Originally published on The Electric Gospel on July 3, 2017.
To change a nation, you must change souls
by David Sellnow
Blessings to you as we celebrate Independence Day in the USA. Political turmoil has abounded in recent months. For a holiday installment of The Electric Gospel, I thought I’d dig out a bit of a sermon I once preached on 4th of July weekend. I’ll just post a snippet from the sermon here, but enough to make the point.
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There were two men from two countries. Both men were married. Neither man loved his wife. In the one country, the divorce laws were very lenient. Divorce was a casual affair. So the man in that country summarily divorced his wife and gave the matter no further thought.
In the other country, laws were stern and severe. Divorce was almost unheard of; it was only rarely granted. Only with strong proof of infidelity or deadly abuse could a divorce be obtained. So the man in that country did not bother going to court. He knew the law. He stayed married to his wife. But he never loved her or showed her any love.
Which wife was happier? Neither. One was unhappily divorced; one was unhappily married. What would have made a loving wife happy in either country had nothing to do with the divorce statutes. It had everything to do with her husband. A change of heart and soul in him was needed, not just a different set of laws.
As we look at the country we live in, we see plenty of problems and moral confusion. Some may think the solution is to legislate stronger city and state ordinances, enact constitutional amendments, insist that the Bible’s commandments must be enshrined as the law of the land. But you can’t change a nation’s character with laws any more than you can pass a law that makes a husband love his wife. To change a person, you must change his soul. The change a nation, you must change the souls of the people within it.
Whatever messes we see around us in society, the way to effect change is not merely through political action but spiritual activity. We’re not going to save souls by picketing city hall or state capitols to try to force everyone in town behave as we would like them to behave. Besides, if we’re honest, we each must admit that our own behavior isn’t pure and perfect either. We ourselves have needed a Savior just as much as any of our neighbors need him.
Our calling in Christ is to get out and speak God’s truth. His “word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart” (Romans 10:10). The Lord “richly blesses all who call on him” (Romans 10:12). So we make it our mission to represent Christ as his ambassadors in the world, “as though God were making his appeal through us,” imploring people on Christ’s behalf: “Be reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:20). And if the world around us puts pressure on us because of our Christian confession, we take that all in stride, heeding what Christ’s apostle urged us:
- “Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. … Even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened. But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander” (1 Peter 3:9,14-16).
