1 00:00:04,690 --> 00:00:10,289 Greetings. This is Pastor David Bass at New Geneva Orthodox Presbyterian Church 2 00:00:10,289 --> 00:00:15,810 with a moment of truth where we challenge you to think through an important issue of life and 3 00:00:15,810 --> 00:00:25,710 faith. And today, I would like you to consider this proverb from the Bible, Proverbs 1434, 4 00:00:25,710 --> 00:00:35,570 which says, righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people. With our 5 00:00:35,570 --> 00:00:42,929 celebrating the 250th anniversary of our independence, I think it's good for us to 6 00:00:42,929 --> 00:00:52,049 have this gut check. Are we indeed a nation that displays righteousness that consequently exalts 7 00:00:52,049 --> 00:00:59,409 us? Or are we becoming a nation where sin characterizes us, and therefore we are a 8 00:00:59,409 --> 00:01:06,629 reproach unto God? Oh, and this is very important for us to consider as the church. As goes the 9 00:01:06,629 --> 00:01:17,189 church, so goes the nation. For example, a monk from Egypt back in AD 404 made a pilgrimage to 10 00:01:17,189 --> 00:01:25,209 Rome in order to intervene in the name of Christ to end the gladiatorial games. He climbed over the 11 00:01:25,209 --> 00:01:31,549 retaining wall that separated the spectator box from the arena, and he stepped between the two 12 00:01:31,549 --> 00:01:40,730 combatants, exclaiming, in the name of Christ, stop! In the name of Christ, stop! And he was mercilessly 13 00:01:40,730 --> 00:01:48,829 cut down by the gladiators to the delight of the crowd. But later, in reflection, the people came to 14 00:01:48,829 --> 00:01:58,590 loathe the games, and Emperor Honorius put an end to them, noting Telemachus' intervention in particular. 15 00:01:58,790 --> 00:02:06,670 This monk's name was Telemachus, and he shines. He lives brightly in the history of the church 16 00:02:06,670 --> 00:02:14,810 because of that intervention. Modern-day evangelicals today would say that Telemachus never should have 17 00:02:14,810 --> 00:02:20,770 involved himself in the politics and culture of the day. He should have stuck to preaching the gospel 18 00:02:20,770 --> 00:02:26,469 and let the culture go the way of the devil. Yeah, the rapture is coming soon anyway, right? And we're 19 00:02:26,469 --> 00:02:32,449 only pilgrims here. It's a waste of time to change culture and society. Is that what you would say? 20 00:02:32,449 --> 00:02:44,069 Well, also, in A.D. 390, the Emperor Theodosius massacred some 3,000 citizens of Thessalonica 21 00:02:44,069 --> 00:02:51,750 after they had killed one of the emperor's favorite generals over a local charioteer that he had 22 00:02:51,750 --> 00:02:59,909 arrested. Well, Bishop Ambrose, who was San Agustin's mentor, boldly stepped forward and refused the 23 00:02:59,909 --> 00:03:06,870 emperor Theodosius admittance into the church the following Sunday. He began procedures for the 24 00:03:06,870 --> 00:03:14,669 excommunication of the emperor, of all the nerve. But instead of arresting Ambrose, the emperor, 25 00:03:15,169 --> 00:03:21,610 upon further reflection, repented of his sin, and he was readmitted to the fellowship of the church. 26 00:03:22,270 --> 00:03:28,550 Now, modern-day evangelicals would say Ambrose never should have involved himself in the politics 27 00:03:28,550 --> 00:03:34,129 and culture of the day. No, he should have stuck to preaching the gospel and let the culture go the 28 00:03:34,129 --> 00:03:39,689 way of the devil. The rapture is coming soon anyway. We're only pilgrims here. It's a waste of time to 29 00:03:39,689 --> 00:03:48,330 try and change culture and society. Oh, or on September 4, 1561, John Knox stood before Mary, 30 00:03:48,849 --> 00:03:56,389 Queen of Scots, in order to defend the Reformation that was going on in Scotland. And the queen asked a 31 00:03:56,389 --> 00:04:03,150 life-or-death question at the time, a life-or-death question of Knox. And she said, 32 00:04:03,650 --> 00:04:11,289 think ye that subjects having the power may