Church leaders today have a basic decision to make in regard to the future of America. They must decide whether their attitude is one of retreat, or whether it is to advance into hostile enemy territory. Unless and until that decision is made, church leaders will give out conflicting signals, and their followers will vacillate, not knowing their priorities or how they should behave. At stake is the impact that up to 40 million “born again” believers will or won’t make on our nation’s destiny.

This article, originally posted on April 1, 1980, rings just as true today as it did four decades ago.

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Let’s examine these two attitudes, and then see where the church is today.

The retreat attitude is appropriate if we’re convinced the battle is lost. In that case, we should operate defensively, try to protect what we have, and minimize our losses. It is to abandon our social, political, and economic structures and do what we can to preserve what is yet not usurped by the enemy. The ultimate end of this attitude is to go into hiding with the objective being mere survival.

The other attitude is to advance. It is based on a conviction that the battle has not been lost and can in fact be won. The question is not whether to go ahead; it is how to go ahead so the greatest results can be obtained. Our attention focuses on strategy, timing, and deployment of forces. In this case, the ultimate destiny is the fulfillment of a hope, a dream, if not by us, by a future generation. It generally involves personal sacrifice in its achievement.

Today, the church is largely in a retreat mentality with regard to America. Four factors stand out in producing this attitude. Each needs to be examined objectively by church leaders.

First is the expectation of the Lord’s imminent return. While this is an event we rightly look and hope for, Scripture is intentionally unclear on the specific timing of the Second Coming. Since the days of the early church, sincere believers thought they would witness the end of the Age. Today, many Christians who believe the Lord will return soon have concluded it is futile to work toward saving America and have given up. They neither work nor pray effectively on behalf of their country. It is important that people honestly ask themselves two basic questions: What if the Lord doesn’t return for 10 years, 100 years, 1,000 years? And secondly, what attitude would He be pleased to find when He does return? We know He expects His followers to be exercising faith. The greatest victories often come out of “hopeless” situations when faith in God is truly operative. Will He find faith?

The second factor producing a retreat mentality is the prevailing view of the relation between “church and state.” This view, apparently shared by President Carter, is that the state is a secular entity, the activities of which should not be influenced, directed or judged by Christian conviction or belief. It might be stated as “government free from religion.” This was not the purpose at all in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which states: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, nor prohibiting the free exercise thereof…” The founding fathers never intended to separate the nation from its Christian heritage or from reliance on God. They feared, and with good reason, the denial of liberties if one particular religious establishment should become dominant, so they made it constitutionally impossible for any denomination to control or be controlled by the federal government. But every policy, every law, and every decision made within government will be based on some philosophy or set of beliefs. Today, the prevailing philosophy, or religion, is secular humanism, which is based on the idea that man is God. This religion, in violation of the First Amendment, is being aggressively promoted by government policy.

In Psalm 33:12 we read, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord…” This standard must become the driving force for Christians if we’re going to actively seek to influence and shape government policy. This is both a constitutional right, and a sovereign responsibility. At the same time, we must adhere to an attitude of “religion free from government,” if we are going to prevent a dilution of religious principle by subservience to state intrusion and control. This is why IRS actions against Christian schools must be vigorously opposed. The secular humanist mentality is that the state must control everything, which directly denies the principle of religious freedom.

A third factor which is paralyzing the church and causing it to retreat, is sin. We have paid dearly for abandoning God’s standard for righteousness. The very things Jesus spoke to His followers about are rampant in the church today—strife, divisions, divorce, lust, immorality, greed—not just in the liberal churches, but in all churches. In many cases, the conduct of believers is indistinguishable from unbelievers. Sin abounds, and the world looks with disdain at our hypocrisy. “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.” (Prov. 14:34) We cannot expect public righteousness while our own closets are full of skeletons. It’s time for the church to “clean up its act.” Judgment begins at the House of God. (1 Pet. 4:17) Church leaders must begin preaching repentance from dead works—from sin—and then require changed lives. It is not Christ-like love when leaders go on winking at sin. It’s simply fraudulent leadership.

This leads to the fourth factor resulting in a retreat mentality in the church. It is weak and divided leadership. Many of our leaders have failed to lead. They have been more concerned with undermining other ministries than in boldly setting out and maintaining godly standards for right conduct. Recently, a nationally televised religious leader publicly slandered another reputable ministry, without taking the first step toward private discussion and reconciliation. This is tragic. The enemy is not other Christians! We see increasing evidence that church groups are turning to federal agencies to police other church groups, bearing an eerie recollection of what happened with the churches in pre-Bolshevik Russia, pre-Nazi Germany and pre-Communist China. Divided leadership will result in a divided Kingdom, and “…every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.” (Matt 12:25) It is imperative that our church leaders start getting it together, if we are going to effectively communicate with a world desperately looking for answers. There are hopeful signs that this is beginning, as noted elsewhere in this newsletter, but the process must be greatly accelerated by both national and local communities before it’s too late.

These four factors, while by no means exhaustive, must be addressed in the immediate future. If we can deal with the attitudes that are preventing us from taking the initiative, we’ll then be ready to go into battle. This will enable God to show us a course, involving both spiritual warfare and Spirit-directed action which will not only bring healing to America, but greatly magnify and accelerate the propagation for the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

But in contrast to the gloom and self-fulfilling defeatism, another mentality exists. It is a hope born out of faith that God, who has so greatly blessed America, is prepared to bless her still. It is a conviction that Light can drive out darkness, and that our destiny as a nation is not sealed in humiliation, disgrace and defeat. It is an attitude that, in spite of the cunning and even viciousness of the enemy, we can advance beyond defeat and see a land that is healed and whole: a land where the gospel goes out unhindered; where our freedoms are intact; where government serves, not dominates the people; where biblical principles shape the conduct of individuals and institutions. In short, a nation under God.

