A Nation at War

A Nation at War

Romans 13:1-5

March 23, 2003

Romans 13:1 through Romans 13:5 (KJV)
¹Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. ²Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. ³For 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: ⁴For 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. ⁵Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.

At approximately 10:15 eastern time on Wednesday night, March 19, our President spoke to the nation with these words:

My fellow citizens, at this hour American and coalition forces are in the early stages of military operations to disarm Iraq, to free its people and to defend the world from grave danger.

On my orders, coalition forces have begun striking selected targets of military importance to undermine Saddam Hussein's ability to wage war. These are opening stages of what will be a broad and concerted campaign.

With those words the world was put on notice that once again the United States was risking the lives of her most precious resource, the young men and women of her armed forces, in order to secure freedom for an oppressed people.

Once again the United States went in to battle to defend with our lives some of the principles that make our nation strong. Once again the peoples of the United States put her soldiers in harms way to preserve liberty for people of a religious faith that has declared war on our way of life. Once again the United States steps into the breech to put an end to tyranny and improve the living conditions of foreign peoples.

Our scripture this morning says that rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil, and with those opening words on Wednesday night our President put evildoers around the world on notice that the United States has risen from her slumber!

He also said that night:

My fellow citizens, the dangers to our country and the world will be overcome. We will pass through this time of peril and carry on the work of peace. We will defend our freedom. We will bring freedom to others. And we will prevail.

Amen! We will prevail! We will pass through these difficult times, and we will emerge victorious because despite what some prominent religious leaders are proclaiming the liberation of Iraq is a righteous and just war. It is a war that is being initiated in the time honored tradition of Just War Theory, and meets all of the requirements the Christian church has used for centuries to determine the righteousness of waging war.

Some of my counterparts in the clergy disagree with me, and hey, this is America and they have that freedom! Isn’t it great to live in a free country where are free to debate, and discuss and even disagree?

Disagreements aside this morning, American men and women are quite literally under the gun today. They are literally staring into the face of death, and doing it because they believe in a principle of freedom. Today we must set aside our disagreements and become united as we support our military forces.

You may not agree with this war in Iraq, you may not be a supporter of President Bush, and you may not even agree with his policies. But today we are not democrats, we are not republicans, we are all Americans! Our sons and daughters are in harms way and for me, the political partisanship stops at the waters edge.

The men and women serving our country must know today that we support them. They must know today that we are behind them. They must know today that we are praying for them and for their safety!

More importantly, we have a higher obligation as the Christian church of the living God to stand up tall on the side of righteousness. The question before us may be where do God and country meet? Can we be good patriots, and be good Christians at the same time?

I think that we not only can be good patriots and good Christians at the same time, I think we have a holy obligation to be good citizens in this land where we reside before our eternal home in the presence of God.

I. Seek God’s continued grace on us as a nation.

The first step in being a good citizen is for us to seek God’s grace on our nation. If it were not for God’s grace and His mercy we would not be the nation we have become! It is because of God’s hand of blessing upon our land that we have prospered. He has blessed us beyond measure, and we must recognize his goodness.

We must also recognize that without God, we are nothing. God’s grace has been given to us because of our faith, but when we reject Him he very well may remove that His hand of grace from our land.

During the formation of our country the men who founded our nation sought the face of God and formed a republic that afforded people the freedoms and opportunities that we have. They looked to a divine creator for inspiration and guidance.

Beware! Beware! Beware! We may not always be in God’s good grace. Witness the word of God in the book of Isaiah:

Isaiah 40:15 (KJV)
¹⁵Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing.

If God chose to he could blow us away like fine dust on the scales! We have an obligation to continue to as for God’s blessing, and to supplement that request with actions that are in accordance to God’s word.

You have heard me quote this scripture many times, but allow me quote it to you once again:

2 Chronicles 7:14 (KJV)
¹⁴If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

This verse is for us! It is not for the hordes of heathen that offend our sensibilities, but it is for the Church of the living Christ! It means you and me.

II. Support our Government

We don’t always agree with our government, nor do we always support the morality (or lack thereof) of our governmental leaders, but we must always support the legitimately elected government of our nation. Always support them, until they require us to break God’s laws.

When Paul wrote today’s text the government he was referring to was the government that was putting Christians to death, burning them alive, feeding them to the lions, and crucifying them for the crime of professing their faith. If Paul could advocate supporting the Roman government, how much easier it is for us to support a government that gives us the freedom to worship here this Sunday morning. Not a one of us this morning is afraid to attend church because some jackbooted thug may burst through those double doors and haul us to the prisons.

I see on the news a group called “Christians for Peace” practicing civil disobedience by participating in rallies designed to shut down legitimate businesses, and other rallies with the intent to hinder the movement of reserve forces. Folks let me be point blank. Civil disobedience is only acceptable for the Christian when the government commands us to break the known laws of God.

These protestors are not representing Christ, they are representing themselves and their own political view when they undertake actions contrary to civil laws designed to protect us all.

Support the process

So, if we shouldn’t break the laws to make our disapproval known, what should we do? We work within the system that is what. We support the process. We get out and vote in our elections, we run for office, we use the appropriate public forums, and we submit letters to the editor. We do not break the laws of man to get our point across.

III. Pray for the Leadership

Finally as Christians united in support of our nation and the troops under her flag we pray for the leadership.

Turn in your Bibles to 1 Timothy 2:1-6:

1 Timothy 2:1 through 1 Timothy 2:6 (KJV)
¹I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; ²For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. ³For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; ⁴Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. ⁵For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; ⁶Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

Our President needs our prayers. The congressional leadership needs our prayers. The general officers need our prayers, the officer corp needs our prayers, the platoon sergeants need our prayers, and the grunt on the ground or the pilot in the sky needs our constant, consistent umbrella of prayer. Praise God we can help our nation by praying!

We must turn our face to the Lord, humble ourselves and repent. We must be faithful in our prayers!

Conclusion:

There is evil in this world! There are cruel people in this world. There are agents of the devil in this world. Saddam Hussein and his henchmen are such people. They are not operating according to Christian principles, but rather under the delusion of Satan himself. We must, when necessary, fight a righteous fight to offer protection to others from such evil.

Freedom is never free! It always carries with it a price, and sometimes that price is paid in the blood of young men and women who love their nation. We must rise up today and support those soldiers. We must set aside any and all political differences to offer encouragement to the people who serve this nation.

We must not honor war, nor desire it. We must not look for praise or glory in waging war, but when fight we must we must fight to victory. Our properly elected president and the properly elected representatives in our congress have decided it is necessary to use force. As abhorrent as war may be, we must not shrink from our obligation to support the legal execution of our nation’s interests.

Douglas Macarthur said:

In war there is no substitute for victory.

He’s absolutely correct. We must now pray for a quick and decisive victory and bring our children home. Bring our children home! Bring our children home safely, and victoriously.

Some of you may disagree with me on the necessity of going to war, but we all should agree that we want it to be swift, and as free of casualties (from both sides) as is possible. Surely we all agree that we should pray for the troops in the field.

Let’s unite together as Christians in prayer for our Nation.