resist their princes. When he answered, yes, 33 00:04:11,349 --> 00:04:17,589 they do, even as a child has a right to resist a brutal, abusing parent. Oh, Queen Mary stood up from 34 00:04:17,589 --> 00:04:25,689 her throne, livid with rage, but unable to speak or move for a full quarter hour. When one of her 35 00:04:25,689 --> 00:04:33,790 lords asked her what had offended herself, she was unable to give a coherent answer. Now, modern-day 36 00:04:33,790 --> 00:04:40,129 evangelicals would say that Knox never should have involved himself in the politics and culture of 37 00:04:40,129 --> 00:04:45,310 the day. He should have stuck to preaching the gospel and let the culture go the way of the devil. 38 00:04:45,310 --> 00:04:50,910 The rapture's coming soon anyway, right? We're only pilgrims here. It's a waste of time to try and 39 00:04:50,910 --> 00:05:00,810 change culture and society. Oh, behold the situation in America today on the 250th anniversary of the 40 00:05:00,810 --> 00:05:08,350 Declaration of Independence. The church stands poised to profoundly affect the course of our nation for 41 00:05:08,350 --> 00:05:13,730 generations to come, for good or for ill. To choose to do nothing is still a decision, 42 00:05:13,730 --> 00:05:20,810 and God, in our proverb for today, reminds us that there are consequences for our decisions. 43 00:05:21,790 --> 00:05:28,970 Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people, Proverbs 14, 34. 44 00:05:29,490 --> 00:05:36,230 Where do you stand in regard to these things? On this, our 250th anniversary of our declaring 45 00:05:36,230 --> 00:05:43,689 ourselves independent of King George and the English Parliament, will we as the church exhort 46 00:05:43,689 --> 00:05:51,389 and admonish our fellow citizens to godly righteousness and thus experience God's exaltation 47 00:05:51,389 --> 00:05:58,589 of our nation? Or will we sit idly by, excusing ourselves that we need not get involved since 48 00:05:58,589 --> 00:06:04,149 we're just pilgrims here, passing through to the heavenly kingdom, and the rapture is coming 49 00:06:04,149 --> 00:06:10,269 anyway, so we don't need to bother? Oh, now, King Solomon did have something to say about this, 50 00:06:10,410 --> 00:06:17,769 right? In the power of the gospel. Righteousness exalts a nation, he said, but sin is a reproach 51 00:06:17,769 --> 00:06:22,910 to any people. And there are two points I'd like to make with you from this proverb. Number one, 52 00:06:23,269 --> 00:06:30,009 exalted, that's what I'm asking, are we exalted? As redemptive history has borne out consistently 53 00:06:30,009 --> 00:06:37,850 when godly righteousness obtains in any given nation's character, God exalts them above others. 54 00:06:37,850 --> 00:06:46,949 Yes, so true. As redemptive history has borne out consistently, when godly righteousness obtains 55 00:06:46,949 --> 00:06:54,709 in any given nation's character, God exalts them above others. Now, the Hebrew Bible is very clear. 56 00:06:54,709 --> 00:07:03,250 The nations or a nation is almost always the Gentile nations, the goyim. Rarely is Israel or God's people 57 00:07:03,250 --> 00:07:13,689 referred to as a nation. Otherwise, unless clearly specified, the nations are the nations of the 58 00:07:13,689 --> 00:07:20,589 world, the goyim, from whom Israel is sharply distinguished. So, when Solomon says righteousness 59 00:07:20,589 --> 00:07:26,829 exalts a nation, he's not referring to Israel per se, but rather any given nation which may be under 60 00:07:26,829 --> 00:07:33,930 consideration as righteous or no. And additionally, it is stated as a universal principle too, not a 61 00:07:33,930 --> 00:07:39,209 one-time notion that can now be tossed aside because we're under the new covenant. The idea that 62 00:07:39,209 --> 00:07:46,750 righteousness exalts a nation did not go away as a universal truth because Christ inaugurated the new 63 00:07:46,750 --> 00:07:52,930 covenant in his blood. In fact, we might even say that it is doubly true now because we have in Christ 