I agree with many who are saying that the 2024 presidential election will be the most significant of our lifetime, and perhaps in American history. America is on the brink of losing her soul and the freedoms for which so many have fought and died. There must be a change in Washington D.C. come November.
There is, however, something deeper
and more fundamental than the 2024 election that must be addressed if America
is to be saved. At its very root, our problem is not political; it is spiritual
and moral. This is why an awakened American church is the real key to the
future of America at this time.
When America's Pulpits Were "Aflame with Righteousness"
That an awakened church is the key to
America’s future was confirmed by the French sociologist and political
scientist, Alexis de Tocqueville.
Tocqueville came to America in 1831
to study the country’s penal system and to see if he could discover the cause
of her rapid rise to influence and power among the nations of the world. He arrived
on the heels of the Second Great Awakening and was struck by the prayers and talk about God he encountered everywhere. He exclaimed, “The religious atmosphere of
the country was the first thing that struck me on arrival in the United States”
(Hyatt, 1726: The Year that Defined America, 166).
He also noted that Christianity and civil
liberty seemed to have been merged in the thinking of Americans. He stated that
he knew of missionaries being sent to the western frontier because of concern
the settlers there could not enjoy the civil liberties promised in the
Constitution apart from the influence of the Gospel. He wrote, “Thus, religious
zeal is warmed in the United States by the fires of patriotism” (Hyatt, 1726:The Year that Defined America, 167).
Although the quote below is not found
in Tocqueville’s writings, it has the sound and feel of
Tocqueville, and has historically been attributed to him.[1]
After nine months of continually traveling and taking notes, Tocqueville is
reported to have said,
I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her commodious
harbors and her ample rivers, and it was not there; in her fertile fields and
boundless prairies, and it was not there; in her rich mines and her vast world
commerce, and it was not there. Not until I went into the churches of America
and heard her pulpits aflame with righteousness did I understand the secret of
her genius and power. America is great because she is good, and if America ever
ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.
If we are to see America
saved, the pulpits of America must once again be “aflame with righteousness,” as
Tocqueville put it. This is of utmost importance, for as America’s founders
warned, only a moral and virtuous people can be a truly free people. This is
why America’s second president, John Adams, said, “Our Constitution was made
only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the
government of any other.”
May
God Awaken the American Church
As a nation, America can no longer be described as a “moral and religious people.” This has
happened because we, God’s people, have not been light, driving back the spiritual
darkness, or salt, restraining the moral corruption (Matthew 5:13-14). This has
happened because of our burning desire to seen as "cool" and to be “liked” by contemporary culture.
As a result, we are lacking the power of Pentecost.
I recall, for example,
attending a Sunday morning service at one of the best-known mega churches in
America I sat through an impressive church production that would rival anything
from Nashville or Hollywood. However, I noted an emptiness in my spirit after
it was over. My soul had been entertained but my spirit had been left dry.
On the Day of Pentecost
there was a “sound from heaven” like a mighty rushing wind that filled the room and “tongues of fire” that
sat up on each one of them (Acts 2:1-4). It was not their Audio-Visual
Department creating those sights and sound. It was not a production of their
Arts Department. Heaven had come down and was filling their souls in response
to their prayers and obedience.
We have become very adept
at producing lovely earthly sounds for our church programs. These, however,
will not save America. If America is to be saved, we must recapture that sound
from heaven, and it comes only through sincere prayer and obedience to the
risen Lord. Only then will the pulpits of America once again be “aflame with
righteousness.”
Only an Awakened Church will
save America.
Dr. Eddie Hyatt believes that America can be saved but only through a revived and awakened church. This article is derived from his book, 1726: The Year that Defined America, which documents the impact of the First Great Awakening on the founding of America and the abolition of slavery.
[1] Tocqueville probably spoke these words in one of his
many speeches and someone wrote them down, and they were quoted and requoted and found
their way into the public discourse.
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