Last week, we celebrated the 250^th anniversary of the United States of America. It was a weekend brimming with flags, bursting with fireworks, and full of countless displays of patriotic devotion. It also held many more serious moments of solemn gratitude, historical reflection, and renewed hope for our nation. 

But, like every weekend and every celebration, it came and went. So what will we do now? 

The Christian foundation upon which this country was built demands that Christians continue to labor as if we have another 250 years ahead of us between these shining seas. Indeed, I hope we do, should the Lord continue to tarry. I hope my kids and grandkids have a land to grow up in that they can still recognize as their own. I hope that they visit Mom and Dad’s graves, having been American Christians raised in the still United States of America, and that they raise their own future Americans. 

As a pastor and a citizen, as a husband and a father, I pray that God’s Providence has not yet been exhausted in our land.

As George Washington once wrote, “Providence, to whom we are infinitely more indebted than we are to our own wisdom, or our own exertions, has always displayed its power and goodness, when clouds and thick darkness seemed ready to overwhelm us. The hour is now come when we stand much in need of another manifestation of its bounty, however little we deserve it.” 

We must pray for God to be gracious to us in His providence, however little we deserve it. But as we pray, we must also accept our duty to actively steward this inheritance from the Lord and our forefathers and ask ourselves, “What do we need to do in order to see America thrive for the centuries to come?” 

Or, to paraphrase Francis Schaeffer: “How should we American Christians then live for the next 250 years?”

During my sermon on Sunday, July 5, I offered three simple suggestions from the pulpit. Here they are.  

First, Be a Good Christian Citizen

The Christian should be the model citizen of any society. Both the government and the citizen should honor their duties, as assigned by the Lord in Scripture (Romans 13:1-7; 1 Timothy 2:1-4). 

There has been a renewed discussion about the responsibility of governments, under the authority of God, to rule justly and in accordance with His righteous moral standards, and this is good. But as our Founders—the vast majority of whom were God-fearing men—knew, the health of our republic rests first and foremost on the shoulders, hearts, and minds of its citizens. 

Christian should be the model of a salt-of-the-earth citizen of his country. 

We then must live as good Christian citizens. We must be involved in our communities. And we need to vote. We must do more than vote, and many Christians do, but we cannot overlook the critical importance of making the effort to get informed and get to the ballot box. Imagine getting to heaven and looking at a fellow Christian, who grew up in an age and country where they didn’t have democratic elections, and saying to them, “Yeah, I just didn’t get around to it.” 

Polling shows that only approximately 51% of self-professed American Christians actually vote. Of course, every citizen ought to vote in our elections. But Christians, of all people, should be the first at the polls. That means you need to consider each election and its implications (see the next point for more details). 

A good Christian citizen must also model respect for elected officials and public servants and work to hold them accountable. Flattery is a sin (Proverbs 29:5). It is not your responsibility to flatter a president or police officer. It is your job, as assigned by Scripture, to honor their office and show them respect. Let no Christian be accused of being overly cantankerous at the DMV, seditious at the City Council meeting, or disrespectful to the President they didn’t want to see elected.

But let’s also make sure we are the first to stand up and, like John the Baptist, publicly declare when our rulers fall short of the standards set for them by the One Ruler of all.

Second, Seek to Glorify Christ in Our Politics

Jesus taught us to pray, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). Scripture further reveals that this is a prayer and a call to action. It is our job, as Christian citizens, to see that Christ is glorified in our country. Indeed, “Christ is King” is a theological statement and a political philosophy for Christians. 

We need to vote for and support those candidates and policies that most closely reflect the character of Christ and the Word of God. 

Perhaps a word of warning is to be issued here: If you do this (which I would argue the Bible says we must), you will be labeled a Christian Nationalist. Even those Christian brothers and sisters who do not prefer to label themselves as such – if they vote against abortion and in favor of Christian marriage as they often do – will be derided as bigoted Christian Nationalists. 

Join me in saying, “So be it.” I love Christ, my nation, and wish to see the former be glorified by the latter. I suppose I am a Christian Nationalist. And so are you! 

Third, Hope for a Heavenly Country

To be a good Christian citizen for the next 250 years, must realize we will not have heaven on earth until Jesus brings it with Him upon His second coming. 

In the book of Hebrews, in that great Hall of Faith (chapter 11), tells us the descendants of Abraham longed for a better country, that is, a heavenly one (Hebrews 11:16). The people of God, according to the Bible, exist in a dynamic tension of devotion and patriotism to the country in which God has placed us on earth and a strong desire for the better land of our eternal dwelling. You are not crazy to love your country. You are also not crazy to long for a heavenly land. 

The fundamental reality for those of us who come to Christ in repentance and faith is that we recognize we are citizens of more than just this country. One of our jobs as American Christians is to remember that heaven will be better than even the best aspects of life on this earth. 

I think this is a unique blessing and challenge for the American Christian. Someone living in communist China or Nazi Germany doesn’t need the same reminder that heaven is going to be better. That is, indeed, a mercy from God toward us. Heaven will be better precisely because our Savior is there. If you have ever needed a reason to remember that heaven will be better than our great United States, remember that heaven is where Jesus is and will always be.

Conclusion 

I hope you enjoyed the fireworks, ate the hot dogs and hamburgers, spent time with family and friends, sang some Toby Keith, and reconsidered the timeless principles found in the Declaration of Independence and the bravery of the men who pledged their “lives, fortune, and sacred honor” so that we may be free.

Even more, I pray that you look forward to the day we eat the marriage supper of the lamb and together sing, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty.” This world is not all there is – another world is coming. The country is not the last – a final one is coming. 

Our job is to be good Christian citizens who strive to make Christ glorified in our country, and who hope for a better country even as we build the best one we possibly can here. 

If we do that, and the Lord tarries, I am confident that our next 250 years will be even better than our first.