“One Nation Under God?”
Pre-service Clip -- Patriotic Countdown: ‘Happy 4th of July” From sermonspice.com
Opening Illustration: “America” - Movie Clip from sermonspice.com
Thesis: The United States was founded as “One Nation Under God” and in the past we really did “Trust in God” as our money states.
Scripture Text:
Romans 1:16, 17:
16I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 17For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”
2 Timothy 1:3-14:
3I thank God, whom I serve, as my forefathers did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. 4Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. 5I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. 6For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.
8So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, 9who has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, 10but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. 11And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. 12That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.
13What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. 14Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.
Introduction:
I open this message this morning reflecting on the above Scripture Texts. It’s important to hear the heartbeat of Paul. He is making a statement to the recipients of these two letters and also to us today in America. He makes it clear that he is not ashamed of the message of the Gospel. He also in a indirect way asks the question, ‘Are you ashamed of the Gospel which has saved you?” He then would respond, “Don’t be! Because it is the power of God which led us to salvation!” “Don’t be! Because it is that which brings life or death to a person’s life!” I read Paul’s declaration and I can feel his passion for the Gospel because within it is found right standing with God, within it is found a personal relationship with God Almighty. Remember Paul is writing to the Christians in Rome which at this point in history it still a heathen city filled with every type of sin and vice imaginable. He tells the Christians “Don’t be ashamed of the Gospel!” Stand up and be the witness that Jesus wants you to be, “Saints of God live the life of faith to those around you and do not be ashamed that you are living for the Savior!” Wow what a challenge for this church to hear and to respond too! By the way remember that this group of believers does go on to impact this city and eventually the whole Roman Empire and it eventually does become a Christian nation.
Paul makes a similar plea in 2 Timothy to a young minister. It’s important to note were and why he writing this letter to Timothy. These words are from a dying man who sees into his future and beholds his imminent death. He is giving advice to one of his protégé’s because he knows with in a short time he will be martyred for because of the Gospel. So he writes carefully and pointedly to this young minister and offers him great insight and wisdom. His dying word’s are, “Timothy remember your Christian Heritage from your ancestors and fan into a flame the gift God which He has bestowed upon you.” In other words Paul is saying, “Timothy let the Fire of Heaven ignite you for God and use His gifts which are in you to change the world!” He goes on to say to this young man that the Gospel is to be presented with boldness and fierceness to this lost and dying of world. He reminds this young man that the Gospel is not a weak and timid message but a message filled with the power to bring life and death to its hearers.
He goes on to say that Timothy should never be ashamed of the results of preaching the Gospel and that He should join him in his suffering by picking up the mantle and preaching it to all. He reminds Timothy that he should do this because he himself experienced this great gift of salvation. He goes onto say, “Guard this good deposit made by God in you and that has been entrusted to you.” In other words don’t lose it or allow someone to steal it away but guard it with the help and the power of the Holy Spirit. I want to ask each of you a question today as Christian in America, “Do you feel the passion and the urgency of what Paul is saying to this young minister and to the Christians in Rome?”
I believe that I have another prophetic message to each one of you here at New Life Community Church. I pray you hear the passion and the urgency of this message which I believe is from the Holy Spirit today.
The Spirit would say to each of us today, “Do not be ashamed of the Gospel message in America! I have called you my sons and daughters to share this message of power, love and hope to this nation. Your hope is found in the faith of your ancestors who bestowed upon you a citizenship in this country and a covenant relationship with God in heaven. This country is a gift from above and it is to be “One nation under God.” This nation was formed and birthed by prayer, by commitment to the Gospel, by sacrifice and by obedience. This is a nation that is and was founded “On trust in God.” Its only hope for the future is found in the message of the Gospel and in following its direction. I encourage you to fan into a fire the gift of God in your personal lives. If you do then once again this nation will blaze brightly by the fire of God. Beware of the liars and the deceivers and make sure that you guard the Christian heritage of this nation. Be committed to guarding the truth of the Gospel in your hearts. Tell the lost and the deceived the truth about God’s signature on America. You are to go forth with my power and behold the beginning of the 3rd Great Awakening that is about to be poured out on this nation over the next year.”
This word is a challenge to us to have us look into our past as a nation and to see the signature of God over her.
The founders of America had a dream and that was to create a “Nation Under God.” Columbus himself believed that he was to bring the light to this New World for the Lord Jesus. He felt called to be the “Bearer of the Light” as his name conveys. When he discovered the New World on the island of San Salvador named after the Holy Savior. He knelt down with his men and said:
O Lord, Almighty and Everlasting God,
By Thy holy Word Thou hast created the heaven,
And the earth, and the sea;
Blessed and glorified be Thy name, and praised be Thy Majesty,
which hath deigned to use us, Thy humble servants,
that Thy holy Name may be proclaimed in this second part of the earth” (Moore, page 12).
After praying this prayer Columbus erected a wooden cross and once again recited a brief prayer on his knees, thanking God for the discovery of the New World and then claiming it on behalf of the Christian faith. If you study his history you quickly discover his call.
