Following Judah's Lion

Does God Deal With Countries Today?

In the Old testament, for the most part, a nation as defined by geographical borders and a unified government, was also denoted by its ethnic makeup. The Syrians were Syrian in nature, the Israelis were Jewish or Hebrew, and the Egyptians were (you guessed it) Egyptian. So in essence God was dealing with people groups that were usually identified by their country’s name. But at Calvary, and the subsequent Pentecost, everything changed.

It is most unfortunate that many believers fail to see the distinction between how God revealed Himself in the Old Testament and how God reveals Himself in the New Covenant. And even though the way God deals with mankind in the Old Testament is completely different than how He deals with mankind in this gospel age, many lose sight of the nature of this difference and the repercussions of this distinction. And if that line of demarcation is obscured, then it is very easy to create a divine caricature that seems to be a hybrid rather than a revelation of Jesus Christ and His redemptive gospel. In fact, such a teaching is a grotesque creation derived from two distinct revelations of God, one of which was to give way and be subordinate to the other.

Heb.1:1-2a - God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, 2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son...

Men today still insist God is sending hurricanes and earthquakes and tornados to punish certain secular countries and their citizens, even though the majority of those citizens are lost and spiritually dead. “God is judging America” is a sentiment that is widely accepted within evangelicalism. And that sentiment is a result of a melding of the Old and the New Covenants. It unnaturally combines judgment and grace and misrepresents this present age of gospel grace before the end when God will judge the nations (people).

And of course, the men like Pat Robertson and the late Jerry Falwell never suggest God is judging them, but they conveniently use natural calamities for their own self righteous purposes while the evangelical choir sings “Amen!”. And abortion and homosexuality figure prominently in this judgment equation, but it seems divorce and adultery do not rise to the earthquake level. But in order to clearly comprehend our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and His “Go into all the world and preach the gospel” mission in this gospel age, we must reject characterizing Christ as both a cross embracer and a locust sender. And if God does send correction, it will be to the church and not those whose spirits are dead and stand in need of grace. Christ did not come to condemn the world; they already are condemned. God sent His Son so that the world might be saved through Him.

God dealt with Israel as His people, not just a country. And if you desire to see some similarities today, then you must see the church as a country. That might be significantly more accurate than suggesting America or Ecuador or France is being dealt collectively by God. In fact, God calls the church a “holy nation”. But listen as some of the politicians running for president are saying God is sending natural calamities in order to get the attention of the American people. But Jesus, in one of His parables, was asked to send someone who rose from the dead. The reply was that even that would not be sufficient to garner their attention. Romans suggests that instead of natural calamities, the wonder of creation should lead people to at least admit to a divine being.

But as is the all too familiar ways of western preachers, we are not satisfied with presenting Christ and His gospel. We are not satisfied with ministering to people’s earthly needs in order to gain a hearing to their spiritual needs. We seem to need to create some narrative whose underlying motive is to elevate America to a “God favored” status. When 300 Indians die in a ferry boat sinking, no one here suggests that God is speaking to India. Why? Because no one believes God really loves India in the same way He loves America. But the truth is God loves people, not countries.

Listen this political season and you will hear men and women reveal a robust love for America, and also openly suggest a divine love for the same. Then read the New Testament in one week and you will understand how wrong that is. But, you say, those are secular people. Well then, just listen to what the church is saying.