64 00:07:52,930 --> 00:07:59,709 an indelible, crystal-clear picture of what righteousness looks like in a lived-out life. 65 00:08:00,050 --> 00:08:06,949 The commentators, Kyle and Dalich, put it this way in their commentary, a great book, by the way. 66 00:08:07,290 --> 00:08:08,370 They say, and I quote, 67 00:08:08,370 --> 00:08:16,410 The proverb means all nations without distinction. History everywhere confirms the principle that not 68 00:08:16,410 --> 00:08:24,730 the numerical, nor the warlike, nor the political, nor yet the intellectual and so-called civilized 69 00:08:24,730 --> 00:08:30,430 greatness is the true greatness of a nation and determines the condition of its future as one of 70 00:08:30,430 --> 00:08:37,549 progress. But this is its true greatness that in its private, public, and international life, 71 00:08:37,549 --> 00:08:45,629 conduct directed by the will of God according to the norm of moral rectitude, rules and prevails, 72 00:08:46,090 --> 00:08:55,490 unquote. It's righteousness that exalts a nation, not your music and your movies and your culture 73 00:08:55,490 --> 00:09:03,210 and all of that, sports, whatever else it might be. No, righteousness exalts a nation. 74 00:09:03,210 --> 00:09:10,669 Therefore, to say that it doesn't matter whether the United States of America is characterized by 75 00:09:10,669 --> 00:09:18,889 moral rectitude, that is righteousness, tzaddik in the Hebrew, that is exegetically in error, 76 00:09:19,389 --> 00:09:25,830 interpretively unsound, and a complete cop-out when it comes to applying the scriptures to our 77 00:09:25,830 --> 00:09:31,710 everyday lives. We may be only pilgrims here on a journey to the heavenly city, but even the patriarchs 78 00:09:31,710 --> 00:09:38,389 as pilgrims dug wells, fought wars, acquired vast wealth, and purchased tracts of land. They were 79 00:09:38,389 --> 00:09:43,809 vested in their current circumstances, fighting to make them reflect the values of the God they 80 00:09:43,809 --> 00:09:50,809 worshiped. Should we do anything less? What matters to God should matter to us. Of course, Israel was to 81 00:09:50,809 --> 00:09:56,330 be the chief beacon of righteousness before the nations. In fact, that was her evangelistic mission, 82 00:09:56,330 --> 00:10:02,289 actually, her outreach to the nations. Deuteronomy 4 puts it this way, and I quote, 83 00:10:02,690 --> 00:10:09,049 keep them and do them, that is the laws. For that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the 84 00:10:09,049 --> 00:10:15,169 sight of the peoples who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, surely this great nation is a 85 00:10:15,169 --> 00:10:21,950 wise and understanding people. For what great nation is there that has a God so near to it as the Lord 86 00:10:21,950 --> 00:10:29,309 our God is to us whenever we call upon him? And what great nation is there that has statutes and rules 87 00:10:29,309 --> 00:10:38,429 so righteous as all this law that I set before you today? Unquote. Is this any less true today than it 88 00:10:38,429 --> 00:10:44,649 was then? Righteousness exalts a nation. And if there is any doubt, hear what the Queen of Sheba 89 00:10:44,649 --> 00:10:53,110 said about Israel when Israel was at her zenith of power and glory and righteousness. 1 Kings 10 says 90 00:10:53,110 --> 00:11:00,289 about her, and I quote, and she, that is the Queen of Sheba, and she said to the king, the report was 91 00:11:00,289 --> 00:11:05,950 true that I heard in my own land of your words and of your wisdom, but I did not believe the reports 92 00:11:05,950 --> 00:11:12,250 until I came and my own eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not told me. Your wisdom and 93 00:11:12,250 --> 00:11:18,610 prosperity surpassed the report that I heard. Happy are your men. Happy are your servants who 94 00:11:18,610 --> 00:11:25,129 continually stand before you and hear your wisdom. Blessed be the Lord your God, who has delighted in 95 00:11:25,129 --> 00:11:31,129 you and set you on the throne