July 4, 2010 Proverbs 14:34

Righteousness lifts up a nation, but sin is the disgrace of the peoples.

America Needs to Be Lifted from Disgrace

I. The pathway of destruction

The Old Testament is full of history where God threatens to tear down those who live contrary to the most basic laws of civility. This includes heathen nations even. When the LORD had the Israelites enter the Promised Land he said to them in Deuteronomy 18:9-13,

When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD, and because of these detestable practices the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you. You must be blameless before the LORD your God.

So God didn’t just order the destruction of the Amorites just to make room for the Israelites. He also connected their destruction with child sacrifice and other evil practices as well.

When the Israelites decided to act like these heathen countries, God threatened them with the same fate. Jeremiah 19:3-7 says,

‘Listen! I am going to bring a disaster on this place that will make the ears of everyone who hears of it tingle. For they have forsaken me and made this a place of foreign gods; they have burned sacrifices in it to gods that neither they nor their fathers nor the kings of Judah ever knew, and they have filled this place with the blood of the innocent. They have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as offerings to Baal—something I did not command or mention, nor did it enter my mind. So beware, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when people will no longer call this place Topheth or the Valley of Ben Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter. ”‘In this place I will ruin the plans of Judah and Jerusalem. I will make them fall by the sword before their enemies, at the hands of those who seek their lives, and I will give their carcasses as food to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth.

Even though there was always a faithful remnant of believers within Israel the LORD still punished the nation as a whole; which meant that even the faithful had to suffer as well. (Jeremiah 49:12) So when a majority of the country sins, it makes even more sense to our logic that the LORD would bring punishment on the whole nation. As a general rule this is how the LORD worked throughout the Old Testament.

Consider then what is happening with our America; the United States of America. People are all up in arms over the oil leak down in the Gulf Coast. They are upset about the spending deficit of our country and the rising taxes. They are upset over the porous borders and violence overflowing from drug trafficking. Murders, drug use, pollution, and bad stewardship are sinking us into a hole. What concerns me more is that abortion is still taking place in America and even in Kansas; and this is supposed to be a conservative state. What concerns me is how sex is becoming more and more prevalent; how adultery has become the norm. Gambling is being legalized in all parts of the country. To make things worse is how many churches are no longer mentioning the word “sin” or “hell” or “repent” or “the wrath of God” anymore out of fear of alienating people.

The prevailing fear of Christians in America is that God’s patience will run out; that He will bring the hammer down on us for our prevailing immorality. Others seem to revel in the thought. When Jeremiah Wright, President Obama’s pastor, asked God to damn America; he prayed that God would bring judgment down on America for its immoral acts. The Phelps group makes similar statements when it rejoices over 911 and other tragedies that befall us. In contrast to this; even when Jeremiah and Isaiah were condemning Israel, they were not rejoicing over the suffering and judgment that God brought down on them. They felt sorrowful over what was happening to their country and tried to reach out to their countrymen. This seems like the consciously correct thing to do; to want your country to succeed and do well and be blessed by God. No matter how evil someone may be shouldn’t you still want them to have a change of heart and be saved?

II. The meaning of being lifted up

The Psalm for today speaks about the lifting up of a nation and sets it as a goal; it explains what it takes for a nation to be lifted up. But what does it mean to be lifted up? Many associate being “lifted up” with how successful we are in war or in finances. Preachers threaten the people with God’s judgment and say that if we don’t change our ways then God will take away our finances and our homes and have us invaded by a foreign country. They also say that if we don’t defend Israel then we’re really going to get it from God. Doesn’t something smell strange in such a theology? It should. The Christians of the first century never motivated people on what to do based how they could evade suffering. It was the exact opposite. The apostles told the people that they should expect suffering. If we live our lives and do what we do, even for our country; based on whether we think our country will suffer or not or we will evade suffering; we are not thinking straight. This was what was wrong with the theology behind Indulgences back in Martin Luther’s day. “How can we pay our way out of suffering?” The Catholic Church said, “Just buy this piece of paper.” That’s wrong theology. God can work through suffering and bless people through suffering. The Christian church grows most through the blood of the saints.

