Alan Keyes
1998

Praise God. And so now, after having worked at cross-purposes with myself--see because, in order to put you in the right frame of mind for giving, I had to make you cheerful! Hopeful! But in order to put you in the right frame of mind to give what I think this country needs, I think I have to spend a few minutes depressing you, again. Because we live in times when, if we don't focus clearly on the true state of our affairs, we could be fooled by what is going on in our time.

I really feel deeply that we are, in our country right now, in the position of the cities of the plain--Sodom and Gomorrah--and when you read those accounts we do realize, don't we, that Sodom and Gomorrah were not in the midst of all kinds of awful desolation and awful things happening, and famine and plague, and all of this, when they were struck down. They were living off the fat of the land! Quite literally! They were coming off a period when they had defeated their enemies, and when the crops were good, and they were all prosperous--so much so that even Abraham's kindred decided to wander off into Sodom and Gomorrah, and "life was so good, let's go live there!" Right?

And it was right in the midst of all those good times--I'm sure their GNP was rising and the stock market was up, in so far as they had one. And right in the midst of those times they started giving into those things which sometimes are there as inclinations of our flesh, but which are totally contrary to the decrees and the will of God. And one of the emblems of that was one of those things that we don't like to think about any more, do we? Because we, ourselves, have given in to the temptation to think that it's okay. I mean, one of the key emblems of that was, what? We do know don't we? We don't want to say anymore, these days, because it's politically incorrect. But, one of the key emblems of their departure from God's will was that their sexual appetites were perverted. And whether they indulged or not they started to be all tolerant of things which God holds in abomination. And I'm sure they thought they could get away with it. We do too, don't we? And I'm sure they thought they could interpret it in all kinds of ways--but at the end of the day, God didn't see it that way, because His laws are His laws. Now, they aren't put there for our ill, or anything. As a matter of fact, He tells us quite clearly that He sets before us life and death, blessings and curses. He doesn't want us to end up with the curses and the death, because life is there if we are willing to choose. But we will end up with the curses and the death. We do see that, don't we?

I know that there are times, particularly we Christians, sometimes we want to focus on the gentle Jesus meek and mild, and I understand this. Because the Lord is gentle--but His gentleness isn't like the gentleness of man. You see, the gentleness of man will be all gentle with you while you walk into the pit. It will be all kind and merciful to you while you walk yourself into the flames! Christ does not have that kind of merciless mercy. Christ's love is true love. It is the love that wants for us that which is our true good, our true happiness, and our true salvation. And that kind of love, if you are about to fall into the pit, rebukes you! You do realize that, don't you? Because He even tell us that's what we're supposed to do.

But sometimes, I think, these days, we Christian folks want to act as if that's not the case, and as if the law and the will of God, as expressed in the things that He says, in His Commandments and other things that we are to do, that it doesn't apply to us. That's not true! The Apostle went to great pains to make it clear that though we are liberated, aren't we, from the law, by the Advent of Jesus Christ, that doesn't mean that the law doesn't apply to us. It simply means that the law becomes for us an indwelling principle! We do not feel it as a constraint, because our heart is the heart of God. Our eyes are the eyes of God. Because we live, or should live, with the heart, with the eyes, with the will of His Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ. And so that law is no law for us, it is simply our will, and what we do as a result is not a result of constraint, but a result of our expression of the indwelling presence and love of God.

I go through that, not because I want to share some exposition of our Christian faith, but because I want to remind us of something. What I just described is, in fact, the true paradigm of true self-government. We do realize that, don't we? I mean, what I just described, which is one of those things that we understand as essential to our Christian faith, our understanding of the law and our relationship to it, that understanding is the paradigm of true self-government. So that one can, in a sense, make a law unto oneself, not because you are in the place of God, but because God is in your place--and that having Christ sent to us, and having Him there opening His heart to us, if we open our heart to Him, and ready to take His place in our heart, and take over our life, that puts us in a position where we become, as it were, in our lives, in our hearts, in our love, in our actions, in our will, in our attitudes, a pure expression of God's love, which is His law.

Now, that I think is terribly relevant for us as Americans, because we live in a society where all the institutions and laws and practices are based on an idea of self-government. And we take this for granted, don't we? We go through the holidays, just as we recently went through the Fourth of July, we'll go through the elections, we'll go to voting booth, we'll listen to all the news about how they are making this law and that law. We've gotten so used to this that we kind of take it for granted. But, if everything that we take for granted as citizens rests in fact on a certain understanding, or a certain set of conditions that make self-government possible, what will happen to us if we discard that understanding, if we destroy those conditions? Will we be able to sustain our institutions of liberty? Obviously not.

