The Best Thing We Christians Can Do For Our Nation

In the opinion pages of the NY Times David Brooks recently wrote about the tragic rise in single parenthood in the USA .  He said,

Finally, there is the problem of the social fabric. segmented societies do not thrive, nor do ones, like ours, with diminishing social trust. Nanny-state government may have helped undermine personal responsibility and the social fabric, but that doesn’t mean the older habits and arrangements will magically regrow simply by reducing government’s role. For example, there has been a tragic rise in single parenthood, across all ethnic groups, but family structures won’t spontaneously regenerate without some serious activism, from both religious and community groups and government agencies.  

How will serious activism by religious and community groups restore personal responsibility? How will activism reverse the tragic rise in single parenthood in the USA? And what kind of activism? Brooks calls for a restoration of the "vigorous virtues." And he says it won't happen merely by reducing nanny-state government. In that I strongly agree. But how shall we restore "vigorous virtues"? Here's what the Apostle Peter has to say about virtue:

May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. 

For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.
For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.          (2 Peter 1:2-4)

In NT Greek Peter's word for virtue is aretē. Some translate the word as moral excellence. In fact, it is translated as excellence in the quote above when Peter speaks about God's divine power granting us all things that pertain to life and godliness. How does God do this? Through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence. There's that aretē - excellence word again. God has excellence or virtue. We are called to live that life, God's life, the life of excellence and virtue. And it happens through the knowledge of God and of Jesus. What is this knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord? Permit a brief explanation. 


To know God is much more than knowing He exists and that He is the Creator. It is above all knowing in your heart that God loves you and that He forgives you. It is knowing deep within that He chose you to be His very own child and that this all happened when Jesus died upon the cross of Calvary. It is believing that you died with Jesus on that cross and rose with Him to a new life, a life that will never end. It is believing that when Jesus returns in glory you will receive a renewed body and will live with Him forever (Col. 1:5, 3:4; John 3:16, 4:14, 5:21-24, 40, 6:39-40, 10:28-30, 14:19; Rom 5:10, 5:21, 8:2, 34-39; 2 Cor. 5:7; Heb. 7:25). 


God works through this knowledge. This  knowledge is the Good News, the Gospel. His power is at work in the Gospel to work virtue or moral excellence. As you grow in your faith, you grow in virtue, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection and love. In other words, as we Christians vigorously work to help one another to know Jesus, to love Him and to rejoice in His love for us, we are also helping one another to become virtuous, to live the life to which God has called us, to become like Jesus. This life of Jesus produces those "vigorous virtues" Brooks is calling for.

Bottom line: the best thing the church can do to regenerate our country is to proclaim and teach the Gospel. In other words, let the church be about churchly business. . . and let the government be about government business.