Think of lifting up in a different way; in the way of Christ. How was Christ lifted up? He first of all needed to be mocked, spat upon, whipped, beaten, and crucified. Before Jesus was lifted up God first of all buried Him with the sins of the world having been put on His shoulders. It was only after he was in the grave for three days that He was then lifted up from death. He came forth from the ground, no longer as a conquered victim but as a victorious king. In Jesus’ resurrection God crowned Him as the victor over death and the devil. God lifted Him up by showing the world that He really was the Messiah He claimed to be; Jesus really had paid for the sins of the world.

The greatest exaltation that we can have is for us to be approved by God; for God to smile at us and say; “Well done, good and faithful servant.” But before God ever says this to us; He must first of all reveal to us how miserable and unworthy we are. God lifts us up by first of all breaking us down; breaking down our defenses; tearing down our pride; allowing us to fail and even actively seeking and causing our failure.

King David thought the world was his as he reigned from the throne of Israel. He was victorious in battle. He had his choice of women. He had a beautiful castle to live in. It was in the midst of his success, while he was on the roof of his palace that he even decided to indulge in sexual relations with his neighbor’s wife and have a child through her. At the top of his “success” David ironically had hit the bottom of morality. It wasn’t until the LORD confronted Him through the prophet Nathan that David realized how low of a person he really was. Throughout his life David then had to face the rebellion and death of some of his most talented and handsome sons.

The LORD worked through his failure and his loss to take David into a deep and depressing place; and it was in the midst of his loss and failure that David was lifted up. David realized how miserable of a sinner was so that he could only look one place for his righteousness and his forgiveness; and that was in the LORD. Consider his words in Psalm 103:

Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits— who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. The LORD works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed. He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel: The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

So when we ask that the LORD would lift us up as a nation; we realize that our country will not be lifted up by telling them how great they can be. What we really seek above all is the spiritual renewal of our citizens; that their eyes would be lifted up to look to the LORD for His mercy and forgiveness at the cross of Christ and His resurrection.

This is really a key thought when we think about the future of America. Many would say, “We need to get Americans to start doing the right thing if we want God to bless us.” So they say, “Let’s enact legislation! Let’s get Christian laws passed!” Those are all things we want, God pleasing laws. But let’s remember how God describes righteousness. When sinners look to the LORD for mercy and forgiveness, this is what righteousness is all about; where it comes from and what causes it. Righteousness lifts up a nation. That word, “righteousness,” is an in-depth word. It’s used in all kinds of contexts. The most basic and foremost meaning given in Strong’s Lexicon is “justice” and “righteousness” – not deviating from the standard. Righteousness assumes that there is a standard to meet up to.

This is how we look at Christ. Jeremiah 23:6 says, “In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness.” Jesus is to us the display of righteousness. In Jesus we see how God works; how He doesn’t change His standards; and how He meets His own standards. In Jesus words and actions we see a God who didn’t change His mind. He said, “The wages of sin is death.” He said, “The soul who sins is the one who will die.” He said that “Every sin must be punished.” Yet He also defined Himself as a God of mercy who does not desire the death of a sinner. So when we see Jesus go to the cross; we see righteousness; we see a God who mercifully meets His own standard of death and hell in the death of His Son; the death of God. Jesus breathes righteousness. He says, “If you disgraceful sinners want to meet my standard; then climb inside of my blood and my righteousness; find your holiness and forgiveness in me.” This is the standard by which God lives. The only place to find His righteousness is in His Son. There is no other way. This is the standard by which He judges the world. He does not and He will not deviate from the standard. Jesus is the standard. He is, as Jeremiah says, “our righteousness.”

III. The result of being lifted

If we want our nation to be lifted up; if we want our people to do the right thing; they first of all need to know the right Person; to find the right righteousness; to live within the standard that God has set. This comes by preaching the law into the heart of sinners; by following the pathway of Nathan, John the Baptist; Jesus and Paul; by preaching the law and gospel. If we want Americans to stop aborting babies; we need to first of all show them where life comes from and what life is all about. If we want young men and women to start respecting marriage; they first of all need to see and experience the joy of being married to Christ. We need to lift their eyes from what is expedient and what is satisfying to their flesh; and see what is lasting and satisfying to Jesus.