That used to be for me kind of a prospective question. It isn't any longer. I think that if you have a sense of the prerequisites of liberty, self-government, the way of life that we have been blessed by Providence to enjoy as citizens in this country, and you look at what we are doing as a people, you realize that we are in the midst of destroying our liberty and our republic. It is no longer a question of "tomorrow we might . . ." or, "we are at a crossroads and if we choose the wrong road then we will . . . ." No! It's not that! We are way down the wrong road! We are so far down the wrong road, that if we don't turn around fairly soon, I think we'll pass the point of no return, and that will be that for our institutions! And that won't be the first time this has happened. I mean, nations come and go. Regimes come and go. And this one will go, someday.

What we are faced with right now, though, is a question. Because I still think it's a matter of choice, for us as citizens today. In a little while it won't be a matter of choice, you know. In that sense I feel sorry, probably for our children, because they won't have a choice. As a matter of fact, they will probably be in position where even such a shred of the memory of self-government, as we still retain, will no longer be there in sufficient strength to lead them actually to reach for it, in order to re-establish it. It will be too late. We are in a position where we still might do so, if we can find it in ourselves, somehow as a people, to resist the lying, siren songs of licentiousness, and self-indulgence, and pride, and get back on the path which is the only solid foundation for any kind of real liberty.

And I want to talk about that path for a minute or two today, because I think it points to a special role and vocation for Christian people in America. I have to preface this by saying that I think some people misunderstand why it is that Christian people ought to be involved in politics. Let us first be clear about something. If I stand before you today talking about citizenship and politics, and so forth and so on, it's not because I believe that citizenship and politics are in any way essential to your salvation. I don't see how anybody in their right mind could believe this. The salvation that is offered by our Lord Jesus Christ transcends politics, regime, places, governments. You can be born in the worst tyranny, you can be born in the most wonderful condition of human freedom, and in the one you can be saved, and in the other you can be damned! It does not depend on human institutions! It depends on your willingness to accept the truth of God, in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ. And that's it.

So when we talk about our citizen vocation, we are not, in that sense, are we, if we are really talking about that which is most important, most precious, the most valuable thing, we can't be speaking selfishly--for there's nothing we can get from our citizenship or our politics that we don't already have from Jesus Christ, at least in the way of anything that's important. So we can be at peace with that. See? We can actually, and this is the wonderful thing of it, if we remember it, we can actually approach politics with a heart that is entirely free of selfish motives, with a sense that there is nothing there that we want, that there is nothing anybody has, in that arena, that is really of all that importance to us as Christian people. Because insofar as there is treasure, that treasure is laid up for us in the kingdom of God, not in human kingdoms. And insofar as we can someday come into that inheritance, we do so not by virtue of our labors and political activities here! We're going to do it by virtue of the labor of Christ on the cross, and it's already done. The price is paid! We are bought and paid for! All we have to do is accept the gift.

That being said, it puts us in a unique position. And it's one that I don't know that we appreciate all that much, because we listen to all these phony people talking as if any interest we take in politics and the world ought to be for our own sake. "What do we want out of it?" "We want our place at the table." What do we care about a place at the table? I have a place at the Lord's Table. What do I need a place at their table for? You understand? Who cares?

But, don't get me wrong! I am not saying all of this, as you probably very well know, in order to lead up to the notion that we therefore don't take an interest in politics. Quite the contrary--because we're Christian people, aren't we. Though I think occasionally, in terms of our vocation in the world, we don't always--maybe it's impossible, in fact, to live up to it, except as kind of a yearning, an ideal, that we really hunger after, because of our faith. Christ sets the standard awfully high. He really does. In human terms, His standard of the way we should relate to the world and the people in it is very high. But one of the clear things about it is, when we are approaching the world and the people in it, we are not looking to get stuff from them. We are looking to do things for them. It's what Christianity is all about. See?

