Christian Living

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Larry Lilly's Letter Tuesday July 8, 2008

Well it looks like our wild and noisy celebration of liberty is over for another year. Our pulpits will settle back into taking sides on political issues designed by each side to further enslave a once free and industrious populace, doing so by promises of greater liberty while forging ever harder chains on enterprise.

I am one who thinks that the pulpit when properly occupied with the main subject of a pulpit will as an aside be the cause of greatness of any nation or group of mere humans. The great French historian, and commentator on the times, Alexis De Tocqueville, came to America and spent much time observing and in 1835 in his book "Democracy in America" wrote:

"It was not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness, did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because America is good..and if America ever ceases to be good..America will cease to be great."

In my humble opinion the occupants of American pulpits have let the people down. This has been done by adopting the means of the political world in attempts to accomplish that which God did not give a sacred call, the quieting of the sheep while the wolf of unrighteousness slyly peeped, then looked and with the passage of time eventually occupied not only the pulpit, but the once fertile plot where righteous ideas and biblical truth were sown into the mind and heart of future orators of the truth the makes men free.

I have been actively involved in the Lord's work for the entirety of my adult life, some 47 years, and one thing above all others stands out in my mind and this clear signal is the growing failure of the church at large to preach with understanding the flaming righteousness mention by De Tocqueville. What little preaching of righteousness I have heard or seen on TV is very simply not biblical righteousness, but either a wild proclamation of some verse twisted to mean what the speaker wanted it to mean in order further manipulate the listeners, or a well thought out presentation of said righteousness totally void of passionate belief. And may I say, screaming does equal passionate righteousness!!

Not only did De Tocqueville commend the righteousness of America, but he further noted the practical application of imputed righteousness in daily life. In the above mentioned book he wrote:

"In the United States religion directs the manners of the community, and by regulating domestic life, it regulates the state."

It must be noted that the religion that regulated domestic life was not a religion mandated by the state, but the activities of the state were to a point controlled by the character of the people who were controlled, not by an ever increasing volume of laws, but by the power of Christ working inside their heart and mind.

The second question of our time seems to be, "Is anyone looking?" Is there hope the question will change to; "Is this right?"

Larry Lilly Copyright © 2008 Use with credit

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