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The following article by Pastor Ovadal
appeared in the September 11 edition of the Monroe Times, a daily
paper published in the city where Pastor Ovadal's church is located. The
article was originally written at the request of the Capital Times,
a liberal Madison, Wisconsin newspaper which published comments from
pastors regarding September 11. The Capital Times edited the
article down and published it on September 10, apparently in pursuit of
balance. The Monroe Times published the article as it appears
below.
The terrorist attack on September 11, 2001 was a great, corporate
tragedy for our nation. It brought sorrow and loss to many on an
individual level as well. This is a reality which must not be minimized in
any way. At the same time, in light of that tragedy, it behooves this
nation to take a long look at herself in light of God's commands for the
governance of nations and the everyday behavior of the citizens of
nations.
These days, most Americans believe that the Bible is irrelevant,
especially those portions of it dealing with God's judgment. The men who
founded this nation rightly believed otherwise. George Washington warned,
"The propitious smiles of heaven can never be expected on a nation
which disregards the eternal rules of order and right which heaven itself
has ordained." George Washington was a Christian. In his diary, it
can be found written, "Direct my thoughts, words and work, wash away
my sins in the immaculate Blood of the Lamb and purge my heart by Thy Holy
Spirit . . . daily frame me more and more into the likeness of Thy Son
Jesus Christ." Washington believed in the one, true God revealed in
the Holy Scriptures, the Bible. Because he knew the Bible, he understood
that God will not bless a nation where His law is not honored. Quite the
contrary: God's holiness demands that He eventually curse such a nation as
is demonstrated by numerous biblical warnings. The Scriptures make it
clear that even Israel, God's chosen people of the Old Testament, would
suffer His judgment if they rebelled against His law. Israel did rebel
against God, and eventually that nation did reap what they sowed. But
first, in His mercy and love, the Lord sent prophets to warn of the wrath
to come if repentance and reformation did not take place in the land.
Americans would do well to read the words of the prophet Hosea, spoken to
a people who had become coarse, hard-hearted, and lawless: "Hear the
word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the Lord hath a controversy
with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy,
nor knowledge of God in the land. By swearing, and lying, and killing, and
stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth
blood."
I would submit that today God has a controversy with America. We have
become a nation where the immutable truth of God's Word is mocked,
twisted, and ignored - a place where grievous sin is celebrated, sexual
anarchists march in the streets to "declare their sin as Sodom"
(Isaiah 3:9), and the people are taxed by the government for such outrages
as Planned Parenthood's assault on life, morality, and parental authority;
a place where licentiousness masquerades as liberty, and murder is dressed
up in a costume of compassion. God's Word warns that He hates the shedding
of innocent blood; and yet every day, thousands of the most innocent and
defenseless Americans, the preborn, can expect no mercy either from a
government which condones and facilitates their slaughter or from their
own parents who have decided it is more convenient to kill than to care.
America increasingly is populated by a coarse people, a sexually immoral
people, a dishonest people, and a cruel people. Every day, America looks
more like Israel of antiquity prior to her judgment and destruction. All
of this, of course, is the direct result of having so little true
knowledge of God in our land, which in turn has come about because most
Christians are more interested in building big church buildings and
indulging themselves in any sort of worldly diversion rather than taking
God's Word into the public square to contend for truth, reprove the
unfruitful works of darkness (Ephesians 5:11), and "teach all
nations" (Matthew 28:19).
God cannot and will not bless America as long
as her people and her government insists on living in open rebellion to
his holy law.
As a pastor, a minister of Jesus Christ, I have a solemn duty to warn that
God does indeed have a controversy with America. God cannot and will not
bless America as long as her people and her government insist on living in
open rebellion to His holy law. God has repeatedly warned that
individuals, and nations, reap what they sow. For instance, through Hosea,
God reminds us that "blood toucheth blood." In other words,
bloodshed accommodated births more bloodshed. Likewise, depravity begets
more depravity; and lawlessness brings more of the same. Beyond all of
that, and most importantly, the Scriptures warn that God's judgments are
"true and righteous." America's leaders, religious and civil,
once understood this simple truth. For instance, in his Second Inaugural
Address, Abraham Lincoln mourned the tragedy and loss of the Civil War. At
the same time, he also portrayed it as being the judgment of God upon
America for the vile institution of slavery.
As a Christian pastor, my message to America today is simple: read
Deuteronomy 28 and watch the nightly news. Watch as news anchors report
the latest natural disasters using such phrases as "worse ever"
and "record setting." Listen as they report new terrorist
threats and actual attacks and new life-threatening diseases and viruses.
Watch, listen, and understand that God's wrath is being poured out on
America in gradually increasing measure. Those Americans who truly love
their families and this nation would do well to turn to the Lord in
repentance, put their faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, and follow
Him. As for Christian Americans, our prayer for our beloved land should
echo the great patriotic hymn: "America! America! God mend thine
every flaw. Confirm thy soul in self control, thy liberty in law."
—Pastor Ralph Ovadal
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