Tim Wildmon
AFA president
February 2013 – As I write this column in mid-December, the nation is reeling with grief over the senseless slaughter of 26 children and teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut.
It occurs to me that in recent decades, when our culture looks for someone to blame for such tragedies, the default scapegoat is religion or God – or more specifically the Christian faith and its committed followers. Covering the Sandy Hook shooting, CNN anchor Ashleigh Banfield reflected that sentiment when she demanded of her guest, a Jewish rabbi, “Why did God do it?”
Come on, Ms. Banfield. God didn’t do it. Nor did His followers. A sad and deranged young man did it.
The problem with America is not the Christians who try to live their lives according to the Bible. The problem is that many people couldn’t care less about who God is or how He instructs us to live.
Maybe some of you didn’t expect to hear that from me. Often we Christians blame ourselves; after all, we’re not influencing the culture enough and so the nation continues its moral decline.
Does the church shoulder some of the blame for the deteriorating moral condition of America? Yes, we do. However, we now live in a land in which a majority – many of whom self-identify as Christian – don’t know what they believe about God, values or morality. They are rudderless. And they outnumber us.
It’s not Christians’ fault that the non-Christian chooses to live a life in rebellion against God.
In an effort to prove that America’s future is in the hands of Christians, we often cite 2 Chronicles 7:14. I have used it myself during National Day of Prayer events. It reads: “… if my people who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and forgive their sin and heal their land.”
While Christians should certainly humble themselves before God, pray, seek God and turn from all sin, I’m convinced that God’s promise to “heal their land” was specific to the children of Israel for that time.
In other Scriptures – Proverbs, for example – God gives us principles (not promises) that He intended to be applicable for all time. For instance, Proverbs 14:34 says: “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.”
What is happening in America through some of our laws and in much of our popular culture is that we have taken what God calls sin and called it good. Namely I am talking about abortion (which is the murder of innocent human life) and homosexuality (which is sexual behavior that is unnatural according to Romans 1).
You and I don’t know for sure what tomorrow holds for America. Not even the wisest pastor knows what tomorrow holds for America. We might collapse as a country and drown in our own debt. Or, we might experience a third Great Awakening revival with millions coming to know the Lord Jesus Christ as their redeemer and savior. Who knows? All we can know for certain is that tomorrow when we wake up, God expects us to live for Him and honor Him in everything we do. With respect to our citizenship here on earth, God expects us to care about our family, our fellow man and our government. He expects us to use whatever influence we have to promote biblical righteousness. In Matthew 5:10, Jesus says: “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Why would Jesus say this? Because he knew that the righteousness of God is at war with the sinfulness and evil of the world. And the world not only hates God, it hates what He stands for. So when we stand for righteousness, we are often shouted down by the secular world which doesn’t want to hear what we have to say because it confronts them with their sin.
For all patriotic, God-fearing Americans, I know it often gets discouraging to stay in the fight. But we must continue doing what God requires of us; that’s all we can do. We are not responsible or guilty when a godless and self-centered people rebel against a holy God and His laws. 
