The moral bankruptcy of America's supposedly "conservative" party was made plain once again in the last few days as the lurid story of South Carolina''s, governor, Mark Sanford, played out in the media. Mark Sanford has long portrayed himself as a born-again Christian and family values conservative. He has a beautiful wife and four young sons. That didn't stop him, however, from having a steamy affair with a woman in Argentina, the emails from which are now being published in the media. Once viewed as potential Presidential candidate material, the GOP now says his adultery is a "gamechanger."

This news comes on the heels of last week's adulterous revelations about Republican Senator John Ensign's affair with a campaign worker. As Fox News put it, for the Republicans, the hits just keep coming at a time when Republicans are trying to mount opposition to Barack Obama and his agenda.

These latest stories of infidelity and immorality serve only to underscore why Obama could win the White House in the first place. The morally undisciplined Republicans couldn't beat something with nothing, as the old political slogan goes. The GOP is a burned out shell of what it once was, with large swathes of the party clamoring for more mainstream appeal and an end to conservative positions on issues like abortion and gay marriage. Republican males additionally appear to be taking moral cues in their personal lives from the likes of John Edwards and a host of other Democrats, notorious for their unfaithfulness to their spouses.

Meanwhile, genuinely concerned Americans are looking around for someone to lead the fight against Barack Obama's destructive agenda for our nation. But the leaders are too busy holding press conferences, sobbing into their hankies and apologizing for cheating on their wives. There is a huge vacuum of leadership at a time when heroic leadership is called for. Some evangelicals are calling for conservatives to "take America back." The truth is, we can't take our own churches back from false teaching and moral squalor that at times rivals that of the world. The resignation of a well-known pastor after an affair with his personal assistant made headlines just a few weeks ago. If Christians can't keep their own homes and lives in godly order, how in the world are we supposed to "return America to its godly roots?" It's something of a joke, really.

We only see the tip of the iceberg. In other words, we only see what's going on when it finally hits the fan. The truth is, many professing Christians, including Christian leaders, are porn addicts. Many are living lives of impurity and unfaithfulness. Many are so awash in carnality, they are equally burned out shells with nothing but slogans and theological positions to back up their professed Christianity.

I believe this is why God has allowed a moral monster like Obama to now lead the country. It really is more about the church than anything else. America is going the same pathetic route that every other once-great country has when it rejects God. The so-called church, however, is without excuse for its own adultery. We had the truth. We had our glorious Savior. We had the whole counsel of God in our hands. We had the help of the power of the Holy Spirit to strengthen and direct us. The evangelical church has been whoring around for a long time now, parading its surgically enhanced wares before the world, looking for approval. We had the crown jewels of Christ, and we traded them for the tawdry rhinestones of this corrupt world and its system.

We aren't going to take America back. By God's grace, a remnant will be purified as Christ's true church and prepared as a chaste bride for her Lord. America's gone. The Republicans are a moral train wreck and are sitting in the disgrace the deserve. What counts most is God's Kingdom. As the great hymn puts it, "the body they may kill, God's Truth abideth still, His Kingdom is forever."

Additionally, it is wise for all of us to remember the instructions in Ephesians 6 about wearing the full armor of God. Satan is out to destroy, and immorality seems to be his number one vehicle these days. We are all vulnerable to his attacks without the armor God has provided. None of us are too good, too pure to fall into sin, whatever form it may take. Crosstalk recently re-aired a program on Pure Life Ministries, headed up by someone who Satan also tried to destroy. His testimony is that God is faithful and can change the hearts of those enmeshed in that kind of sin. God can heal and change hearts, but Satan can leave a path of destruction in our lives if we allow him to have a foothold.

This is why we need to be sober, and watch and pray. We don't need to give the enemy more credit than he is due, but we also need to remember the warnings of Scripture, that he walks about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Outside of Christ, none of us can face this lion down. In Christ, however, we can have the victory.

But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
–Romans 15:57