At the outset, I’m pretty sure that you have wondered, or are wondering, if America should be thought of as a Republic or a Democracy. Well, let’s take a closer look.

A REPUBLIC is where the people delegate their responsibility to elected representatives in government to make decisions. Thus, the United States operates as a CONSTITUTIONAL REPUBLIC, in which elected representatives execute their duties under the constraints of a prevailing constitution. However,

The United States is also a DEMOCRACY, but a REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY as the public elects individuals to represent them at the government level. But in addition, we are also a CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY, meaning that the functions and roles of the government are governed by the constitution.

So, what are we? Are we a Constitutional Republic? A Representative Democracy? Or a Constitutional Democracy? For your information, even the scholars can’t agree!

*Actually, we are all of the above! So, in conversations with others, feel free to just choose the one that best suits you. If some explanation is required, now you will have some background.

At the end of the Book of Deuteronomy, as the Israelites were preparing to enter the Promised Land after 40 years of wandering in the desert, Moses had some prophetic words to say to the nation:

“See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity; in that I command you to love the Lord you God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you may live and multiply, and that the Lord your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it.  But if your heart turns away and you will not obey, but are drawn away and worship other gods and serve them,  I declare to you today that you shall surely perish. You will not prolong your days in the land where you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess it.  I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse…” (Deuteronomy 30:15-19a).

The challenge and opportunity were for them to obey the Lord and keep His commandments, and in doing so, they would be blessed and remain in the Land. However, disobedience would result in removal from the land, bringing judgment through the armies of foreign nations. And we know from the biblical documents that Israel obeyed the Lord for only a few brief periods of their history. The ministry of the Prophets during the time of the kings was a rallying cry to “repent” and return to the Lord.  

And then we are compelled to ask the question: “What were the root causes of Israel’s destruction by the Babylonians in 586 BC?”  The Prophet Amos provides the answer:

Thus says the Lord, “For three transgressions of Judah and for four I will not revoke its punishment. Because they rejected the law of the Lord and have not kept His statutes; Their lies also have led them astray; Those after which their fathers walked. So, I will send fire upon Judah and it will consume the citadels of Jerusalem” (Amos 2:4-5).

We see that they rejected the Law of the Lord and lied about their motives for doing so. And following their exile and subsequent return to the Promised Land, it would be another 500 years before the nation would be warned once again to repent. And this time, the warning would be issued by another Prophet whom Moses referred to as THE Prophet, and His name was Jesus. He warned the nation that unless they repented, they would perish (Luke 13:1-5), and in AD 70, Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans and the inhabitants either killed by the sword or taken captive to work on galley ships or in the mines, or even to face the gladiators or lions back in Rome.  

If you read the Old Testament prophets and study the words of Jesus, you will find the root causes of Israel’s demise was what I call the 5 “I’s” namely: Idolatry; Injustice; Immorality; Ignorance of God and His Word; and Indifference to God. As we look at these 5 areas, we can readily see the same issues plaguing America. I am of the opinion that our main problem is not political, but SPIRITUAL. The root of our nation’s problems is not in politics or political agendas, but in our rebellion against God and His Word.

Our nation was never perfect, nor was it ever a “Christian” nation, meaning a nation where everyone confessed Christ as their Savior. It has always been a nation in which everyone is free to practice whatever religion they chose. That’s what the Founders fought for, and that includes all of the freedoms listed in the Bill of Rights, including “Freedom of Religion.” However, our Founding Fathers based the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights on the principles and precepts found in both the Old and New Testaments, and we can rightly say that our nation, though not “Christian” in the biblical sense of the word, was founded on Judeo-Christian principles, and those principles are found in the Bible. I am reminded of the words of King Solomon,

“Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people” (Proverbs 14:34).

The inclination toward sin brings disgrace upon any nation, and that includes America. In looking over the recently completed Constitution, John Adams, one of our Founding Fathers, wrote:

“Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other” (John Adams).

Adams also wrote:

“We have no government armed with power, capable of contending with human passions, unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, and licentiousness would break the strongest cords of our constitution” (John Adams).

And Charles Carroll, another Founding Father, wrote:

“Without morals a republic cannot subsist any length of time; they therefore who are decrying the Christian religion (whose morality is so sublime and pure) …are undermining the solid foundation of morals, the best security for the duration of free governments” (Charles Carroll).

Adams and Carroll were speaking prophetic truth from their own experiences in government. And Carroll’s words are instructive for us today, that our republic cannot subsist for “any length of time” unless we return to the path of righteousness. He meant that it could survive for a while, but not for very long, and certainly not forever.

In his book America on Trial, Robert Reilly notes:

As the founders predicted, we are in trouble because the virtue needed to sustain the republic is fast disappearing, close to the point of irretrievability” (Robert Reilly).

Beside the sin that resides in the human heart, we are also facing two destructive philosophies, namely, Moral Relativism and Progressivism. Moral Relativism believes that we are incapable of knowing what is good or evil in any objective way, and therefore, moral “absolutes” are just “subjective preferences.”

In response to Moral Relativism, CS Lewis wrote:

“By denying objective truth and morality, moral relativism undermines democracy  because it not only neglects the cultivation of virtue in the young, but worse still, tells them there is no such thing as virtue at all. When we are guided by moral relativism, there is no longer any common good, only a quest for power and self-interest.

Wow! These are certainly sobering thoughts, which brings us to the biblical warning of the Prophets:

“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil…” (Isaiah 5:20)

And then there is Progressivism, another destructive philosophy. Progressivism believes that the forces of history are constantly marching onward and upward, and it regards America’s Founding Principles as the main obstacle to the goal of society’s improvement. We must “throw off the shackles of our Judeo-Christian heritage.”

There it is – the goal of Progressivism is to “throw off the shackles of our Judeo- Christian heritage!” In fact, Woodrow Wilson, our 28th President said:

“We are not bound to adhere to the doctrines held by the signers of the Declaration of Independence” (in a speech given on May 12, 1911).

These two destructive philosophies, Moral Relativism and Progressivism are stretching the limits to which our nation can survive. We are engaged in a battle of philosophies. This is why it is important for all of us to be aware of the words of the Apostle Paul in his letters to the churches in Colossae and Ephesus: 

“See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ (Colossians 2:8).

“Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12).

And so, we must ask: “Is there any hope for America?” And I say a resounding “YES,” but that “YES” carries with it two essential requirements: the first is the need for National Repentance, for without it we cannot and will not survive; and the second is Revival in our churches. Although we are not “God’s People” in a national and ethnic sense as were the Israelites, the New Testament tells us that followers of Christ are His adopted children. As such, we can, and must, respond to God’s call:   

“If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray, and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and forgive their sin and heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14).

If God’s people, those who identify with Christ and call themselves His followers, will take seriously their call to follow Christ, then REVIVAL can begin in the church. But first, let it begin with you and me. If true Revival will actually begin in the church, then I am convinced that REPENTANCE will spread throughout our land.

However, let’s keep in mind that neither Revival nor Repentance in our nation are guaranteed. We need to realize that in spite of our prayers, they may not happen, and if they don’t, we must face the reality that America is charting a course toward destruction, and one day, we will cease to be a free and independent nation. Let’s all pray for the tide to turn, and for Repentance and Revival to sweep our land. It is instructive for us to heed the words of President Ronald Ragan:

“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it on to our children in our bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States when men and women were free.”

What a sobering thought! What an awesome responsibility. I pray that we are not now witnessing the emergence of that “last generation” who will only have a distant memory of what freedom was once like.   

Next week, we will take a look at what “True Freedom” is all about. Blessings to all of you.