The Battle for the Soul of our Nation

​There is no question that America's origins are rooted in a passion to recover and live out the Christianity of the New Testament."  So writes Eddie Hyatt in his book, America's Revival Heritage.  He continues: "The first generation of immigrants to America were normally vibrant in their faith and passionate in their vision for a revival of New Testament Christianity.  Their children and grandchildren, however, while retaining many of the outward forms of worship and doctrine, tended to lose the vitality and vision of their parents and grandparents.  As former generations passed from the scene, the original passion for Christian reform and renewal passed away with them, and succeeding generations were left "having a form of godliness but denying its power.'" (2 Timothy 3:5)
 
As we celebrate the 245th anniversary of the birth of our nation, we can see that the concerns raised by Eddie Hyatt about the vitality of our faith continue.  The activity of many of our churches confirms Hyatt's assertion that passion for the Lord and His ways is waning.  A segment of our society is attacking anything that interferes with their liberal point of view.  Their agenda includes erasing the truth of how our nation was founded.  They find faith in Jesus and His Word offensive.  They seem to know that if they rewrite history, they can control the future.
 
Here is the truth:  America was founded for the glory of God.  Public education was instituted to teach our children the fear of the Lord and the ways of the Word of God.  Our mandate from the Lord is to grow in our relationship with Him and our understanding of His ways so that we can spread the Gospel around the world and bring light to the darkness.  Those who wrote the Declaration of Independence got their words and ideas from the Bible.  This document has impacted human rights around the world according to Mr. Hyatt.  We should note that 27 of the 56 founding fathers were trained as ministers.  And, the motto of the American Revolution—"No King but King Jesus"—had an obvious spiritual emphasis.
 
John Adams, one of our founding fathers, left no doubt where the ideas for our Declaration of Independence came from.  He said, "The general principles on which the founding fathers achieved independence were the general principles of Christianity."  We, as the people of God, must be at the forefront of the movement to protect our history and to acknowledge that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was active in intervening on our behalf.  He used Bible-believing people to fight for the independence of our nation and established a godly way of life that would spread the Good News of His love and care for us.
 
I grew up in the 1960s and remember when prayer and Bible reading were outlawed in public schools. The Church let it happen, and it continued unchallenged.  Those who initiated the fight against Christian practice in schools through the Supreme Court were not satisfied with their judicial win.  Hyatt writes, "...These radical secularists now seek to remove any vestige of Christian influence from the public square.  An undeniable part of their strategy is to rewrite and reinterpret America's past and to disseminate their revisions through a government-run educational system."
 
Psalm 33:12 tells us this:  "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He chose as His inheritance."  We must do what we can to be sure that our history is not rewritten and that our future in America is secured through prayers and living godly lives.  Here is how Eddie Hyatt summarizes this:  "A government that is of the people, by the people, and for the people, can only be sustained by a people who are continually revitalized in their faith and in their commitment to moral principles.  This means that a nation that was birthed out of Spiritual awakening can only be sustained by a people who are continually awakened and revitalized in their faith...We will either have revival or we will have revolution; we will either have Spiritual awakening or we will have societal chaos.  Both history and Scripture teach us that the future of America rests squarely on the shoulders of the professing Christians of this nation."  There is no doubt that we are in a battle for the soul of our nation.  We must renew our passion for the Lord and cry out for a Spiritual awakening that will transform America back to its intended purpose!