Chairwoman of the Virginia Tea Party Patriots, candidate for the United States Senate (Va.) and homeschooling mother of three Jamie Radtke recently spoke at Regent Law Chapel about her compulsion to enter national politics. Likening Nehemiah’s rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem to American Christians facing national decline, Radtke drew parallels and principles from Nehemiah, inspiring students to take personal responsibility to stand for truth in their own spheres.Radtke first highlighted brokenness as the precursor to action. As Nehemiah wept when he looked out from the palace on the ruins of the Jerusalem wall, prosperous American Christians must be genuinely broken over our national condition. “We look out and see our country broken down, and it is an act of disobedience if we aren’t out there doing something about it,” said Radtke. “There are absolute consequences for sitting on the sidelines.”
Though the walls were gone in Nehemiah’s day, Jerusalem’s foundation was still intact. Radtke reminded students that the Judeo-Christian foundations of American government remain, but like Jerusalem, our walls are gone, due in part to Christian ambivalence. “For too long Christians have bought the lie of separation of church and state and not gotten involved in public affairs,” said Radtke. “Scripture shows us that we have an obligation to stand up for truth and that God holds us accountable for what our country reflects.”
Radtke noted the general fear of standing for truth and a sense of despair at the enormity of the task of changing our national reflection. She read Nehemiah 3 which lists individual groups who each took responsibility to rebuild their own sections of the Jerusalem wall. “We don’t have to fix the whole problem,” said Radtke. “We’re just called to rebuild the wall in our own back yard” - a focus that she said minimizes fear and prevents discouragement.
As the Israelites made progress, ruthless opposition arose. Radtke showed that Nehemiah shifted the Israelites from solely offensive work to both offense and defense in response, but he never allowed them to stop working (Neh. 4:6). As we witness our national leaders defying the rule of law, Radtke said that we, too, must stay vigilant in the face of opposition by continuing to stand for truth, covering our efforts in prayer, and confessing our sin of ambivalence.
Radtke admitted that it’s easy to grow weary in the struggle but reminded students of the outcome of Nehemiah. The Israelites completed the wall in a mere 52 days and set fear in their enemies’ hearts because their enemies saw Almighty God. “When we persevere against all odds, the Lord gets the victory and glory – and that’s the only reason we were created – to glorify God,” said Radtke. “Can you imagine the testimony we would have if everyone who confesses to be a Christian were obedient to be rebuilding the wall in their own back yards?”
-By Kristy Morris