How Historical Christians Took Over Cities… And How We Can Again – Part 1

From the 17^th century the American Pilgrims and Puritans started new, totally Christian towns, and turning into Christian cities. But America today is no longer a wilderness where Christians can start new Christian towns. But now, after more than three centuries, American towns and cities that started out being a:

Christian Society: intolerant to all opposing religions, per the 1^st of the Ten Commandments, and run only by genuine Christian rulers seeking the glory of God, and following only God’s Mosaic moral civil Law, to becoming a …

Pluralistic Society: tolerating all opposing religions, resulting in a spiritual/cultural revolution, to becoming an …

Anti-Christian Society: Christianity being thrown out of all schools and institutions and being replaced with Marxist/Socialist philosophy. Christian persecution rapidly increasing.

Are you historically aware of how literally true all the above is? But I’m afraid the vast majority of genuine Christians today have no idea just how Christianized our early American towns and society really was, and therefore, can’t imagine such a fully Christianized society every existing, or could exist, or worst of yet, maybe even should exist! I think Hosea 4:6 (NLB) applies today:

“My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as My servants. Because you have ignored the Law, I also will ignore your children.”

That’s a dire warning. If we don’t understand how, much less if, God’s Law should apply to Christians and to be the civil law, we will never have a Christian society again. To begin with, most evangelicals are taught that after coming to Christ we can ignore God’s Law, that the Law no longer applies to us as Christians.

Once we are saved – not by works but by FAITH ALONE – it’s true, we are no longer under the curse or judgment of the Law: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us” (Gal. 3:13). But that does NOT mean we can now “ignore the Law”, much less disobey God’s Law! As Christians, can we now ignore or disobey the Ten Commandments and all God’s moral Law?!

Jesus Christ fulfilled all the Ceremonial Law when He came as “the Lamb of God who took away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). But all God’s moral Law – the Ten Commandments, Statutes, and Judgments – everyone must always obey.

“Jesus said, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind… and love your neighbor as yourself’” (Mat. 22:36:39). Jesus is quoting all this from the Old Testament Law! To not obey God’s Law is to NOT LOVE… to not love God and not love others.

The apostle Paul said (Rom. 3:31): “Do we then nullify the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law.” The apostle John wrote (1John 3:4): “Everyone who sins is breaking God’s Law.” Therefore, if someone ignores or rejects God’s Law being applicable for a Christian after being saved, they are ignoring or rejecting what sin is.

But when we get saved, God actually puts His Law in our heart and mind (Heb. 8:10; 10:16)! In fact, when we “walk in the Spirit we are fulfilling the righteousness of the LAW” (Rom. 8:4).

As Christians, we didn’t try to keep the Law to get saved, but now we work to keep God’s Law because we are saved.

The first thing necessary to turn any society into a Christian society, Christians themselves must understand correctly how God’s Law applies to Christians. Jesus kept all the Law perfectly, the more we keep all God’s moral Law, the more we will be like Jesus (Mat. 5:17-19).

The second thing necessary for Christians to understand to help turn any society into a Christian society, is to correctly understand how God’s Law applies to all society at large – to be the civil law for cities and all society. This is exactly what the apostle Paul instructed (1Tim. 1:8-11):

“We know that the Law is good when used correctly. ⁹ For the Law was not intended for people who do what is right. It is for people who are lawless and rebellious, who are ungodly and sinful, who consider nothing sacred and defile what is holy, who kill their father or mother or commit other murders. ¹⁰ The law is for people who are sexually immoral, or who practice homosexuality, or slavery, liars, promise breakers, or who do anything else that contradicts the wholesome teaching ¹¹ that comes from the glorious Good News entrusted to me by our blessed God.”

Some Christians say we can’t impose God’s moral civil Law on non-Christians, but that’s exactly one purpose the apostle Paul said it’s “intended for”. Christians must strive to restore God’s moral civil Law for all cities and society.

• King David said (Ps. 19:7): “The Law of the Lord is perfect.”
• Apostle Paul said (Rom. 7:16; 1Tim. 1:8): “The Law is good.”
• Apostle Paul said (1Cor. 7:19): “The important thing is to keep God’s Commandments.”
• Apostle James said (James 1:25): “The perfect Law that gives freedom.”
• Apostle James said (James 2:8 NLB): “It is good when you obey the royal Law as found in the Old Testament.”
• Apostle James said (James 2:12): “The Law of liberty.”
• Apostle James said 4:11 NLT): “Your job is to obey the Law, not to judge whether it applies to you.”
• Jesus said (Mat. 5:17-18): “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law… For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law.”

God’s “Law is good” – to know and follow for personal life and for civil law. Next time in Part 2, we will look at the Pilgrims/Puritan’s Christian forefathers who historically took over ungodly existing cities for the Kingdom of God. We will learn historically how they did it and how the Bible promotes it.