of Israel. Because the Lord loved Israel forever, he has made you king, 96 00:11:31,129 --> 00:11:39,889 that you may execute justice and righteousness. Unquote. From the Queen of Sheba, righteousness exalts 97 00:11:39,889 --> 00:11:48,509 a nation. Now to exalt means to lift up high. Psalm 99 says, the Lord is great in Zion. He is exalted 98 00:11:48,509 --> 00:11:56,629 over all the peoples. Psalm 46 says, be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the 99 00:11:56,629 --> 00:12:04,769 nations. I will be exalted in the earth. Unquote. Righteousness is the state or quality which accords 100 00:12:04,769 --> 00:12:11,149 with God's law and is often associated with his justice as it was with Solomon. He has made you king 101 00:12:11,149 --> 00:12:20,070 that you may execute justice and righteousness. Now, the scholar Mounts, Dr. Mounts, observes that 102 00:12:20,070 --> 00:12:28,129 righteousness is, and I quote, first and foremost, a quality ascribed to God. His actions are right 103 00:12:28,129 --> 00:12:36,789 and just. He hates wickedness and loves righteousness. That's from Dr. Mounts' expository dictionary, 104 00:12:37,250 --> 00:12:42,990 a work I commend to you. Anyway, consequently, God wants his people to live righteous lives, 105 00:12:43,210 --> 00:12:48,789 both religiously and morally. This is true especially of those who lead the people. For he says, 106 00:12:49,269 --> 00:12:55,429 give the king your justice in Psalm 72. Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness 107 00:12:55,429 --> 00:13:02,610 to the royal son. May he judge your people with righteousness and your poor with justice. Or Proverbs 108 00:13:02,610 --> 00:13:09,210 25 5 says, take away the wicked from the presence of the king and his throne will be established in 109 00:13:09,210 --> 00:13:16,549 righteousness. Yeah, take away the wicked advisors. And I would advise President Trump to do that. Take away 110 00:13:16,549 --> 00:13:22,509 the wicked from the presence of the king and his throne will be established in righteousness. Leaders 111 00:13:22,509 --> 00:13:29,590 lead, dear listener. They lead the people by example and action. Therefore, leaders must lead their 112 00:13:29,590 --> 00:13:37,110 nation in righteousness and justice. One of my favorite examples is Emperor Justinian I, who lived and 113 00:13:37,110 --> 00:13:47,309 reigned from A.D. 529 to 565. He ruled in Constantinople, and he appointed a 10-man commission to go 114 00:13:47,309 --> 00:13:55,350 through all the known ordinances or constitutions in the realm issued by the emperors and to weed out 115 00:13:55,350 --> 00:14:02,450 the contradictory and obsolescent material and then adapt all provisions to the circumstances 116 00:14:02,450 --> 00:14:12,470 of the time. And the resultant 10-book Codex Constitutionum was promulgated in 529. And all 117 00:14:12,470 --> 00:14:20,330 imperial ordinances not included in it were repealed. Oh, we could do that with Congress, couldn't we 118 00:14:20,330 --> 00:14:28,690 today? It's the most extensive legal undertaking in Western history, Justinian I. And it forms the 119 00:14:28,690 --> 00:14:36,809 basis for Western law and tradition even today. And part of the circumstances of that time was the 120 00:14:36,809 --> 00:14:43,909 growing, maturing Christian faith taking root in the empire. And Justinian insisted that the Bible 121 00:14:43,909 --> 00:14:52,429 and the Christian faith shape this complete revision of Roman law code. And bishops, Christians, were 122 00:14:52,429 --> 00:14:59,070 closely consulted throughout the process to see if all was in accord with biblical justice and 123 00:14:59,070 --> 00:15:06,309 righteousness. This is what the Bible means by righteousness exalts a nation. Byzantium was exalted as a 124 00:15:06,309 --> 00:15:14,070 consequence. This period is the golden age of the Byzantine Empire. The biblical faith flourished under 125 00:15:14,070 --> 00:15:21,690 Justinian. Justinian is generally considered to be a wise and just emperor. World history