This righteousness of Christ is what leads to righteous living. Often times Christianity is blamed for what is known as the “Dark Ages,” as if Christianity caused science and learning to be oppressed because of their persecution of scientists who spoke against the idea of the earth revolving around the sun. But if you really study world history you will quickly see how Christianity actually changed the way that governments governed and people lived. Prior to Christianity the idea of caring for the poor or setting up hospitals for the sick was a foreign idea. Nobody even thought of doing such a thing. Some of the greatest philosophers of Rome were well renowned pedophiles and the world didn’t blink an eye at their perversion. Look at the history of Rome and you will see how public bath houses of sex were thought of as normal. Consider how they would crucify people and publicly torture; how they would beat and kill slaves on a regular basis and regard them as sub-human. This was enlightened living? It wasn’t until Christianity spread that these sorts of things were thought of as evil and that marriage actually was honored on a more regular basis. Christianity didn’t bring in the dark ages; it took the world out of the dark ages. It brought about morality in a way that the world had never known. When practiced according to God’s Word, Christianity naturally brings about the right way of living.

Consider the example of the slave Onesimus. He had run away from Philemon; and Philemon had every right under the law to punish him after Paul had him return to Onesimus. But in spite of the law; Paul appealed to Philemon’s heart; to his faith in Jesus Christ and the status of Onesimus; and urged Philemon to do the right thing in spite of what the law allowed him or even dictated him to do. This is the way Christianity works. It rises above culture and above the law of the land to do the merciful and gracious and forgiving thing; the righteous thing; in keeping with what God wants. This is how God changes lives.

If you look at America today, you might wonder where is this righteousness? Unfortunately, under the guise of Christianity, many have bought into the lie that righteousness is equal to acceptance and that love is equal to non-judgmental living. The worst sin you can commit is to make someone feel guilty! So what has happened is that Christian churches have become in many aspects religious bars where anyone can do anything and everything is acceptable. Many churches have given up the fight and promoted the same immorality that they used to condemn because their people have demanded acceptance for their sins and nobody has stood up against them.

Righteousness lifts up a nation, but sin is the disgrace of the peoples. That word for “disgrace” is only translated that way in one other place. It’s in Leviticus 20:17 where Moses says, “If a man marries his sister, the daughter of either his father or his mother, and they have sexual relations, it is a disgrace. They must be cut off before the eyes of their people. He has dishonored his sister and will be held responsible.” This is the way we ought to feel when we look at the way many Americans are living; especially under the guise of Christianity and also under the guise of Lutheranism. This is the way God wants us to feel. It’s something that we’ve forgotten to feel. Before we can expect any change in our country; we need the Lord to work a change in our own hearts and thoughts first; to be ashamed of our own fear and attitudes. Shame isn’t a bad thing. It’s the only thing that leads us to righteousness outside of ourselves. God points us to it and gives it to us in the cross of Christ. It is only there that we find no shame and no guilt; we find that our sins have been paid for and covered. It is only then that we will be motivated to reach out to others in a compassionate way.

Righteousness lifts up a nation, but sin is the disgrace of the peoples. Look also at the opportunities that we have as a Christian church to rise above the muck and the mess; to stand apart from our classmates and colleagues; and show them a different way; the righteousness Way; the standard that we live by; His name is Jesus Christ. Now more than ever we can stand out from a world that has given in to sin and selfishness and show Americans what forgiveness, grace, and love are really all about. Show your friends what it means to have respect for your body; to honor your parents; to serve your employer as if you were serving the Lord. Even if your friends think you are being backward and the hidden rules of your fellow employees almost dictate you to be lazy or selfish; rise above it. Being Christian isn’t about enabling sin. It’s about repenting of sin and trusting in Christ for forgiveness and salvation. This is how we can spiritually separate ourselves from the crowd and stand out in a positive way; letting the light of Christ truly shine in a dark world.

I don’t know what the future holds for America; whether the unemployment rate will go down; whether abortion will some day be outlawed; whether we will some day out of debt. These would all be good things; good steps for America to go down. But the turn around of America does not revolve around our debt or our unemployment rates or our success in Afghanistan. If you want America to be righteous; to be lifted up; don’t just pray about it and don’t only think about what laws need to be passed. Let the change start with you. Repent of your sins. Cling to Christ. Find your righteousness in Him. Then open your mouths. Speak the Word. Ask the LORD to personally involve you in the change of the society you live in, by showing people what sin and grace are all about. How can people be lifted up in righteousness if they don’t know what that righteousness is or Who that righteousness is? America needs to be lifted from disgrace; and if we want America to truly have hope and change, we need to show them the righteousness of Christ. Amen.