What Kind of an America?

by   Dr. D. James Kennedy                                                                                                                     Vol. IX, No. 10, Nov/Dec 1996

           What kind of an America would you like?

           That's the question CBS newsman Dan Rather asked Gary Bauer, president of the Family Research Council. Bauer, as he relates in his recent book, Our Hopes, Our Dreams, made his answer "personal and intimate." He talked of an America where he didn't have to worry about date rape when his daughter goes out at college, where young men honor their marriage vows, "where families no longer have to hide behind barred windows," and "where children come first again and where virtue is honored."

           That is not the America we know today. What happened? The social revolution of the past 40 years came about because of decisions and actions made by ungodly men and women.

           And that encourages me. If the social wreckage that now litters our national life came about because of the decisions of ungodly people, then godly men and women, if they will but take up the task, can undo, repair, and restore our nation. That is now beginning to happen. And by the grace of God I am confident that in the next decade or so, that will happen on an ever larger scale. God is at work in this world as never before.

           Are you part of the solution -- do you number yourself among those who have taken up the task of making America what it ought to be, what it once was?

           Back in 1643, colonial representatives gathered to draft the New England Confederation. In that document they said, "We all came into these parts of America for one and the same end and aim, namely, to advance the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

           That, notwithstanding the assertions of others such as Calvin Coolidge, who said, “the business of America is business,” is what our nation is all about. Are you a part of that? Are you proclaiming the good tidings of Jesus Christ to people in this nation?

           The fact that so few Christians share the Gospel with others is, at root, what's wrong with America. We can blame godless institutions, but a great share of the blame must be placed right at the door of the church. We have neglected the Great Commission. If every Christian in America would simply lead someone to Christ this year, this nation would be overwhelmingly Christian and the problems of this nation would vanish like snow before the rising sun.

           We, as Christians, must get involved in our culture and proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If Christians would do those two things, this nation and this world would be transformed almost overnight. It would be glorious!

           Will YOU do it?

[Reprinted from Coral Ridge Ministries Impact, April 1996. Bold print added.]