puts it this 126 00:15:21,690 --> 00:15:28,429 way, and I quote, his achievements in the field of art, architecture, legal reform, and conquest are 127 00:15:28,429 --> 00:15:35,850 remarkable by the standards of any leader in history. So, dear listener, this can be done. 128 00:15:35,850 --> 00:15:43,389 Biblical law and principles of justice and righteousness can be applied to the culture and policies of our 129 00:15:43,389 --> 00:15:50,610 time. It's been done throughout redemptive history. Not perfectly, not completely yet, but we do have 130 00:15:50,610 --> 00:15:59,710 luminous examples before us to follow and improve upon. And William Blackstone's Commentaries on the 131 00:15:59,710 --> 00:16:06,269 Laws of the Laws of England is another, perhaps closer example of righteousness exalts a nation. And more 132 00:16:06,269 --> 00:16:12,570 people seem to know about this period of our history, too, especially since it profoundly affects America's 133 00:16:12,570 --> 00:16:22,850 legal codes. Now, William Blackstone was an ambitious professor and lecturer at Oxford, England in the mid-18th 134 00:16:22,850 --> 00:16:29,870 century. And with Justinian in mind, too, Blackstone undertook the prodigious task of assembling, pouring 135 00:16:29,870 --> 00:16:37,350 over, editing, and compiling the then mass of incoherent laws that comprised the British system at the 136 00:16:37,350 --> 00:16:44,990 time. Centuries of traditions and bits of code written down and bits of laws on the books here and there 137 00:16:44,990 --> 00:16:53,190 had their bases in English legal tradition and biblical principle, but were by no means, 138 00:16:53,250 --> 00:16:59,570 excuse me, consistent and uniform, as they must be, indeed, if law will be just in any land. So, 139 00:17:00,169 --> 00:17:06,150 Blackstone changed all that. He codified what was largely oral legal tradition, and he applied it 140 00:17:06,150 --> 00:17:13,109 consistently across the board in written form. Finally, England had a body of just and righteous 141 00:17:13,109 --> 00:17:21,289 law. Righteousness exalts a people. England, under Blackstone, had a body of just and righteous law 142 00:17:21,289 --> 00:17:28,309 for all the people. And for Blackstone, all righteous law had its basis in a single source. So, I quote 143 00:17:28,309 --> 00:17:34,250 Blackstone here. He said, the doctrines thus delivered we call the revealed or divine law, 144 00:17:34,250 --> 00:17:41,369 and they are to be found only in the Holy Scriptures. Upon two foundations, the law of nature and the 145 00:17:41,369 --> 00:17:49,970 law of revelation, depend all human laws, unquote, from William Blackstone. So, dear listener, this can 146 00:17:49,970 --> 00:17:57,549 be done. Righteousness will exalt a nation. England went on to reach its zenith in the century to follow 147 00:17:57,549 --> 00:18:04,150 as the British Empire extended to every continent. Perhaps the best and favorite example that 148 00:18:04,150 --> 00:18:11,650 righteousness exalts a nation is our own United States of America. Our Founding Fathers ransacked 149 00:18:11,650 --> 00:18:19,410 history for the best in law and justice and republics of the past. They were close students of history 150 00:18:19,410 --> 00:18:26,849 and the Bible. As James McHenry, a signer and crafter of the Constitution, put it, he said, 151 00:18:26,849 --> 00:18:33,650 the doctrine the scriptures preach, the obligations they impose, the punishments they threaten, 152 00:18:34,190 --> 00:18:41,190 the rewards they promise, the stamp and image of divinity they bear, which produces a conviction 153 00:18:41,190 --> 00:18:48,730 of their truths, can alone secure to society order and peace, and to our courts of justice and 154 00:18:48,730 --> 00:18:57,329 constitutions of government purity, stability, and usefulness, unquote. Righteousness exalts a nation, 155 00:18:57,329 --> 00:19:03,869 dear listener, and founding our institutions on the scriptures goes a long way towards achieving this 156 00:19:03,869 --> 00:19:12,730 