christian constitutionalists to one particular sovereign State (South Carolina) so that our numbers will make an effective difference in electoral politics.” 

Further, their site declares… “South Carolina can secure the rights of her citizens by interposing her authority under the 10th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The federal government operates outside its delegated powers in the areas of education, religion, abortion, domestic behavior, intrastate communication, intrastate commerce, taxation, welfare, healthcare, gun regulation, and a host of other subjects. Most powers concerning these topics are reserved to the States under the 10th Amendment. Therefore, we will see to it that South Carolina resumes her governmental authority in these matters and that our counties and State ignore federal directives in violation of the 10th Amendment.”

While I applaud their convictions, their goals of seeking God’s blessings by serving Him faithfully are falling short of where the changes must take place.  I cannot envision the federal government standing by while a single state attempts to stand for their Christian conviction.  We must turn to God as a nation at the federal level, for without that support I fear that we could see history repeating itself when states rights activism marched us into the bloodiest part our nation’s history, the Civil War.  If memory serves me, South Carolina was the first to secede from the Union, taking the first step of rebellion, nearly 150 years ago.  Will we walk that path again?

The apostle Paul wrote to the church at Rome “Let every person be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.” (Rom 13:1 – NASB) 

Peter wrote “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right.

(1 Peter 2:13-14 – NASB)  Those advocating this movement claim the inerrancy of scripture, yet they ignore its admonition to submit to governmental authority.  I don’t claim to have all the answers but I do know the source of them.  We must be in prayer continuously for leadership in the world and our country that will recognize there is but One God and it is He Whom we should serve.  Besides…in all its faults, our nation has forced Godly men and women to face their own faith and it is resulting in one of two possibilities, either a strengthening or a weakening.  Praise God for a stronger faith!

Copyright © 2006, Nolan P. Rutter