A Christian Living in America - Canaan Fellowship

Canaan Fellowship

A Christian Living in America

00:00 / 00:40:54

Philip Schnackenberg provides a teaching on what it means to live as a Christian in America, arguing that while this should not be the church’s primary focus, it is a relevant and important topic that believers should examine biblically rather than avoid.

[00:00:21] He clarifies that this teaching, titled “A Christian Living in America,” is not meant to be a frequent church topic, but it should not go unexamined since believers live in a specific country and should not get all their worldview from outside the church.
[00:01:24] He notes the topic remains relevant due to issues like the hostile immigration debate and the advance of Islam in certain cultures.
[02:03] He reads Romans 13 to establish that nations and governments are authorized by God and that this is not an accident.
[04:06] He reads Acts 17:24-27, noting God determined the allotted periods and boundaries of where people would live.
[04:51] Governments exist to maintain law and order, and the antichrist is described as the “lawless one” who institutes chaos.
[05:40] He examines two partial but inadequate frameworks, the first being Old Testament Israel, whose law was the founders’ most-cited source.
[06:57] The limitation is context: God was Israel’s political, spiritual, and military leader in a time of conquest, which does not match the church/state separation we have today.
[10:52] The second inadequate framework is the New Testament, where the church was a captive minority under Roman rule with no representation or voice in government.
[08:58] Even so, he reads Jeremiah 29:4-7, where God tells the exiles to build, plant, marry, and seek the welfare of Babylon, showing believers live fully within society.
[11:20] The proper framework for application is the principle of stewardship: we did not create or fight for this country; it was given to us to steward.
[12:28] What is unique about America is that this stewardship demands participation and responsibility, since it is a representative system where we choose our representatives and are not without a voice.
[13:11] Thankfulness belongs under stewardship; we should be overwhelmed with gratitude for what past generations and God have done, and we should not be the generation that loses this.
[13:58] Generosity also belongs under stewardship; he reads 1 Timothy 6:17-19 about the rich being generous and ready to share, storing up treasure as a good foundation.
[16:22] The “truly life” is not found in riches; Americans as a whole are very generous, and the American church is likely the most generous entity in the world.
[17:19] Being “ready to share” implies having the ability to give, so stewardship includes wisdom about where to allocate wealth rather than scattering it in every direction.
[18:03] He then examines why America has blossomed and lasted, noting the average lifespan of a constitution is about 18 years, while ours has lasted 250.
[19:47] The first principle is that all men are created equal, which includes equality before the law and equal opportunity, creating a predictable and level playing field.
[21:37] Equality means no special treatment based on lineage, status, or wealth, unlike systems where the wealthy can pay others to serve their penalties.
[21:37] Our rights come from God, not the state; he notes the Chinese Constitution repeatedly begins with “the state,” but if the state gives rights, the state can take them away.
[22:40] Human worth follows from being created in God’s image; everyone has something to contribute, which has fueled the nation’s creativity and prosperity.
[23:22] The second principle is that all have sinned (Romans 3), and the founders built on the reality of man’s sinful nature.
[24:14] He quotes James Madison in the Federalist Papers on mankind’s propensity toward mutual animosities and the need for government because men are not angels.
[25:48] Madison argued ambition must counteract ambition and that government must first control the governed and then be obliged to control itself, relying on auxiliary precautions.
[26:26] The third principle is freedom, which gives moral and creative agency to individuals; he compares this to the church as living stones rather than a strict top-down structure.
[27:20] A top-down structure is safe and professional until the whole church goes off the rails; the living-stones model is riskier but requires each person to do the right thing personally.
[28:04] America’s structure of freedom allows contributions and gifts from everyone that otherwise would never have been noticed or allowed to rise.
[28:27] The pillars of America reflect creation, fall, and redemption (all men created equal, all have sinned, and freedom), which is the gospel built into the nation’s foundation.
[29:07] The balance of powers across three branches is uncommon; Justice Scalia credited the balance of power, not the Constitution itself, as what makes America unique.
[30:22] He reads Articles 13 and 14 of North Korea’s Constitution, which promise speech, press, and religious freedom but are worthless without accountability or recognition of authority above the state.
[31:15] He quotes Alexis de Tocqueville, who said Americans combine Christianity and liberty so intimately that one cannot be conceived without the other, and that their faith was not barren but living.
[32:41] Tocqueville sought America’s greatness in harbors, rivers, fields, commerce, Congress, and the Constitution and found it nowhere until he heard the pulpits flame with righteousness.
[33:34] These are the things we are to steward if we want to maintain God’s blessing on our country.
[34:23] Voting is our most basic form of participation, and Christian voter turnout is depressingly low, sometimes due to busyness or laziness.
[35:06] Voting is not a sacrament, not voting for a savior (Paul’s government was ungodly yet still valuable), and not a valentine declaring affection for a person.
[35:48] What you ultimately vote for is the accumulated result of many people, and policy usually lasts much longer than the person you vote for.
[37:04] Christians are salt and light; as light we stand out from the darkness as a witness, and as salt we slow the rate of decay rather than create a paradise on earth.
[38:17] The goal is to desire the welfare of the nation and choose the policy that acquires more blessing or at least less judgment from God.
[38:50] He reads Romans 14:22 on keeping faith between yourself and God, applying it to the conscience in voting.
[40:08] If after searching your heart the Holy Spirit convicts you, it is acceptable to abstain or write in a candidate; more valuable than your vote is maintaining the purity of your conscience.

Scripture References

Romans 13:1-7
Acts 17:24-27
Jeremiah 29:4-7
1 Timothy 6:17-19
Romans 3
Romans 14:22

Generated by AI model deepseek-chat