end. As Noah Webster put it, that Noah Webster of Webster's Dictionary, he said, the brief exposition of 157 00:19:12,730 --> 00:19:18,269 the Constitution of the United States will unfold to young persons, the principles of republican 158 00:19:18,269 --> 00:19:24,710 government. Our citizens should early understand that the genuine source of correct republican 159 00:19:24,710 --> 00:19:31,029 principles is the Bible, and the religion which has introduced civil liberty is the religion of Christ 160 00:19:31,029 --> 00:19:37,509 and his apostles, unquote. When we have consistently lived according to these biblical principles, 161 00:19:37,509 --> 00:19:43,890 we have been exalted. Indeed, we have prospered and flourished like no other country in history. 162 00:19:44,130 --> 00:19:48,970 In fact, Abraham Lincoln said, we have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven. 163 00:19:49,210 --> 00:19:54,130 We have preserved these many years in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, 164 00:19:54,329 --> 00:20:00,509 wealth, and power as no other nation has ever gone. Well, what happens then when the people become 165 00:20:00,509 --> 00:20:07,309 immoral and unethical? That brings me to point two. That is exalted. As redemptive history has borne out 166 00:20:07,309 --> 00:20:15,589 consistently. When ungodly sin obtains in any given nation's character, God visits them with reproach. 167 00:20:15,869 --> 00:20:24,269 Reproach. Righteousness exalts a nation. Sin is a reproach to any people. Reproach is a strong 168 00:20:24,269 --> 00:20:33,390 negative. It means disgrace, insult, contempt. For example, Psalm 79 says, we have become a reproach to 169 00:20:33,390 --> 00:20:41,849 our neighbors, mocked and derided by those around us. And unfortunately, this word is used most often 170 00:20:41,849 --> 00:20:51,289 with Israel because of its sin and idolatry. Ezekiel 22 forces, you shall be a reproach and a taunt, 171 00:20:51,750 --> 00:20:58,789 a warning and a horror to the nations all around you. When I execute judgments on you in anger and fury 172 00:20:58,789 --> 00:21:07,029 and with furious rebukes, I am the Lord, I have spoken. Ezekiel 22, 4. Reproach. Not only is Israel 173 00:21:07,029 --> 00:21:14,670 exhibit A of righteousness, exalting a nation, she becomes exhibit A of reproach for sin as well. 174 00:21:14,670 --> 00:21:23,029 So as redemptive history unfolds, we see this principle obtained in the lives of nations. The fall 175 00:21:23,029 --> 00:21:30,430 of Rome, for example, through decadence and weakness and sin. Rome is notorious for its decline in its 176 00:21:30,430 --> 00:21:38,329 morals and Roman virtue. The historian Ariel Durant put it this way, a great civilization is not conquered 177 00:21:38,329 --> 00:21:44,849 from without until it has destroyed itself from within, unquote. And that's precisely what Rome did. 178 00:21:44,849 --> 00:21:51,970 And that's precisely the track that we as the United States of America is on. And then also the German 179 00:21:51,970 --> 00:22:00,029 nation through decadence and tyranny and militarism. Germany's moral and ethical decline in the 20s 180 00:22:00,029 --> 00:22:06,869 and 30s preceded its tyrannical hold by the Nazis and its consequent descent into war and destruction 181 00:22:06,869 --> 00:22:13,809 in World War II. Or the collapse of the Soviet Union, too. Another example. Branded the evil empire by 182 00:22:13,809 --> 00:22:21,150 Ronald Reagan to the consternation of liberals. But indeed, the Soviet Union was the evil empire. 183 00:22:21,970 --> 00:22:30,349 Her attempt to impose Marxism on the world failed miserably. Sin is a reproach to any nation. Each 184 00:22:30,349 --> 00:22:37,369 of these, and many more, too, we could cite from history, became a reproach to God and man. And they 185 00:22:37,369 --> 00:22:44,549 paid the price for it, too. George Mason puts the consequences of history this way. He says, 186 00:22:44,549 --> 00:22:54,210 by an inevitable chain of causes and effects, providence punishes national sins by national 187 00:22:54,210 --> 00:23:02,710 calamities. Isn't that the truth? Memorize this one from George Mason, one of the founding fathers. 