Apathetic Pastors, Christians Killing America

America`s most
celebrated jurist, Daniel Webster (himself a dedicated
Christian man),

said, "God grants liberty only to those who love
it, and are always ready to guard and defend it."
Obviously, Christian men down through our history have
personally and collectively shown themselves more than
willing to "guard and defend" our liberties. From

Bunker Hill to the

Alamo, Christian men stood tall in the defense of

America`s freedom.

So, it is more than a
little disconcerting to realize that there is a sizeable
percentage of today`s Christians who seem completely
unwilling to "guard and defend" liberty in these
United States of America.

Oh, I know that almost
all of our pastors and church leaders will laud and
honor a young Christian man`s decision to join our armed
forces and go overseas to fight enemies abroad. But when
it comes to opposing those within our own country who
seek to

dismantle constitutional government or the

principles of liberty, their support for resistance
turns to apathy and indifference. (The reason for this
couldn`t be because they simply don`t want to do the
hard work, could it? Please tell me it ain`t so!)

I have even had
Christians tell me that we should not oppose any
attempts to resist draconian developments within our
country, because doing so would actually be resisting
God. The reasoning goes something like this: "The
Bible says things will get worse and worse. Therefore,
all this `bad` stuff happening is God`s will, and if we
try to prevent it, we are fighting against God`s will."

I know it sounds
incredible, but we might be shocked as to the number of
professing Christians that actually subscribe to such
nonsense.

Isn`t it interesting,
however, that these same Christians did not believe we
were fighting against God`s will when we sent hundreds
of thousands of U.S. military forces (many of them

Christians) to fight and destroy the evil regime of
Saddam Hussein in Iraq? If things are supposed to get
worse and worse and we would be opposing God`s will by
resisting, why should we interfere in Iraq? Why should
we send troops to Afghanistan, if we are not to resist
evil?

And, of course, the
bigger question is, If it is right to resist evil in a
foreign country half way around the world, why is it not
right to resist evil in our own country?

Furthermore, the same
Christians that tell us we should not oppose any evil
being perpetrated by those within our own government
will scream about the importance of going to the polls
in November and defeating the "evil" Democrats.
But why? If Christians are not to resist evil, because
the Bible says things will get worse and worse, why
should we worry about who wins an election?

In fact, it would seem
that the best thing we could do would be to identify the
absolute worst, most evil candidate we could find and
vote for him (or her). After all, if God intends for
things to get worse and worse, why don`t we help Him out
by assisting the efforts of evil people?

I wonder if Christians
actually think about what they are saying?

When Jesus said,
"resist not evil," (Matt.
5:39) did He mean that we should not oppose a
would-be rapist or murderer? Did He mean we should not
oppose those who would destroy our homes or country? I
know a few honest pacifists. However, this is not the
belief system of most Christians. Most Christians
believe in

lawful self-defense (including this writer).

The fact is, if it is
right to oppose evil in Iraq (and I am among those who
question the constitutional right and authority of the
war in Iraq), it is right to oppose evil in America. If
we Christians are willing to send our fellow believers
to fight and die in opposition to tyranny half way
around the world, it is right that we should be willing
to fight and even die in opposition to tyranny right
here at home.

It is absolute lunacy
for Christians to flippantly dismiss their moral,
spiritual, and civil obligation to resist the tyrannical
tendencies of corrupt political powers in these United
States.

Christians are plainly
commanded to resist the Evil One (James
4:7;

1 Peter 5:9). When Abraham`s nephew, Lot, was taken
captive by an alien army, did Abraham say, "Things
are going to get worse and worse and there is nothing we
can do about it"? Or did he gather his own army and
attack the invaders and deliver his nephew (see

Genesis chapter 14)?

During the dark days of
Israel`s captivities, did not God raise up deliverers to
stand against the evildoers? When

David saw Goliath, did he say, "Things are
supposed to get worse and worse"? Or did he gather
his

sling and stones and march out to face the pagan?

The history of the early
church in New Testament times is one continuous example
of resistance to tyrannical authority. The apostles
repeatedly refused to submit to the dictates and demands
of both Jewish and Roman authorities. Every apostle,
save John, was killed for resisting carnal authority.

Throughout church
history, martyrdom was common. Some such as

Huss and

Tyndale died passively at the hands of various
religious and political elements, while others such as

Zwingli died on the battlefield resisting corrupt
and tyrannical governments.

The fact is, for more
than two thousand years of Church history—from John the
Baptist to

John Witherspoon—Christians have repeatedly and
consistently resisted evil authorities.

How dare pastors and
Christians now say that we should not resist the evil,
tyrannical tendencies of powerful politicos? How dare
they suggest that it is "God`s will" that we
allow evil to triumph in our land?

Worse still is the
apathy and indifference that many Christians display
toward the great freedoms and liberties into which they
have been born as Americans. We enjoy these great
liberties, because our forebears (many of them
Christians) were willing to fight and die to bequeath
them to us. We do not enjoy the rights and freedoms
enumerated in the Constitution and Bill of Rights and
announced in the Declaration of Independence by chance
or luck. These freedoms were secured by the blood,
sweat, and tears of brave Americans who chose to fight
evil in our own country.

America has enjoyed the
blessings of liberty, because, as Webster said, our
fathers and grandfathers were willing to "guard and
defend" it. Will this be the generation that refuses
to "guard and defend" liberty? Will this be the
generation that permits the evil machinations of
powerful, but corrupt, authorities to steal liberty from
our posterity?

There is

another statement by Daniel Webster that today`s
Christians need to take to heart:

"There is no nation on
earth powerful enough to accomplish our overthrow. Our
destruction, should it come at all, will be from another
quarter. From the inattention of the people to the
concerns of their government, from their carelessness
and negligence. I must confess that I do apprehend some
danger. I fear that they may place too implicit a
confidence in their public servants, and fail properly
to scrutinize their conduct; that in this way they may
be made the dupes of designing men, and become the
instruments of their own undoing."

Should Webster`s warning
come true for America, it will be because our pastors
and Christian leaders refused to "guard and defend"
liberty in our own land.

Should this happen, our
tombstone will read, "Here lies the United States of
America: killed by the apathy and indifference of its
pastors and churches."

Dr. Chuck Baldwin is the
pastor of Crossroad Baptist Church in Pensacola,
Florida. He hosts a

weekly radio show. His
website is

here.