“Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.”

1 John 3:7-8 This Fourth of July we as Americans celebrate the birth of this “One Nation Under God” and honor those founding fathers and men who purchased our freedom from tyranny and oppression with their sacrifices and lives. We also find ourselves today in the midst of a war that threatens the very foundation of our constitutional republic. It is literally a war of good verses evil. Our nation was founded on the fact that we have a Creator who governs the lives of men and that we are answerable first to him. John Adams said, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” He also said, “The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were the general principles of Christianity.”

Only a moral people obey the laws of God and the laws of man which are meant to “provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our posterity”. The laws of man are meant to protect us from those who are lawless. The Apostle John made it very clear, “The one who does what is right is righteous, just as Jesus is righteous. The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning.”

It is evident today who are the lawless. They protect and defend all that is evil, while fighting against all that is good. If our nation is founded for a moral people who live by Judeo- Christian values, then it is up to Christians to stand up for our moral values and fight against the evil that runs rampant in this nation. We like Jesus are to destroy the works of the devil by preaching the gospel of Christ that sets men and women free and overcoming evil with good. We need to start singing the words of that old hymn again, “Stand up, stand up for Jesus! ye soldiers of the cross; Lift high His royal banner, it must not suffer loss: From vict’ry unto vict’ry, His army shall He lead, Till every foe is vanquished, and Christ is Lord indeed.” It is time to stand up church, and take your faith and love to your families, to the streets, to where you work and where you play. The battle is raging, be strong and courageous, for our God is with us. Pastor Gene