My intent by this letter is not to offend, but to awake Christians, and more specifically pastors, to what the Bible says is our civil duty.  It is because of our failure in the civil arena that we find ourselves in a country whose society is in a moral tailspin, and whose corrupt government now considers those who profess a belief in Jesus Christ, the Bible, and the U.S. Constitution as a possible "terrorist threat". 

(The Southern Poverty Law Center has been teaching this to our law-enforcement agencies around the country.)

If some are offended then so be it.  Maybe some offense is what is needed to awake those that are in a deep slumber while the pillars of society are crashing around them.  We should all be offended at the state of affairs in this nation, and the willful blindness and apathy of those who profess to be Christians to stand against the tyranny and evil which has enveloped us.  We are called to be the "salt" and "light" to the world. (Matthew 5:13-16)  Does this not also apply to the civil arena?  Can we be held personally accountable for a government that is in rebellion to God's word?  What does God expect of us as citizens of an eternal Kingdom who live in a temporal, earthly Kingdom?  Is spreading the good news of the Gospel our only duty and responsibility as Christians? Is there more expected of us?  What does the Bible say?

Let us turn to the prophet Isaiah in his scathing rebuke of Judah.  For two hundred years following Judah's birth as an independent nation, she experienced blessings of prosperity followed by the curse of national arrogance, greed, and lust.  When she began to disobey God and His principles in government, God condemned her behavior through the prophets.  The most vocal of these was the prophet Isaiah.  When the civil leaders and the people of Judah turned their backs to God, and began to practice every form of rebellion to God's word, from worshiping pagan gods, promoting rampant homosexuality, sacrificing infant babies, to every imaginable form of corruption in their civil government, to whom did Isaiah lay the blame?  He blamed not only the civil rulers, but the people as well.  Even though Judah was a theocracy, they had a say in who was appointed as their civil leaders.  By failing to correct or remove those civil leaders when they became rebellious to God's Law's, they themselves were to be held accountable for the sins of the nation as well.  

According to Deuteronomy Chapters 16 & 17, if the people appointed individuals who followed God's Laws and practiced moral behavior, God would richly bless that nation.  But, if the people continued to tolerate evil and corrupt leaders, then they had failed in their responsibility and would be judged harshly.

( An excellent book on this subject is "Sinful Silence, When Christians Neglect Their Civil Duty" by Ken Conner and John Revell.)

What does this say for the citizens of the United States?  Even more specifically, the Christians and Pastors of this nation?  We have a representative form of government and have a say in who we elect as our leaders.  Yet, we continue to elect and re-elect leaders who are in rebellion to God's Word.  We now live under a government that not only protects homosexuality, but actually promotes it in our society and schools. Abortion has continued unabated under Republican, as well as Democratic leadership alike.  Every form of corruption imaginable is taking place before our very eyes.  We are headed towards a globalist, anti-Christ, police-state and losing our independence as a nation at shocking speed yet, where are the Christians and Pastors who should be speaking against it?  Will God not hold us accountable, as He did the people of Judah, for the failure in our responsibility to correct or remove those who are taking us down the path of unrighteousness? Are we to be the "salt" and "light" to this dying world in words only?  Or only behind the four walls of the Church?

When Pastors refuse to take a stand against the immoral actions of our government because they feel that the church is not the place to "mix politics and religion", or fear of "dividing the congregation", or "jeopardizing their 501c3 status", then we should not be surprised to see the lack of revival in our nation.  There are those that have bought into the lie of "separation of church and state".  First, there is no such separation in the Constitution. I assure you that God believes in no such separation.  God does not stand on the sidelines in this issue. According to scripture God is the absolute authority over all civil governments.  Isaiah warned that when we have civil leaders who continue to do every form of evil, (especially those that continue to permit the blight of abortion in our country) that they will have the "blood on their hands".  But, he also warned that for us to continue to elect such civil leaders, or fail in removing them, and to stand against this evil, that the "blood is on our hands" as well, and that God would turn His face away from our prayers. Isaiah 1:15.

James 4:17 also emphasizes the principle. "Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins".

There are many well-meaning Christians and pastors who continue to support and advocate voting for George Bush this November.  I've heard many say he is the "lesser of two evils," or a "vote for a third party is essentially a vote for Kerry".  These are all plausible arguments for a non-Christian.  A Christian should not look to the fact of who has the best chance of winning, nor should we settle for the "lesser of two evils."  We as Christians should never compromise with evil.  A vote for the lesser of evil is still a vote for evil.  Anyone who is not willfully blind or ignorant of the facts should obviously see that Bush has done more harm to liberty and our Constitution than Clinton did in his eight years in office.  We have a duty to inform ourselves and vote for a candidate that most reflects our moral values and who openly promotes a return to the Biblical principles this country was founded upon. 

There is only one candidate that has made that stand. Michael Peroutka, the presidential nominee of The Constitution Party. www.constitutionparty.com or www.peroutka2004.com  While political parties are not the only way to bring this nation back into submission to God's Laws, it is an avenue that we can, and should use, to effect positive change.

In Christian Liberty,

Michael Goza

Constitution Party of Tennessee

www.cpot.org