Mandate — A Biblical Call to Action — Culture Mandate
Crossroads: What Does It Mean
to Love the World, Part IV
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“In the beginning, God created man to have dominion over all things.”
(Genesis 1:27-28)
“All men are created free and equal in accordance with the Laws of Nature
and of Nature’s God.” (The Declaration of Independence)
“The smile of heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which heaven itself has ordained.” (George Washington)
“If we ever forget that we are One Nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under.” (Ronald Reagan)
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The Creation Mandate: The Laws of Nature …
Everyone knows it, but some people ignore it, some deny it, and others actively attack it. However, the Truth remains. There is a Master Creator God who has established absolute, immutable laws that govern every aspect of our lives. It is indisputable.
We look into the heavens and marvel at His handiwork and the natural laws that govern it. We know that the sun comes up in the east to give us heat and light, and then goes down in the west. It happens every day. And we feel the force of gravity every day without even thinking about it. It too is a natural law, unchanging and unchangeable.
… and of Nature’s God: The Cultural Mandate
They are just two of the more obvious examples of the Laws of Nature that our Founders referred to in the Declaration of Independence. But there is also a reference to the Laws of Nature’s God, laws that govern how we should live.
That’s the beauty and the power of God’s laws that is often overlooked, because they are just as fixed, absolute, and immutable as the Laws of Nature. For example, don’t the Ten Commandment carry the same weight? Or do we choose to treat them simply as mere suggestions that we can take or leave for our own personal convenience?
What are the “consequences” of ignoring these two sets of laws? Are we rewarded or punished in the same way when we ignore the law of gravity as when we ignore the Ten Commandments? How about “You shall not murder?” Shouldn’t that include protecting the lives of unborn babies rather than destroying over 60 million of them since 1973?
Or how about violating God’s design for marriage as between only one man and one woman for life as the foundation for healthy families and a stable society? Or when we make it “disposable” through easy divorce, “optional” by accepting and promoting sexual intimacy outside of marriage, and even “redefinable” to include same-sex unions despite God’s clear judgments against such unions?
The Great Commission: Loving the World
Putting it all together, what does it mean for us in our upside-down world today, when good is evil and evil is good? Or when, as in the days of Judges, God is ignored and “every man does what is right in his own eyes”?
It all comes back to Jesus’ reply to those who wanted to know what He considered to be the greatest commandments: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, and your neighbor as yourself.”
And then, putting it into action, what does it mean for us to obey Jesus’ parting words to His disciples that they go “Go into all the world, … teaching them to observe all that He had commanded them.”?
Can it mean that we should stand for Truth at every opportunity, even though we know that the world will often ignore, reject, and even actively attack the message – and us as His messengers?
Crossroads: Where Faith and Culture Meet
That’s the background for what Rita Dunaway and I will discuss this weekend in Part IV of our continuing series on Why You Can’t Stay Silent by Tom Minnery.
It will air on the following Valley stations: WBTX (1470 AM and 102.1 FM) today (Saturday) at 4:00 p.m. and again on Sunday at 7:30 a.m., followed by WSVA (550 AM and 92.1 FM) at 8:30, ESPN (1360 AM and 106.9 FM) at 9:00, and WNLR (1150) at 11:30.
You can also listen online at www.valleyfamilyforum.org and click on the Crossroad’s link located on the home page.
Crossroads is almost entirely listener supported. If you would like to help, please send your check to Crossroads at PO Box 881, Harrisonburg, 22803. All donations are tax-deductible.
In addition, please remember to check Rita’s columns on many of these hot-button issues that appear every Saturday in the Daily News Record.
Thank you, for God and Country,
Dean