This is not an impossible dream. It was the dream that fired earlier generations of exiled and alienated Christians who came to our shores, sacrificed and often gave their lives for the sake of the Kingdom and for those who would follow. Their vision and determination to fulfill that vision produced the legacy that we’ve enjoyed, but tragically have also neglected.

If we’re to reverse America’s precipitous decline, we need to understand the elements that will produce victory. Here are the principle elements:

“Recognize that we’re at war. The true nature of our warfare is not understood by most Christians, let alone non-believers. First and foremost, the intercessor sees that spiritual battles are raging-warfare in the heavenlies-and that the great conflicts destroying our society cannot and will not be resolved by the best of human efforts apart from God. This warfare must not be viewed casually. It is a pitched battle, and we must choose whether we’re going to align ourselves actively on the Lord’s side. There’s no place for neutrality in this warfare! (Eph 6:12; 2 Cor. 10:4, Dan 9, 10)

If we are convinced that we’re at war, we, like every good soldier, must learn: To obey the Commander’s orders and follow His battle strategy; to be prepared physically and mentally to endure; and, to sacrifice our own comfort and well-being for the cause to which we’re committed.

As we engage in spiritual warfare through our intercessions, we can expect to “draw fire” from the enemy. He targets his “fiery missiles” at our areas of greatest weakness—perhaps our marriage, our children, or our emotions. This is why we must first “count the cost” and determine whether we’re committed to do battle. (Lk. 1:28-33) Fortunately, the same Commander who directs our warfare is well able to keep us and protect us by His infinite grace. (2 Tim. 1:12; 2 Cor. 12:9)

The hour is so critical today that nothing short of an all-out commitment to war will suffice. If we fail to “take up arms,” we will soon relinquish our comfort and ease, not by choice but by force, and we will lose the glorious option that is now available to us.

“Secondly, to advance and conquer, we must begin exercising a much greater level of faith in God. By and large, Christians have succumbed to the same attitude of hopelessness that has engulfed those who don’t know God. The world is groping for answers by looking to every source but God: from drugs to Eastern religions to public opinion surveys to intellectual “think tanks,” hoping desperately for solutions. Because we are so immersed in the day-to-day news, and so exposed to all the shaking that goes on in the world, we become “crisis oriented.” We find ourselves focused on the problems, often taking the world’s view of those problems. This is a very difficult environment for faith to operate.

To exercise faith, we need to view our situation from God’s perspective. We must understand that omnipotent God knows fully what is happening, and in fact is allowing it. He is going to accomplish His purposes. He has a plan, and He is in control. We may not know how He is going to fulfill His plan, but we can know that He will fulfill his plan. We must realize that He wants to work sovereignly and supernaturally through His Body—us—to bring change.

We can place supreme and unshakeable confidence in our Commander as we enter battle. He is worthy of that kind of trust, and we exercise our faith in Him by allowing Him to be for us what He in fact is—King of kinds and Lord of lords.

*Finally, to advance and conquer, we must release our faith through Spirit-directed action. “…faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” (James 2:17 NIV) Action is the natural outgrowth of prayer and faith in God. Through prayer we learn the mind of God. By faith, we release the power of the Holy Spirit to direct us and work through us. By our action, we bring about the physical, tangible results.

Nehemiah is a good example. (It would be helpful to read this “action-oriented” book.) The direct result of Nehemiah’s fasting and prayer (1:4-11) was a plan of action (2:5-8) and then direct, personal involvement in carrying out that plan which involved mobilizing a whole nation to rebuild Jerusalem’s walls.

Seeing how those walls were rebuilt helps us know how we’re to work in repairing the walls and breaches in America. They had a specific goal (“let us rebuild” 2:17); they released their faith in the midst of opposition (“The God of heaven will give us success.” 2:20); they worked as families on specific portions of the wall (Chapter 3); they worked “with all their heart” (4:6); they withstood their enemies (4:9-23; Chapter 26); they completed the task in a remarkable 52 days (6:15); they rejoiced and gave glory to God (12:27-47).

There are hundreds of noble efforts underway in America to “rebuild the walls,” many under the leadership of dedicated Christians. None of us can do all the rebuilding by ourselves, but we can ask God what “family” we should be working with. Perhaps it is the pro-life movement, or anti-pornography, or supporting a candidate for public office. Perhaps it’s writing to your congressman or your local newspaper.

Tragically, the majority of Christians aren’t active. They don’t vote, they don’t want to be involved, they don’t want to disrupt what Francis Schaeffer refers to as two impoverished values, “personal space and affluence.” (How Should We Then Live, Chapter 11) This must change if America is to change. It is not time for a retreat mentality.

God stands ready to orchestrate an assault on the gates of hell, and He is looking for volunteers—not just any “weekend warriors,” but those who don’t “love their (self) lives so much as to shrink from death.” (Rev. 12:11)

By adopting a positive, trusting attitude toward God’s plan for the Church and for America, we can be a part of the glorious victory that God wants to accomplish in our midst.

Please share this important article with other believers!

This article was written by John Beckett, one of IFA’s founders and a current board member. Join John and IFA at our 50th anniversary gala and celebration, Shaping HIStory. Details at IFA50.org. Photo Credit: Canva.