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January 26 (Australia Day) is a time when we can be enormously grateful for Australia’s Christian heritage. 

Our Judeo-Christian values have made our country the envy of many – and why hundreds of thousands still desire to come to our shores every year. 

While far from perfect and with some tragic chapters, nevertheless, when Christian values have been consistently applied, Australia has built one of the most humane, compassionate, just and prosperous societies the world has ever known.

 As Ps Margaret Court and Indigenous Elder Ralph Winmar say in the video below, “Don’t let the radical few bring a spirit of division that is trying to separate as a people, to bring racism and antisemitism in our nation. Let’s stamp it out and be a voice of righteousness, truth and justice.”

Nations: Celebrating God’s Plan

The concept of a nation is not man-made but God-ordained. It was His intention from creation and repeated again right after the flood, that humanity spread out and form distinct countries (Genesis 9:1).

As Paul says in Acts 17:26 (NLT), “From one man, he created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries.”

God presides over the nations and works within them for His glory. Celebrating a nation – and God’s providential working within it – is both biblical and God-honouring.

Celebrating Australia’s National Christian Heritage

The first Christian church service was held in Australia on 3 February 1788 by Rev Richard Johnson, who arrived on the First Fleet. Among other roles, he was a military and prison chaplain, parish priest, and missionary to the Indigenous community.

National Christian Heritage Sunday – held on the first Sunday of February, which this year is 2 February – celebrates the first Christian service held in Australia in 1788.

Rev Johnson was mentored by John Newton (who wrote “Amazing Grace”) and sponsored as a chaplain by William Wilberforce! Johnson brought 100 Bibles and 400 New Testaments with him to aid him in his Christian work.

 The coming of the Gospel was an important part of the British government at the time. It is something to be immensely grateful for. As a result, the Gospel has freely gone out to every part of the continent. Australians still largely identify themselves as Christian of some description – including more than half of Indigenous people!

Rather than Australia Day being an occasion to continually dwell on grievances and division, Indigenous elder Ps James Dargin believes that 26 January should be a day of forgiveness, coming together, and moving forward – together – as a nation.

He wants his children and grandchildren to wake up on the 26th of January and say, “‘Happy unity day’, and hug and love each other.” You can watch James’ powerful message (recorded last year) in the video below!

Australia’s British history was the channel God used for the coming of the Gospel. It gave Australia not just any particular stream of Christianity but one that has led to a country, witnessing  “humbly relying on the blessings of Almighty God”. These are the words found in our constitution in 1901.

This Australia Day and National Christian Heritage Sunday, let’s celebrate Australia and the most precious gift given to it – the Gospel!

And let’s pray that revival, reformation and restoration come afresh to our nation so that many millions place their trust in Jesus as Messiah and Saviour from sin. As recently published in The Daily Declaration, let’s be “Praying for Our Nation Ahead of Australia Day“.

Yours for the continuing blessing of Almighty God through the Gospel, 

Samuel Hartwich & Warwick Marsh

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