A key principle in looking at our situation is the way God holds cities (or countries) accountable based on the degree of knowledge they have about him and his will. In Matthew 11:20-24, Jesus condemned his own home-base town, Capernaum, saying that if the miracles done there had been done in Sodom and Gomorrah, they would have remained. It would be like telling a small, blue collar Midwest town that they would be judged more harshly than Las Vegas. Why? Because they had far more exposure to the truth.

For many years I have spoken and written about the need to pray for God’s mercy for our country. Since that time, it’s hard to even recognize our country from what it even was then.
At the time, I and many others were focused on the risk of new terrorist attacks following 9-11. By God’s mercy and thanks to many prayers, and the hard work of many here and abroad, follow-up attacks were averted. This article details dozens of those near misses, most foreign, some domestic. But since then, our country has become a very different place. From a biblical standard, it’s hard to imagine what has taken place in just several years.
A key principle in looking at our situation is the way God holds cities (or countries) accountable based on the degree of knowledge they have about him and his will. In Matthew 11:20-24, Jesus condemned his own home-base town, Capernaum, saying that if the miracles done there had been done in Sodom and Gomorrah, they would have remained. It would be like telling a small, blue collar Midwest town that they would be judged more harshly than Las Vegas. Why? Because they had far more exposure to the truth.
The application to America should be clear: because of our extraordinary exposure to the Gospel, we are without excuse. This should lead pastors and church leaders to lead their congregations to plead for mercy and repentance for this county, not just occasionally, but frequently. And not just to preserve our economy and comfort.
We have foreign enemies rebuilding in Afghanistan with open borders to our south, and China overtaking us in Asia and elsewhere. Not to mention the moral collapse we see within our country every day. God alone can turn the tide. But we have the responsibility to ask and plead. And not just occasionally, but often. The American Church must be the persistent widow (Luke 18:1-8) if our country has any hope. And that does not come without regular emphasis from church leadership.
Pastors and church leaders, please don’t get distracted. Keep your eye and airtime on this pressing need. Our country and its people may depend on it.
Steve Hall helps lead a ministry, Joseph’s Way, that helps equip churches and families to prepare for emergencies (physical, financial, and legal) in ways that equip them to help others during a crisis. He is a graduate of the UVA School of Law and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Steve has served as both an Elder and Deacon in evangelical presbyterian churches.
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Written by David T. Crum |
Wednesday, January 17, 2024
Since the fall of mankind, the Lord has been carrying out judgment on wickedness, often resulting in death in battle or wars. When disasters occur, or wars start, rest assured that the Lord is at work. It may be humanly impossible for us to ascertain the purpose, but Christians can find solace in knowing God remains in control.

This is a remarkable passage for the purpose of providing the right of the sword; for if the Lord, by arming the magistrate, has also committed to him the use of the sword, whenever he visits the guilty with death, by executing God’s vengeance, he obeys his commands. Contend then do they with God who think it unlawful to shed the blood of wicked men.—John Calvin

It is true that Christians should abhor war. Imitating the teachings of the Lord, believers are called to live a life of peace. A valuable example occurred when Jesus ordered Peter to put down his sword (Matthew 26:52). Much the same, Stephen sought prayers for those stoning him to death (Acts 7:60), not vengeance.
However, the concept and call to peace do not negate the fact that warfare is present in this fallen world. And it is clear through war that the Lord’s providence occurs.
Among the great Reformers, John Calvin garnered wide recognition for upholding a reputation of peace. John Knox, famous for carrying the Bible in one hand and a sword in the other, remained a bit fierier than his mentor (Calvin). Luther, like Knox, defended his own movement aggressively. Luther commented on war, “For if the sword were not on guard to preserve peace, everything in the world must go to ruin because of lack of peace. Adding, “When men write about war, then and say that it is a great plague, that is all true; but they should also see how great the plague is that it prevents.”[1]
Luther and Knox had merit for their aggressive response to the Papacy and darkness needing to be confronted by the sword. Calvin frequently discussed war, too. He wrote:
He (God) bids us to live chastely and refrain from all violence. However, when wars break out in the world, when there is bloodshed and countless acts of rape, will we say when these occur that God failed in his counsel to consider what was right? Do we think that he would let fortune prevail, as if he were asleep in heaven, or was enjoying a delightful rest? What a blasphemous idea! It would be like making God into an idol…If God did not determine everything in this world and keep Satan and all his evildoers in check, we would most certainly be doomed to perish a hundred times every minute of the day. Moreover, unless we realize that wars and similar things are judgments which God uses to punish our sins, we would surely not be brought to repentance.[2]
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We need to recognize how unhealthy our addiction to “cost-free moral preening” is. The constant need to be better than “those people”—and to be seen being better—betrays a deep spiritual anxiety that no amount of political posturing can cure.

At least since the movie Inherit the Wind butchered the history of the 1925 Scopes “monkey trial,” many Americans—especially those on the left side of the political spectrum—have cherished a kind of myth about national debates being settled in dramatic courtroom clashes. In reality, they seldom are. However, that doesn’t stop idealistic plaintiffs from trying.  
The most recent controversy dragged before a judge was whether the state of Montana could be held responsible for climate change. Earlier this month, Montana District Court Judge Kathy Seeley ruled that the state’s failure to take climate change into account when greenlighting new oil and coal projects was unconstitutional. The plaintiffs were a group of young people called Our Children’s Trust. They sued the state over fossil fuel production, claiming that Montana violated a section of its constitution that guarantees citizens “the right to a clean and healthful environment.” 
Climate activists have hailed the decision as a significant victory and model for the nation but have not been clear on what exactly has been accomplished. As The New York Times put it, unless a higher court overturns the ruling, Montana must now “consider climate change when deciding whether to approve or renew fossil fuel projects.” That’s all. They must “consider.” 
Ed Whelan at National Review concluded that the impact of this “Children’s Crusade to defeat climate change” on actual energy production and carbon emissions “might well be zero.” Perhaps future projects will involve a symbolic gesture, akin to the so-called “land acknowledgments” commonly seen in academia and on recent episodes of Alone Australia. These rituals involve a speaker beginning by naming the Native American tribes on whose ancestral land they’re standing. Of course, such acknowledgments, as Princeton’s Robert George recently remarked, “do no one any good.” No one gets land back. No de-colonization takes place. There aren’t any reparations. It’s “just a cost-free form of moral preening.” 
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