The Heavens Do Rule

To those who do not recognize the sovereignty of God, there is a mystery about history. Why is the course of history so consistent? Why do repeated attitudes and actions of nations always lead to the same result? Why is it that great civilizations do not endure? Why do they all end crumbling or devastated? Regimes and philosophies rise and fall. There appears no permanence.

The answer to all that of course, is that there is law for man's conduct upon the earth. When peoples disdain that law, they break themselves against it. Even before the law was codified by Moses, and radiantly clarified in the gospel, law existed. As long as there has been sin, there has been law: "Where there is no law, there is no transgression" (Rom. 4:15 ). Transgression, sin, is a violation of God's law (I Jn. 3:4). Sin has existed since Eden , therefore law has existed since then. God punished the world for its sin in the flood, yet that was before the writing of the law by Moses. The law existed before the law of Moses was written. "Until the law, sin was in the world; but sin is not imputed where there is no law" (Rom. 5:13 ).

So, from the beginning there has been a law for the moral conduct of man. When nations set it aside, they do so to their own detriment. God will not allow sin to ceaselessly pollute his earth. When peoples and nations are sufficiently defiled, God brings them into judgment. Afterward, peoples reform. But their offspring neglect the reforms, and then their offspring eventually reject the early standards altogether. And God brings judgment again. The flow of history is thus determined by God in heaven. These repeated patterns indicate law. There is a moral Governor of the universe. As King Nebuchadnezzar learned, "The heavens do rule" (Dan. 4:26 ).

I recently clipped the following from some newspaper. It noted that the great civilizations of mankind have averaged about 200 years before collapsing in hardship, and had to start over again. Those societies proceeded through the following cycles:

From bondage, to faith and strong morals
From faith and strong morals, to courage and strength
From courage and strength, to liberty
From liberty, to abundance
From abundance, to selfishness and license
From selfishness and license, to complacency
From complacency, to apathy
From apathy, to dependency
From dependency, back into bondage

Ancient Ninevah repented in the time of Jonah and set the clock back when its doom was nigh. As the salt of the earth, and light of the world, Christians need to do their work. And we need to pray, and then live commensurately with our prayers. Too many who claim to be Christians have put other aspirations first (selfishness), and have succumbed to the false promises of materialism, unrighteousness, and immorality. Where on the above list do you think this nation is? We know where it was in its beginning. Let us remember. The Heavens do rule. The glory of God must be our first concern. And that concern will be blessing to us. -- Dale Smelser

Why Do the Elite Want to Censor Jesus

No, the word "censor" is not too strong. You can stand in public and proclaim or carry a sign advocating limitless causes. Freedom of Speech and all that. Let someone go public with anything Christian and a climate has been created so that the perception is that it violates the separation of church and state. Never mind that the first amendment says, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."
The original wording of the fist clause helps us understand the intention of the framers of the Constitution: "Congress shall make no law establishing articles of faith" (National Archives). That’s it. There was to be no state religion. But, the restrictions placed on religious expression, note, restrictions placed on religious expression, prohibit that which is guaranteed by the Constitution.
Yes, many of these restrictions and prohibitions violate the Constitution in prohibiting the free exercise of religion. But one says, the Supreme Court has limited that expression. Yes, but you can read the words of the Constitution and marvel at that. Certain judges have a stake in squelching the gospel, and it appears their ambitions prevailed more than their legal knowledge. Why would they do that? Why, indeed? For reasons similar to those who hounded Jesus, spied on him, and plotted his death. Some present judges, educators, and politically elite find Jesus dangerous to their agendas. In this they are like the treacherous high priests Annas and Caiaphas, like Herod, and even Pilate who initially and officially found no fault in Jesus, yet gave in to pressure and sentenced him to death.
"But hearing about Jesus is offensive to some." So? I am constantly offended with profane use of the name of God, and the crude vulgarities people have been given the right to spout. I tire of hearing shallow comedians mock truths I hold dear. Let expression and ideas compete. That is freedom. Right now there is an uneven playing field. There are no limits to where the religion of Jesus may be criticized. But there are prohibitions upon where they may be advocated. And free people advocating their faith, or praying in public, is not the same as Congress making a law to establish a religion.
But why do the elite fear Jesus so? It seems the elite always have. Jesus healed a man’s withered arm in a synagogue. The response of the leaders? "They were filled with madness and communed with one another what they might do with Jesus" (Lk. 6:11). Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead after being in the tomb for four days. Just as expressions of the power of Christ today, that had to be squelched: "The chief priests took counsel that they might put Lazarus also to death; because that by reason of him many...believed on Jesus" (Jn. 12:10-11). If the people follow Jesus they might lose their power over the people. Similarly, the "high priests" of our secularism must get information about Christ out of sight.
Why? It really boils down to this. They do not hate the Bible and its message because it teaches kindness, or love of neighbor. They hate it because they want no restrictions on their sexuality, whether abortion which is a cure for their immorality, or same sex unions. Kill Lazarus. Get Jesus out of the public square. The elite today find Jesus a road block to their ambitions, just as the elite in Palestine did 2,000 years ago. And politicians who voluntarily give in to pressure and eliminate Jesus from the public square, act out of the same motives as Pilate, their brother, their own ambitions.
Would you like to learn more about Christ? Would you like to take your stand with us and refuse to be silenced about this greatest love ever shown for man. Email us: dalsmelser@aol.com. Check our web site: www.nwchurchofchrist.net