Proverbs 14:34

The Bible says,
"Righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people."
"Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord."

"When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice;
but when the wicked bear rule, the people mourn."

When you read those Scriptures you know that this nation is in trouble.
We are no longer say a nation of righteousness.

The Bible says, "Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord,"
but we can no longer say that the Lord is our God.

This is a time to call our country back to God.
This will require the courage and commitment of God's people.
It is a time for the people of God to set our hands to the plow
and refuse to look back until we have accomplished what God wants us to accomplish.

We are a people who have long enjoyed the freedom of our republic.
I doubt that the majority of the citizens of this country realize our kind of government.

There are five basic types of government.

There is a monarchy, which is a rule by one.
There is an oligarchy, which is the rule by a few -- the elite.
There is a democracy, which is the rule by a majority.
There is the republic, which is the rule by law;
Then there is anarchy, which is the rule by none.

Probably most Americans think that our kind of government is a democracy.
We do not have a democracy.

In our pledge allegiance to the flag, we pledge allegiance
"to the republic for which it stands," not "the democracy."
We are a republic.

We are governed by law -- by our Constitution.

We have a republic.
We do not want an oligarchy, nor do we want a democracy,
In a democracy a majority can become mob rule.

If we had a democracy, and the majority of Americans voted not to have churches,
then our churches would have to close.

In a republic we are governed by a Constitution
that guarantees our freedom to worship God the way we please.

The children in our schools are sometimes taught that we have a democracy.
The truth is that which has given to us a land of freedom is the a republic,
which is our United States.

To be confused today about our kind of government presents a serious problem.
Many college students, high school students, and average citizens in America
believe that the government is the source of their rights.
Nothing could be further from the truth!

Our forefathers who gave us the Constitution knew that a government
that gives rights is a government that can take away rights.
So, they wisely gave us a Constitution that guarantees our rights.

Consider this statement from the Declaration of Independence:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,
that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights,
that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."

"Endowed by their Creator" is the key point, not by their "government."
We are endowed our rights of freedom and liberty
and the pursuit of happiness by the God who created man to be free and to be equal.

If you should ask the average American what the purpose of the government is,
he would probably answer that the purpose is to provide for the needs of the people.
This is why many people would like to replace our republic form of government
with a socialistic form of government.

The purpose of the government, according to the Constitution,
is not to provide for the needs of the people,
but to protect the people and to protect their property.

When we have a government that is constantly providing the needs of the people,
we have a government that is taking from the people in order to give to people
who will no longer have when the government ceases to provide.

We do need government, but we need a government based on constitutional law.
Our forefathers have given us the Constitution to protect the rights and freedoms
of all the people who make up these United States.

Some years ago college student who was marching in the streets
and doing all in his power to destroy our form of government, was asked:
"What are you doing?"

He said, "I want to destroy the system."

"Why would you want to destroy the system?"

"I don't like the system."

"What are you going to replace this system with?"

"I don't know now. We'll figure that out later."

And this wise man said to the student,
"Has it ever occurred to you that those who incite you to riot,
those who would challenge you to destroy this system of government
already know and have planned the type of government
they want to replace this republic with?"

There was no answer from the student.
He just shrugged his shoulders.

We need to understand the role of our government.
Our whole welfare system is built on a basic premise that is detrimental to our society.
We are not a government established to give to everyone all that they need.

Our government was established to protect each individual so he can do his best,
have his own vocation, choose where he wants to live,
and live the kind of lifestyle that he desires.

We do not want any other form of government.
There is no group of people in all the world who have been so free, as we are in America.
We are ruled by the principles of a republic.

Most of the people who have ever lived have lived in slavery.
In this republic we are free.

The two concepts that are the basis of a sound republic
are patriotism and faith in the Lord God.
Remove God from a society and it is unfit in which to live.

The Bible has been taken out of our schools
and in most schools pray is prohibited.
And now there is some talk about removing God's name from the pledge to the flag.

Another attack is on the family in America.
There is a vicious, all-out attack upon the American home.
The feminist in our country today have launched an attack
upon the biblical concepts of submission and discipline in the home.

The real question is not who has rights, but what is right and what is best for the home.
When two people in a family become absolutely, legally equal, there is no head;
both become independent of each other, and love is destroyed.

The concept of abortion and of "equal rights" as some people would interpret them,
are in opposition to the home as God has set forth in His Word.
This nation has as its foundation the home.
And, when the home is destroyed, it is the sure sign of our downfall.

Karl Marx had this to say about the home:
"The bourgeoisie claptrap about the family and education,
about the hallowed co-relation of parents and child becomes all the more disgusting."

Those who agree with such statements would remove God from our society.
They must destroy the home in order to destroy our republic.
This is the threat we face.

Another threat to our nation is gross immorality.
Some people say we are just getting more sinful.
Pornography and drugs are attacking our society.

These things will destroy the home.
History proves that when a society becomes morally corrupt,
and gives itself to perversions like homosexuality and lesbianism, that nation will crumble.

Many have become so involved in the gratification of the flesh to escape reality
that they have lost their perspective and their sense of reality.
Their total concern becomes self-satisfaction, and they will disrupt the very society
that has given them the freedom and liberty to practice their perversion.

Any nation goes that route will collapse, and will experience the judgment of God.
This is seen in Scripture and history.

The Word of God says that the nation that forgets God shall be turned into hell.
Pornography, perversion, and the occult are eating away
at the moral fiber that holds this nation together.
When we become apathetic, when we no longer care, evil will move in and enslave us.

We must pray that our nation would turn to God.

We should pray for our President.
We are to pray for our Congress.
We are to pray our local leaders.
We are to pray for all Americans to wake up -- to stand up, to speak out,
and to do all we can to turn our country back to God.

If we do not pray, nothing that we do will make much difference.
But if we do pray, whatever we do will make a tremendous difference.

We must be vigilant!
That means more than just voting -- many never even vote.
We must get personal involved in our communities.
We must become aware of the issues.
We should know what to oppose and what to support.

We have have let others decide for us.
We have been too complacent.
There is so much we we can do.

The fact that we are citizens of this republic makes us already involved.
Either we are going to become involved like God wants us to be involved,
or we are going to sit on the sideline and let someone else
decide our present and future well being.

We have a responsibility to become involved.
We need to know what is going on in our country.

We must proclaim the Gospel of the Lord Jesus.
We need to share the Gospel as clearly,
and as persuasively in the power of the Holy Spirit as we know how.

Without God in the life of our nation, there is no hope for this nation or for our families.

We are responsible for what happens in America.
We must pray.
We are to pay the price so that our world may know that our God is God

When Christians set themselves apart from the ways of the world,
and when we live obediently, and when Jesus Christ again becomes
the Lord of our daily lives, the world without Christ will begin to take notice.

Benjamin Franklin said: "He who introduces into the affairs of man
the principles of primitive Christianity will revolutionize the world."

And that is what church of Christ must do.
We must get back to those basic principles of Christianity in the Word of God.

And when you and I begin to live these principles in our home;
and in our business and in our church, we will see God move in this nation.

When God-fearing, praying people are willing to pay the price;
and are willing to give of themselves courageously, and boldly to the will of God,
God will bless our nation again.

Sermon by Dr. Harold L. White