Who was neighbor to the Good Samaritan? The one who came down off his high horse, who was well on his way to where he needed to go, but who came out of his way, though he already had what he needed, in order to help someone who was beaten, bruised and lying in the ditch. I think our nation is beaten, bruised and lying in the ditch, today. I think it has been set upon by thieves! People who have stolen that which is more important than money! Stolen that which is more important than clothing and material goods! Set upon by those who have stolen the truth, from this nation. Set upon by those who have shut its heart and its eyes to those things which were, at one time, set before it, and were the foundation of its strength. And if anything ought to grieve the Christian heart, it is that spectacle of a nation bruised and bleeding and spiritually lying in the ditch.

It may be very well true, that as Christian people we sit on the high horse of Christ's salvation and we can ride into the kingdom! But he has told us that we are not put here to ignore the groans of those who are lying in the ditch! We are put here in order to get down into the ditch, and bring the truth of God's love and mercy, to those who are suffering for the lack of it. And I believe that's clearly the condition of our country, and it's put before us in such a way that this is a truth lost too, because the implication of that fellow lying in the ditch is that he had something, and he was robbed of it. Right? Sometimes we forget that, too. The fellow lying in the ditch isn't necessarily someone who had nothing. He was robbed of what he had! It was stolen away! And the Samaritan is one coming by, which understands that. In this worldly sense, that which you have can be stolen away; except that there is something that we all have, that comes to us not of ourselves, but of God; and that we can share, always, with those who have not, and they can share it with us. And this is the love of God. And I think that ought to be our motive when we approach our politics, especially sad, because this nation was robbed of that which, in a public sense, may be the most important thing -- it's relationship with God.

It would be one thing if it had never been so. But you see, we would not be what we are as a people. This nation could never have been what it has become if it had not had this relationship with God. It was there at the beginning. I know! I know, that they want us to forget this, and that's why some of them hate the Declaration. My aid, Jim, was telling me that he heard, the other day, that they are going to be taking the Declaration off display, in Washington. And that it will be off display for several years, that they are going to do something to it. I tremble a little bit at that, because I have a feeling when it reappears that Creator stuff may be erased. You laugh! We live in that kind of age. But it's there, you know!

'We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights!'

As you may know, I love to find am excuse to quote that phrase, almost everywhere I go; because I know that it makes certain people very unhappy! It makes them very uncomfortable! Because right there, right there, blazoned on the very keystone foundation stone, cornerstone, whatever you want to call it, on this nation's existence, is the name of God! How then, how then can they tell us that in our public places we cannot speak it? If we cannot speak the name of God then we cannot articulate our most important and powerful principal of justice. And if we can't articulate our most important and powerful principal of justice, then that which is the very bedrock foundation of all that we are has been destroyed, and our way of life is no more! Without God, there is no liberty without faith, and there is no freedom.

What I was saying at the beginning was also meant to remind us of another even deeper connection, which we have forgotten. Because the other and even deeper connection between our freedom and our faith is that, what makes liberty, in the sense that it has been spoken of, and to a certain extent realized in American history, what made it possible, was in fact, the Christian paradigm of freedom. That freedom which comes because you have opened yourself to the law and the will of God, and allowed that law and will to become, for you, an indwelling principle. This is what makes it possible for an individual, or a people, to govern itself. Not because we have the power and the will and the wisdom and the social science and the technology, and all this other junk; no! That's not what makes self-government possible. What makes self-government possible is that truth, which is, if we open our hearts, we can admit the will and presence of God as an indwelling principal which then shapes our will and choices, and the beauty of it is that, if that is the case, imagine a country in which all the individual citizens, all the individual citizens, have opened their hearts in that way, and allowed the presence of God into their hearts, imagine such citizens -- who rules that country? God!

Now, I know there are going to be those who say, "Well, I don't want to talk about a theocracy." Well, in a way, I am! But not the kind they talk about. You see it's not one of these externally imposed things where you're forcing everybody to do this or that. There's no force involved! Indeed, that paradigm of liberty as the Apostle tells about, liberates!

"Stand fast, therefore, in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made you free," he said, in Galatians. That is the liberty wherewith He hath made us free. By His presence He frees us from the constraint of the law. Because for us, our love of God through the presence of Jesus Christ, is that we feel the law as no constraint. It is a joy to us. His yoke, easy. His burden, light. Because our hearts are glad when they tell us we should go unto the house of the Lord. You see? But that understanding of the relationship between the individual and the law is also what makes it possible to conceive of a society in which individuals, taken as a whole, as a people, can then in some sense, through their representatives, on the basis of their choices, be the ones who make the laws. That's what our country is about. I know we forget this, because the media keeps telling us that these people who run for office, they're now our masters, and rulers, and governors, and all this garbage. This is not so! This is not so!

