There is one great fact everywhere revealed — in history, in nature, in Scripture. It is called “the law of retribution.” Even an atheist, who does not believe in God at all, must admit that when he examines the laws of nature he is faced with the fact that one either obeys them and lives, or disobeys them and dies. There is no other alternative.
All of man’s wisdom and adaptability must function within these immovable limits. He is not at liberty to go beyond them. No one fools around with 10,000 volts of electricity, hoping to make up the laws of electricity as he goes along. Nobody messes with the laws of physics. Pilots don’t make them up as they go. Thrust and lift must be greater than weight and drag. The laws are already in force, and he had better discover them and learn to respect them before he goes much further.
So it is also with nations. Remember from history class, the French Emperor Napoleon? He overtook Europe in the late 1700’s and early 1800’s — died in 1821. Someone asked him if God was on the side of France. His answer was: “God is on the side of the heaviest artillery.” Then came the battle of Waterloo, the loss of his empire, and, finally, exile to St. Helena. There, defeated and humbled, he said, “Man proposes; God disposes.”
Psalms 147:10: “His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor His delight in the legs of a man; the Lord delights in those who fear Him.”
Nations, like individuals, can lose their right to exist. “The powers that be are ordained of God,” according to Romans 13:1. And 1 Corinthians 2:6 says that “the rulers of this age … are coming to nothing.”
For centuries Western statesmen have turned to the Bible for the answers to the questions formulated above. Abraham Lincoln termed the Bible “God’s best gift to men,” and the impact of its pages upon his thinking is apparent in many of his speeches and writings as president.
It would be a serious mistake to blame governmental agents as having ultimate responsibility for a nation’s destiny. It has been said that every nation gets the government it deserves. Final responsibility, therefore, rests with the individuals that make up a nation. Every one of us is responsible for the influence we exert upon our neighbors, our community, our city, county, state, and national governments. No one is without excuse — your behavior matters. Each one will stand before God one day to give account for his life — and perhaps for a Godly nation that has fallen.
Nothing is more precious to God in all the world than the people of Christ, the body of Christ — His Church. He gave Himself for it, He loves it earnestly, “which He purchased with His own blood,” (Acts 20:28). Never under-estimate the great importance of the Church. The Church is important to God the Father because His name is on it. It is important to the Son because He shed His blood for it; and it is important to the Holy Spirit because He is calling and equipping people to minister to others through the Church.
(Portions of this piece are adapted from a sermon by Ray C. Stedman, (1917-1992).
— Reflections appears regularly on the religion page. The column features a variety of local writers, coordinated through the Monroe Area Clergy Group. Kevin Cernek is senior pastor of Martintown Community Church.
