Faith, Hope and Charity(Love)

1 Corinthians 13:13, "And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love."

This is one of the most well known, beloved verses in the bible. How many couples have had their wedding vows sealed with this verse? How many sermons preached? How many Christians discipled? It is a verse that speaks of our existence here on earth, and also in eternity with God. But does it speak of our nation?

God has truly pressed upon my heart the emergence of Glenn Beck as our nations most visible spokesman on behalf of God. Beck, who made his name as a political commentator for conservative issues has now moved into the realm of religion with his self proclaimed rally in the name of God on August 28. He has gathered together various faiths who espouse vastly contradictory views of God, in fact different gods, to call America back to God. And this past Saturday half a million people rallied to this cry. I believe it shows that America, maybe for the first time in my life, is actually open to a true revival occurring. Their is a sense of desperation in our nation where people are actually seeking spiritual answers. This is a good thing! But can true revival occur calling upon the names of many gods, or must we show people the One True God? Let's look at this verse for our answer.

Beck has used the mantra, "Faith, Hope and Charity(Love)" as his shows theme since the beginning of the year. He has used it as a call for our nation to return to our Judeo-Christian roots. On his show daily we see this message with the words prominently displayed with pictures of our founding fathers underneath the words. But is this proper use of this scripture?

Let's look at them one-by-one. First faith: The bible teaches us that our faith is to be in the God of the bible alone. Not in another god. Not in a political or social movement. Not in mankind. Our faith is demonstrated by our trusting Jesus Christ, the Jesus of the bible, the only Jesus that is real, as our Lord and Savior. We trust Him as Savior believing from our heart that His blood is our only avenue to God's grace to experience His forgiveness. That through Jesus's sacrifice on the cross, we are cleansed from all unrighteousness and viewed through Him as righteous in God's eyes. If He is our Lord it means that we will fully surrender to Him, denying ourselves, and follow Him and His word in obedience.

It does not mean we place our faith in the founding fathers. I do not intend to minimize the profound effect these men had on our nation. But as beautiful and important as the U.S. Constitution is, it is not the inspired word of God. Only the Holy Bible meets that criteria. We are not to place our faith in our constitution, and a return to it's biblically based values, over the actual word of God.

Next is hope: Our hope, according to the bible, is not a return for our nation to the roots it was founded upon. According to scripture, our hope is Jesus Christ. Once again, only the Jesus of the bible, not "another Jesus" who has the same name but when compared side-by-side is totally different. Titus 2:13 tells us that we are to be "looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ." We are not to look with hope to men, as they will always disappoint. We are not to look with hope to political leaders, as they are men. Their is no hope in the things of this earth, only in Jesus.

Finally Love: Why is love the greatest? Well, when we get to heaven, we'll have no need for faith, as we will be with God, our faith will have been verified. We'll have no need for hope, our hope will have been granted. But forever and ever we will bathe in the love(agape) of God, and "being changed and like Him," able to actually give God that type of love we could not fully muster on earth.

The bible teaches love(agape) is the Greatest Commandment. To love God "with all" our heart, mind, soul and strength. And then to "love" others as ourselves. Love is evidenced by our obedience to Christ and His word. Jesus told us the world would know "us(Christians)," by our "love" for one another. He said we should "love" each other as He loved us. Sacrificially, totally focused upon the Fathers will instead of ours.

Is it permissible to love our nation. Absolutely, but not above God and His commands. We can love many things, but their is nothing, not even our families, which should come above our love for God. Jesus stated that if our love for our families did not appear as hate compared to our love for Him, we are not worthy to follow Him. The fate of our nation is nothing in God's eyes compared to our obedience in loving Him above all things.

What we have here in preacher talk, is a case of Beck using isegesis in applying scripture. This means, we formulate an idea, and then apply scripture to that idea. It is a dangerous practice for it does not truly communicate what God is trying to say, but rather what we want to say. The proper method is known as exegesis. This is where we take the scripture and attempt to communicate exactly what God is trying to say to us. Can we apply scripture to modern events? Absolutely. But we cannot do so in changing the meaning of what God is trying to communicate.

So, is God trying to communicate through Beck? Possibly, but I believe it's a warning, not the signal for revival. The warning is, God's church is the one who should be sending out the cry for a return to God, not a member of a false religion. The fact that the American church is so dead that no Christian could come close to gathering the support of Beck, a Mormon, should be a wake up call to us all. "Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand!" Will we turn to God, or man?

The most famous revival verse in the bible is 2 Chronicles 7:14. It reads, "If My people who are called by My name(not Allah, or the Mormon Jesus, or Buddah, or Krishna) will humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then, I will hear their prayer in heaven, and I will forgive their sins, and heal their land." If our land, our nation, is to be healed, it will be a work of the One True and Living God. It will not be the work of any man or governmental system. In regards to Beck, where are we placing our faith? In the True and Living God as he commands, or a political movement in the name of many gods? Where are we placing our hope? In our nations ability to get things straight, or the return of Jesus, the only One who can accomplish this? Who are we loving more? Political allegiance or God Almighty?

Is Barack Obama's view of government good for our nation. I don't think so. But the bible tells us that God "raises up kings, and removes kings." He has allowed Obama to come to power for a reason. Could it be to turn us in repentance back to God? I believe it could be. Will that return come when we join together with other religions and gods in God's name? I fear not. Galatians 6:7 reads, "God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that also he shall reap." Unless we are gathered together in Jesus Christ's name, not some generic god, how will God honor that?