I have even heard from folks, who are Christian folks, these days, talking in this very way, about what should be our vocation in politics, and they will cite the Roman times, right? They will say, "Well, during the Roman times, the Christians accepted the temporal sovereign, and it says in Romans that you have to obey the authorities," and all of this. And that is true. But then, I always like to ask people, before we go applying these lessons to ourselves, we do need to ask a couple of simple questions, though. Because, after all is said and done, I don't know, it does seem to me, though, that the Roman Empire fell, the last time I looked. And that means that we don't live under the Roman Empire, anymore. And therefore it might be useful to us, since we don't live under the Roman Empire, all of that has to be translated into our terms. And therefore, we have to ask some fundamental questions like: Who is Caesar here? Who is Caesar in this country? Who is the one, because what did Caesar do? Caesar sort of appointed all of the ministers and other sorts of things, and he was the one by whose authority things were done.

Who appoints the ministers, here? Who appoints the ministers? The president, he's a minister. People who make laws. Who appoints the ministers? Oh we do? Yes. Gosh. We go into the voting booth and as a people, we determine our will and we appoint the ministers, don't we? This is an interesting thing, too. Caesar used to provide to the different cities that were part of the empire. They would provide budgets, and other sorts of things. I know we forget this, though I don't know how we do it. But, who provides the budget for the government here? We do! I realize that they talk about it as if it's their money; but, if you say so! You see?

All things said and done, you see, what I think we have to realize is that if you're going to look for Caesar in this country, you have no further to look than yourselves. In terms of that ultimate responsibility for the temporal power in this country, it still rests, for the time being, in our hands. I don't know for how much longer; but there it is. Before we go interpreting things in such a way, that we excuse ourselves from the responsibilities of citizenship, we might keep in mind that if there's a Saul or a David around here, who's going to have to stand before God and answer for what's going on, in the way of how the temporal power He distributes was used or abused, in our land, we're going to have to share some portion of the responsibility! Because He put us in a position where we could, in fact, have some portion of influence upon what goes on.

There are many other ways, of course, in which we can, which folks will try to talk us out of that, though. On the grounds, too -- it's a powerful one -- that I often talk about, because, there is, of course, the famous passage in Mathew, Chapter 22 I believe, in which Christ is approached by the Pharisees, and they are asking Him about taxes. Do you remember that? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? And -- I don't know, He probably wasn't anything like us, and any tax payer would have a ready and rightful response to that; especially around April 15th. But Christ understands what they were really up to, because they were trying to catch Him in a bind. They knew, that in point of fact, in the form in which they paid it, in those days, their taxes were a tribute to Caesar, and that Caesar was -- and in fact guys worshipped -- as a temporal god, right? So in one sense, one's tithes to Caesar were offerings to a false god. There is a sense -- this is kind of a digression -- there is a sense, you know, in which we ought to keep that in mind; you see. A sense in which one's tithes to the worldly things, are offerings to a false god.

So they thought if He said yes, under that Jewish law, He would be saying, yes; it's alright to violate the Commandment of God, and in a sense do worship to a false god. But, on the other hand, if He said, no, they were going to drag Him before Pontius Pilate saying, "Here's the seditious rebel, saying that we shouldn't give proper respect to the Roman authorities! Kill Him!" And they figured he'd say, "Hang Him right away!"

Now you all know this passage. Christ gets out of it. He gets out of it. He gets out of it in a way, though, that has always fascinated me; but also, at first, it's kind of disturbed me; because I have, as you know, dabbled, from time to time, in this politics thing. It can cause some confusion for Christian conscience, until you remember that Christ was no politician, in the derogatory sense of the term. Therefore, if you are going to try to be like Him, then you can't be one, either. Some people have said that I am reasonably successful at this. My track record would seem to suggest that. But in any case, He gives an answer though, that I always found a bit disturbing, , because it was very politician like. He says, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." And it says in the Scripture passage that the Pharisees then kind of, their jaws dropped and they wondered at this, and they just walked away. They were speechless; because He'd escaped.