188 00:23:03,250 --> 00:23:10,150 By an inevitable chain of causes and effects, providence punishes national sins by national 189 00:23:10,150 --> 00:23:19,470 calamities. George Mason had his own country, the United States of America, in mind. So we stand at a 190 00:23:19,470 --> 00:23:26,289 crossroads, dear listener. There are those who seek to impose a vicious tyranny upon us. And there's a deep 191 00:23:26,289 --> 00:23:33,390 moral corruption eating away at our moral fabric, saying the Bible doesn't matter anymore, national 192 00:23:33,390 --> 00:23:39,369 righteousness doesn't matter anymore. And those trying to impose that vicious tyranny upon us are 193 00:23:39,369 --> 00:23:48,109 coming in the cloak of socialism, right? The wolf in sheep's clothing. And there's also a general 194 00:23:48,109 --> 00:23:54,490 coldness towards spiritual things and the gospel. These things need to change. They need to be reversed, 195 00:23:54,490 --> 00:24:02,910 and they need to be reversed in the church, first and foremost. As goes the church, so goes the nation. 196 00:24:03,230 --> 00:24:12,190 So if we are going to reverse this sin that is a reproach to any people, fast becoming a reproach to 197 00:24:12,190 --> 00:24:19,029 God, we need to turn this around. Patrick Henry puts it this way, that great founding father, Patrick 198 00:24:19,029 --> 00:24:24,109 Henry. I love him. He put it this way, whether independence will prove a blessing or a curse will 199 00:24:24,109 --> 00:24:31,670 depend upon the use our people make of the blessings which a gracious God has bestowed on us. If they 200 00:24:31,670 --> 00:24:37,849 are wise, they will be great and happy. If they are of a contrary character, they will be miserable. 201 00:24:38,390 --> 00:24:45,089 Righteousness alone can exalt a nation, Patrick Henry said. Righteousness alone can exalt a nation. 202 00:24:45,769 --> 00:24:53,029 Reader, he goes on to say, whoever you are, remember this, and in your sphere, practice virtue yourself 203 00:24:53,029 --> 00:25:00,450 and encourage it in others. Unquote from Patrick Henry. Only God knows the point at which his 204 00:25:00,450 --> 00:25:07,950 patience is exhausted, and he will judge fully and finally any given people. So, dear listener, 205 00:25:08,309 --> 00:25:16,250 let's not tempt that patience any longer as a people. No. America, you must return to God. 206 00:25:16,250 --> 00:25:24,829 There must be a revival of spiritual Christianity in America, which then turns and consequently 207 00:25:24,829 --> 00:25:33,150 reforms culture and society, including our laws and politics. Righteousness exalts a nation, 208 00:25:33,369 --> 00:25:41,990 but sin is a reproach to any people. As a nation, we must repent of our sins, both personal and 209 00:25:41,990 --> 00:25:49,930 national and return to our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, because then we will be exalted again as 210 00:25:49,930 --> 00:25:59,329 a nation and not fast sink into reproach. Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any 211 00:25:59,329 --> 00:26:08,710 people. Let us embrace and strive for the former and reject and destroy the latter. This has been 212 00:26:08,710 --> 00:26:16,250 Pastor David Bass at New Geneva Orthodox Presbyterian Church. We meet for holy worship on Sunday at 10 a.m. 213 00:26:16,450 --> 00:26:23,230 at 101 4th Street on the corner of 4th and Boulevard, and you can call us for more information. We just 214 00:26:23,230 --> 00:26:29,670 hope that you would stop by and visit us and check us out, and we indeed try to be a righteous people, 215 00:26:29,769 --> 00:26:36,829 a righteous congregation, and we meet for holy worship on Sunday at 10 a.m. at 101 4th Street on the corner 216 00:26:36,829 --> 00:26:49,690 4th and Boulevard, and you can call us for more information or feedback at 208-523-0196. 208-523-0196.