Is God on America’s Side (Bible Talk aired on Mar. 20^th 2010)?

Is God on America’s Side? Book By Pastor Erwin Lutzer

The Surprising Answer and How It Affects Our Future

With typical wisdom and lucidity, Lutzer addresses a fundamental question — a question begging for an answer after a frenetic election — Is God really on America’s side? To answer, the reader is carefully led through seven vital principles of a biblical understanding of judgment.

• God can both bless and curse a nation.
• God judges nations based on the amount of light and opportunity they are given.
• God sometimes uses exceedingly evil nations to judge those that are less evil.
• When God judges a nation, the righteous suffer with the wicked.
• God’s judgments take various forms.
• In judgment, God’s target is often His people, not just the general population.
• God sometimes reverses intended judgments.

Provocative questions for individual reflection or group discussion complete each chapter of the book. Throughout, Lutzer’s insights into how Christians should view government equips them “to think with the Bible in one hand and a newspaper in the other.”

Bible Talk Topic Question:

“Does God take sides, and if so whose side is he on? In other words is God on America’s side?” We do know that God made a covenant with Israel. Israel is a covenant nation. God gave Abraham unconditional promises of a land, seed, and a blessing. He promised Abraham that the nation would last forever. And that Israel through covenant is God’s chosen people. The Bible is real clear on this.

Here is the big question when it comes to America, the USA, the question is does God have a special relationship with America? Does God have a Covenant with America similar to the covenant he has with Israel?

Many pastors and politicians quote 2 Chronicles chapter 7 and the 14^th verse

Summary of callers’ responses to the question:

2 Chronicles 7:¹⁴ If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Here God responses to Solomon’s prayer: Solomon clearly understood who the people were and what land God was referring. The verse is applied specifically to Israel, and not America, France, or any other nation. It is not a universal covenant.

Nowhere in the Bible does it refer to America or any other nation having the type of covenant relation with God that Israel has. However, if the people of America (or anywhere) want to be in special relation with the Lord, they must repent of their sins, confess the Lord Jesus Christ, and be born again.

The Bible does tell us that a nation could be blessed in its treatment of Israel. I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee. We can say that America is a nation that was founded on Christian principles, but it is not a Christian nation.

When the bible speaks of Judgment wherein does America fall? On which side?

Matthew 25: ³¹ When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: ³² And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: ³³ And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

The answer that Pastor Erwin Lutzer gives to the question: “No nation can claim that God is on its side. We do not have a covenant with God as did ancient Israel. We cannot say that God is in our corner, standing by to fight our battles, and keep the America dream alive. Just as Israel erred in taking the ark of God into battle hoping that this object would win the battle for them, so we cannot take God into battle expecting him to win on our behalf. God has certainly blessed the United States, but it would be presumptions for us to think that he would take our side in the many struggles we face internationally and domestically. “

I agree, and I do believe that God will be bless nations, in fact there is a principle that flows from Proverbs chapter 14 verse 34.

Proverbs 14:³⁴ Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people

So even though this does not speak of a covenant between God and America, the truth is that God does bless nations that are righteous nations, nations that follow him, nations that follow the commandments and values that He has espoused, and especially nations that are focused on Jesus Christ. While I would not necessarily say that America is a pagan nation, I would say that America is a nation that has been heavily influenced by Christianity. No doubt about it! It has been heavily influence by the Bible, the Old and the New Testament as well. If we want America to continuously be a strong nation, we must continue to allow the Bible to be our influence in this country.