I look at that and I think, O, my goodness! What's going on here? Is Christ talking out both sides of His mouth? I can't believe it! Why would I think this? Well, I think this because, back in chapter six of Mathew, Christ is really emphatic, when He tells us that you cannot serve two masters. He says you cannot serve God and mammon. That you can't have these two masters. That you're going to love the one and resent the other, or hate the one and love the other. But you can't serve them both. And so after reading six, you get to "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's" and you think, well, isn't he kind of saying -- and I think, unfortunately -- there are some Christian folks who are willing to look at that passage and interpret it as if Christ is saying, well we've got these two masters, there's Caesar and there's God. Give God what He's owed. You come to church and you pray and you do tithe, and you do all that, then you go out and give Caesar what he's owed, and ne'er the twain shall meet, and there you are! That can't be, though. Because Christ says you can't serve two masters and Christ doesn't lie.

Don't you find that a dilemma? I find that a dilemma. Its' a problem. It's a problem until you, of course, understand the passage, because this isn't quite what He says at all. The passage includes a number of things; and when they first come to Him and ask the question, He does something that I think is kind of unusual, for Christ. I mean, occasionally in the Scriptures, Christ will tell people to go and get some money, because they need it for something. But, I don't recall a sermon in which He kind of asks for payment for the sermon, beforehand. In this particular case they come to Him and ask Him a question, and before He's willing to answer the question, in the style of Jerry McGuire, whatever, He says, show Me the money! He wants to see the money! He says, give me a coin, across my palm, here! And they do. And He says, who's image is on this coin; and they say, well that's Caesar's image. Then He says, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.

That still kind of begs a question, though, doesn't it? Because we know whose image is on the coin, the image of Caesar. But in order to determine what belongs to God, we would seem to have to apply that key to our understanding, and we would have to ask ourselves, well then, what belongs to God is what has God's image stamped upon it. And what is it that has God's image stamped upon it? Well, you go back to the beginning of the Scriptures and what are we told? What are we told? "Male and female He created them, in the image and likeness of God, created He, them." That's why their jaws dropped! They thought they were going to catch Him on the horns of a dilemma, with the Commandment that there should be no other gods before God; and He went all of the way back past, even, that first Commandment! He goes all of the way back to the beginning, in order to show them the truth! Don't come to me asking whether I should pay taxes to Caesar, or this one or that one! Because, when you give what you give to Caesar, it has his image stamped upon it! Therefore give what belongs to God, to God. And what is that? All that is. All human creatures. All those who have His image stamped upon them; including, who? Including Caesar. Including, Caesar. And that has special relevance to us, doesn't it? Because who's Caesar, in our time? We are.

You put it all together and it speaks a special word to us, because it doesn't matter whether we're in this church, in the pews, on our knees, whether we're singing hymns and saying Psalms, or whether we're out there in the world! Whether we're working, whether we're building, whether we're playing, whether we're voting, we still belong to God! There is no place where we are not in His hand! Where we are not the creatures of His will. That being the case, if He has set us down in this place, and by His providence He has given us a role, as part of that body which forms the temporal sovereign, that David and Saul of our nation, what is our duty? Is it our duty to desert that post? Didn't the Apostles say that we should, each of us, stay in that place that we are given? We are not given the place of the slaves and the serfs. We are given the place of the kings and the sovereigns, anointed by God, to do what? Well, if we understand our relationship with Him, whether in that role or any other, to do His will. That's all.

Why is that hard for us? How could we possibly think, that there is some aspect of our lives that should not be dedicated and concentrated to God's will! Was there some aspect of Christ's life that wasn't concentrated to the will of His Father? I didn't notice it. It didn't appear anywhere in the Scriptures that I read. If we are wholly, wholly, dedicated to God, if we are wholly committed to Him, then there cannot be one part of us that is willing to forget His name; that is afraid to bear witness to His truth, any where. Any where! Any time. And this is part of why I don't understand what has gone on in this country in the last ... We come from a tradition where in clear, explicit, terms, the power and authority of God are acknowledged as the source of justice and human affairs. We have built up institutions, that require as their basis, an understanding of human nature, character and discipline, that is based upon the paradigm of law and self-government, derived from our Christian faith! So what on earth has made us afraid to stand up as American citizens and act according to that faith?

