“Any Kingdom Divided”
September 2nd, 2009
“Any Kingdom Divided Against Itself Is Laid Waste” – Luke 11:17
The truth our Lord conveys here in Luke, though comprehensible by a child, has fallen on deaf ears in our times. Generally speaking, if a kingdom is divided, there are two basic divisions. They are, one the one hand, those who are in opposition to the Master’s voice, and on the other, those who hear and obey. Of these two positions, Scripture tells us, only the righteous will flourish, therefore, even an undivided kingdom, in opposition to God, will be “laid waste.” Do we have then a duty to unify the American kingdom under the banner of Jesus Christ?
A short examination of how far we have sank.
A Higher Law by Dean Jeffrey A. Brauch provides a few quotes written by various authors who have influenced our law, and by direct influence, our society. First, Thomas Aquinas, in defining the nature of temporal or human law, states, “there is nothing just and lawful, but what man has drawn from the eternal law.” William Blackstone, recognized as the chief source for early American legal studies, writes on the nature of laws in general stating, “as man depends absolutely upon his maker for everything, it is necessary that he should in all points conform to his maker’s will. This will of his maker is called the natural law.” As a nation, America has rejected these standards that once grounded society’s laws in the Triune God. We have, as Romans 1 conveys, “exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.”
Have we become the willfully ignorant that Romans speaks of?
Paul establishes in Romans 1 that he is speaking of men who “suppress the truth in unrighteousness.” He also establishes that God’s eternal power and divine nature are “clearly seen” and that man is with out excuse. As a nation, America has spent countless millions researching this physical world, and yet, we deny the existence of God the more we see His handiwork. Why is this? Perhaps, it is the suppression of truth in unrighteousness. If it is, there is a somber warning for those who do not choose to fear the Lord. Paul continues in Romans, “For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator…For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another…”
Can the momentum be shifted?
Only by the power of the Holy Spirit will we turn as a people, exchanging this divided kingdom for a unified citizenship, where success is measured by the glory it brings our Lord, rather than a façade of wealth and power. But when this happens, and we know it will, our pursuits must be for unambiguous declaration of the Truth. We must learn from our forefather’s mistakes and not rest until Christ is evident in every aspect of our social contract.
-David