And I say this, not because I think not doing so endangers our salvation, as individuals. I say it because, if we are called upon to be Good Samaritans, and we know that the one thing needful to our nation's life, is that truth to which we are specially called as a people, to bear witness, by what understanding of Christian love and compassion do we withhold that truth, from our nation? And that's what we are called, I believe, to do in our vocation in politics! Not to get in there to find our place at the table; to get our stuff, get our things. Anyway, how can we have that understanding? If I go out and I'm campaigning for, I don't know, moral responsibility, and stronger families, and laws that will somehow brook the tide of pornography, and other things. Is this something that I am doing for myself? Or, something that I want? No it's not! All those things are simply things we want for the health of our country. Any part of that agenda is no selfish thing that's going to put money in someone's pocket, or power in somebody's hands. Simply the hope that a seed of decency will be planted, that the plants of decency will be nurtured so this nation can live in liberty and decency, knowing that the one cannot survive without the other.

This is no selfish agenda! It is no narrow, little thing that we're after! And that is especially true when we deal with that which I believe is the most challenging, the issue that most epitomizes the great challenge, to our nation's life -- the issue of abortion. I have on occasion been said, in my other public guise to be kind of a one issue person. That's not true, as some of you may have noticed. But it doesn't matter. If I've got to be accused of something, I don't mind being accused of being a one issue person, if that one issue is abortion. Because, that's like accusing a doctor of being a one-horse Johnny, because he concentrates on the cancer you've got.

"Doc, why are you concentrating on this cancer? There might be something else wrong!" "Well because that's killing you right now." "Oh, yes!" See? And this is what's killing us now! What is destroying our conscience! What is poisoning us! What is paralyzing our will to claim those rights and liberties, which in fact are our due, by the will of God! Why do we hesitate? Because we don't believe any longer in ourselves, or in our decency! We no longer think we're fit to be free, because we are haunted by the truth that we have abandoned our most fundamental, moral principles. And no where is that abandonment more clear than in this notion that our right to life, in that womb, depends upon a mother's choice.

How could this possibly be, when right there at the beginning of our nation's life it is said with crystal clarity, that our rights come from God's choice, not any human choice! And that we know, whether we look at it in Biblical terms: 'Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee!' Words of God. Or whether we look at it in terms of our civic creed. It doesn't matter. The two are in harmony. That's not an accident either because most of the Founders believed in God, and they wrote the Declaration of Independence in light of their understanding of God's role in human affairs. And that role is fundamental. Justice is not possible, apart from the will of God. Freedom is not possible, apart from the discipline that comes from accepting in our hearts, and in ourselves, our willingness to serve that same God and to respect His authority.

That being true, how on earth can we be timid about what we have to do, in this nation (unclear). For the sake of that which we are called to be, compassionate Samaritans of truth, we owe it to our country and the world. For the sake of what God has put us here to be, citizens of this nation, we owe it to ourselves and to our posterity. And what is it we owe? We owe the truth. And what is that truth? The same in the world, the same on the platform, as it is in the pews, as it in the Word of God. There can be no difference, for it all belongs to Him. And people have said that it requires some kind of courage, and all this, to do this in our politics today. No, it doesn't. Not if you really think about it. We come across all kinds of silly questions. I was on Politically Incorrect, not long ago. Well, occasionally I stumble and make mistakes like that, you know. They were talking about the day of prayer, fasting and humiliation, that the Congress had decreed. And they were making fun of it, of course. And particularly the humiliation part. That one they thought was particularly funny. What a funny archaic word. "Whoever was going to do anything like that?" It shows the spirit of our times, doesn't it? I allowed as how, when I got a chance, I allowed as how I thought, though, that maybe they were right, that Congress had gone too far in decreeing a Day of Humiliation. After six years of Bill Clinton I thought we'd had enough humiliation.

However, I did point out as well, that National Day of Prayer, Fasting and Humiliation, that has been a great tradition in this country. You know that. It's one of those ways in which we could remind ourselves that in previous eras of our nation's life, when we were going through difficulties and travails, when we faced the greatest tests and challenges -- all the way up to, and including, the Second World War, on the day that D-Day was launched, and so forth. What did our national leadership always do, representing as truly it is supposed to, the heart and will of our people. What did they always do in the face of these great challenges? What is it that we are called to do? What is it that we want to do, as Christian people? We pray. We pray. And in that prayer we acknowledge our dependence upon God for the outcome, as our Founders acknowledged their dependence upon His Providence, even in that first moment when they declared this nation's Independence. And from that moment, all through our history, when the hard times came, and this people had to be called together, to summon up the heart needed to meet them, we did not summon it from our strength and our technology, and our achievements, and our military might, we summoned it from our faith, in God.

As individuals, this was also the source of the strength that lead us in times when the nation was astray. To stay on a path of righteousness, in order even when we fought alone, to free the slaves, to fight for the rights of women and children and others; there was a time when the law was against such battles; and the Constitution was against such truth; but there were people who fought on, anyway. They did it not for the sake of man's laws and constitutions, but for the sake of that which they believed, in the depths of their very being, to be the will of God. On this we have depended, as a nation, for our survival in war, in times of economic trouble, and also for our inspiration, in our pursuit of that justice which we have, until now, believed to be the special hallmark of our national character.

And yet we have come to a time now, when in this doctrine of abortion, and in so many other ways, we are turning our backs on that solid ground! We are letting go of that tradition have we are spitting on those truths which bind this nation, and binds this people in our character, in our hearts and in our will to God Almighty! And as we do so, you may have noticed, we are spiraling down. The families are disintegrating. The hearts of even our children are being poisoned with violence. And for all our seeming prosperity, we live with a shadow of a sense that things are awfully wrong; and that we are but the day before our demise. And I think this is because we know, that though the mighty buildings may stand, and the mighty armies may march, but that when America, finally, must let go forever, of its moral heart, then this people, then this nation, that for the sake, I believe, of it's allegiance to our God and His truth, that we love, it will be gone.

And I think that we are very close to seeing that happen in our lifetimes. I think that we are very close to the point where, when we close our eyes in the sleep of death, some of us will know that we have not passed on the heritage of liberty, but have left our children in a new bondage. A bondage perhaps worse than any before, in the history of humankind. For it will be made fast by the lights of a perverted science, as Winston Churchill said. A science that now will not only oppress the body, but will be capable, with its genetic manipulation and other things, of assaulting human nature, itself. God help us, if we let go of Him.

And so I believe, that at this time, in our nation's life, and given the role of our nation in the life of the world, we do see, don't we, in the Twentieth Century, that critical role? I don't want to make too much of it, but, that shadow of evil is spread far and wide, across this globe. And twice it was beat back. Twice it was beaten back, because we were here, and we held fast to Him.

In the Twenty-first Century, what shall become of that world, when we are no longer the champions of His truth? What shall become of the world, when far from fighting the shadow of evil, this nation will be casting it. We don't like to think about that, do we? We ought to, because with Bill Clinton in office, we've already been doing so. We have been the chief promoters of abortion death, among the cultures around the world, and against the resistance of many countries in the world, for the last several years. We have used our power and our money to coerce them into accepting the killing of innocents in the womb.

I won't even go into this whole Yugoslav mess, where we violated every premise of decent warfare by targeting innocent civilians; I won't talk about that. But if we are willing to look at what we're doing and what we're becoming -- the shadow of our evil is already being cast. And it's all because we have let go of that allegiance, which alone binds our nation to truth, and to right, and to good.

My final point is this! I don't say all of this because I want to make everyone all gloomy, and think ... I don't' know. No! There's hope! Of course there's hope. We know that. Christ came didn't He? And He says, 'Wherever two or more are gathered in My Name, there also am I.' So He's still here. Unless all of you are lying.

So, we don't have any occasions; why? We can look truth in the eye. We can see the world in the starkest terms. We can look right at the most awful things going on in the world, and we still won't lose heart. Because our heart doesn't come from those things. Our heart is right up there on high! It comes from on high! It is in the care of the Lord God and we know that we can be sure of it because He was even willing to send His son in order to make sure it was safe. So, we don't have to worry about ourselves. No we don't. But in that confidence, in that strength, in that surety, with respect to our own fate, that means we can cast caution to the wind! We don't have to worry about who thinks what of us! We can simply stand strong, in every wind, for God's truth! And if that truth is light, and if that truth is strength, then that light and strength can still affect and change the world! It has before! It will, again, if we are willing, to be the lamps upon the lamp stand, to be the earthen vessels, in which that truth is born. And that's the question which I think, in this time, is being put to us. It's a test before us, as Christians in America.

In other parts of the world people have other tests. They're sometimes more open and clear, in their way. In China, people have tests now; because they are threatened in their very lives if they are reading the Scriptures; if they are believing on Jesus Christ and professing His faith. If they are seeking to spread that truth, their lives may be forfeited. They are under persecution. Are we persecuted here, in that way? No. As a matter of fact, in America it's still so easy to be a Christian, it's hard sometimes. I mean, we come to church, and no one's going to stop us; right? They're not going to send somebody to shoot us dead, if we're reading the Bible, and so forth. At least not yet. I say not yet because they are preparing the statutes that would make that possible. Unless we're willing to expunge from the Scriptures certain things that are there. For instance, some of those things to which the word abomination is attached, that we are now supposed to accept. And if we don't expunge that from the Scripture, soon, then they are going to hold us guilty of hate crimes every time we read that passage.

Do you think it's a hate crime to read scripture? I don't. But they are going to make it one.

So, at the moment I say this, because it is still true, though, we can still read the Scripture. We can still preach from it. We can still speak the name of God, at least in our churches. People kind of want to laugh at us when we do it in public places; but, we can still do it. So that's not the form of persecution. But that last thing I was talking about? It may be. They don't threaten our bodies in this country. They actually invoke tools that are more powerful, in some ways, in human affairs than the threats to bodies.

Over the course of human history, you know, though we sometimes forget it, in America, most of the people, most of the time have found it in themselves, somewhere along the way, to brave physical death. And they can sometime do it for the silliest of reasons. Really. Braving physical death, we think that is so important, but it actually turns out to be not so great an accomplishment, after all. And you have all kinds of people, including the worst, most hardened criminals who were able to laugh in the face of death, and tell jokes as they were going to the gallows. You know. This doesn't always turn out to be the hardest thing. The hardest thing, sometimes turns out to be, braving the willingness to be laughed at. Braving the willingness to be held in contempt. Braving the willingness to be cut apart from those who are in the "in crowd" and part of the group that matters, in your society. See? And, in the family. And in the work place. And in other places. We come along, all the way from the time we are young people and adolescence, with this tenderness, "We don't want to be left out!" We just want to be with everybody else! So when they laugh at us, they can shut us up!

That's what people tell me. I haven't noticed. Nobody's trying to shoot at me, when I get up and in politics and speak the name of God. Nobody's trying to kill me, or anything. They just kind of chuckle. "O, there's that childish fellow, thinking that you can talk about God on platform." "Ha-ha-ha." And that's supposed to sting and keep us from doing stuff.

And then there are little things that we are seduced by. I think about this when I think about the boycott, for instance, of Walt Disney, and how hard it's supposed to be for people. I mean we have folks in this country who will absolutely declare with great fervency that they would stand by Christ! They wouldn't be like Peter! They wouldn't be denying! They would stand by the cross! They wouldn't be ready to be bathed in it! They would be killed for Christ! But give up a Disney movie? No way.

All the hard stuff we aren't asked to do, we're all ready to do! All of the easy stuff, turns out for us to be hard. And yet, if we are willing to take a stand in the ways that we can, to withhold our patronage, and our dollars and our votes from those things that are against the will of God, and that support the kingdom of darkness and evil being constructed in this land, we could actually make a difference, because we are still in a position to affect that change by what we do. It's not out there somewhere! It's not in some legislature! It's not on some podium! It's right there, in your heart! In your family! In your life! In what you are willing to bear witness to, to your children, and how you bear witness in your work place, and whether as citizens in the issues that we discuss in our public forum, we are willing to stake that stand, which is required by our faith. And to do it in a way that, when the time comes, has you standing not with shame, but with boldness, beneath the banner of our Lord.

If we can do that, then I believe, for all the times are troublesome, it may yet prove to be the case, that God's angels are still walking in this land, looking for a few places where they might spend a quiet evening, get a little dinner and some rest, before they move on. We remember that in Sodom, don't we? That even as He purposed to destroy them, the Lord God sent His angels into their midst, and between that and Abraham's remonstrative, it's quite clear, that if had they proven in their treatment of His messengers, willing even for one night to forget their passions, and their impulses, and their lusts, and their prideful rejection of God, He would have spared them, for the sake even of a few righteous souls.

Let us pray to our God, that He yet is listening, somewhere to some Abraham, who pleads on our behalf. And then let us rise from our prayers, and carry into action this thought, that we shall be the ten; that we shall be the fifty, for whose sake He spares this land. For whose prayers He heals this people. And in whose love, our nation, for the sake of our faith, may live again. God bless you.