The Pilgrims who arrived in America also believed that they were called by God to form a Christian Nation in this New World. So they drew up the famous Mayflower Compact. An excerpt from this historical document reveals its intent, “We are knit together in a body in a most strict and sacred bond and covenant of the Lord…” (16, We Can Change America). They also pledged themselves in the covenant compact to settle this land for the glory of God, and for the advancement of the Christian faith to the lost of this New World. Whitemarsh states, “The founding fathers envisioned the growth of a mighty nation under God. Governor William Bradford expressed their hope”…As one small candle may light a thousand so the light here kindled hath shown unto man, yea in some sort to our whole nation; let the glorious name of Jehovah have all the praise” (16, We Can Change America).
Winthrop the Puritan leader in 1649 saw the establishment of the Puritan community in New England as a permanent settlement in the New World as a part of God’s great plan. He was convinced that they the Puritans were God’s chosen people called by Him to help form a “Nation under God.” He felt they were in his own words “God’s candlesticks.” He wrote the famous work called “A Model of Christian Charity” and from that work comes the famous thought spoken about by Moore, “In his unforgettable line, adapted from Matthew 5:14, he saw the Puritans, those indefatigable Calvinists who believed in Predestination, as establishing nothing less than a ‘shining city upon a hill,’ in which ‘the eyes of all people are upon us.’ It was an image that both Presidents John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan would brandish more than three hundred years later to describe their own visions for America” (Page 18, One Nation Under God).
T.S. The question has been raised over the last 40 years whether the United States of America was founded as, “One Nation Under God?” Today I want to walk you through some of the historical roots of the United States and prove to you that she does have the signature of God on her. American History verifies the fact that she was founded as One Nation Under God. If you research the founding of early America you quickly discover that every settlement was established by Christian men and women who felt called by God to come to the New World.
I. The Early settlers of the East Coast felt that they were sent here by God!
a. The Jamestown’s colony was a disaster because of pride, laziness and greed but there were those who came to this colony believing that the Lord had sent them.
i. Robert Hunt was the light in the midst of darkness in Jamestown. It is reported that he was the only man in Jamestown willing to suffer the loss of all things to gain Christ. After his death it is noted the colony collapsed because he was perhaps the only man of prayer left in the colony. The sentiments of those he left behind were placed on his memorial which stated:
1. “He was an honest, religious and courageous Divine; He preferred the service of God to every thought of ease at home. He endured every privation, yet none ever heard him repine. During his life, our factions were oft healed and our greatest extremities so comforted that they seemed easy in comparison with what he endured after his memorable death. We all received from him Holy Communion together as a pledge of reconciliation, for we all loved him for his exceeding goodness. He planted the first Protestant church in America, and laid down his life in the foundation of Virginia” (Marshall, page 96).
ii. But even this colony of Jamestown in 1610 required all their residents to attend prayer meeting morning and night.
1. Captain John Smith on his transatlantic voyages required and stipulated that psalms and prayers be made everyday on their journey over the sea.
2. This habit of prayer was instituted in the colony until their pastor died.
b. The Pilgrims also came to America convinced that they were following the will of God.
i. I remember when Kathy and I toured the Mayflower 2 in Boston and where surprised at how small and confined it was under deck.
1. I thought to myself man I would never have endured a 3 month long trip over stormy seas to get to America! One can only recall that history tells us that they endured it by singing psalms and hymns the whole way and by praying. This gave them the strength to press on to the Promised Land.
2. A few years later with the girls we got the privilege to tour the replica of the Plimouth Plantation and hear the stories about these amazing settlers.
a. It was obvious that this was a Christian town with an emphasis on worshipping and serving the Lord.
b. From our visit I could see God’s signature on this settlement and His call on these people.
ii. Upon their arrival to the New World the leadership of the Pilgrims realized they had to come up with a covenant agreement which was called the Mayflower Compact.
1. Marshall notes, “While the pilgrims had no idea how significant this document was to be, it marked the first time in recorded history that free and equal men had voluntarily covenanted together to create their own new civil government. (here is the compact):
a. In the name of God, amen. We whose names are under –written, the loyal subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord King James by the Grace of God of Great Britain, France , Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, etc. Having undertaken, for the glory of God and advancement of the Christian faith and honor of our King and country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia, do by these presents solemnly and mutually in the presence of God and one another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic, for our better ordering and preservation and furtherance of the ends aforesaid, and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute and frame such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions and offices from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the colony. Unto which we promise all due submission and obedience. In witness whereof we have hereunder subscribed our names at Cape Cod, the 11th of November, in the year of the reign of our Sovereign King James of England…Anno Domini 1620 (120).
b. Later on in America this document would resurface and play a role in the original founding document of this country.
i. Bradford the Governor according to Marshall wrote, ‘being thus arrived in good harbor and brought safe to land, they fell upon their knees and blessed the God of Heaven, who had brought them over the vast and furious ocean, and delivered them from all the perils and miseries thereof, again to set their feet on the firm and stable earth, their proper element. And no marvel if they were thus joyful…’ They had begun their long journey by kneeling on the dock at Delhaven to ask God’s blessing; they ended it on the sands of Cape Cod, kneeling to thank Him for that blessings” (121).
iii. The Pilgrims pressed through and God supplied and provided and eventually they thrived. Upon their thriving they held a celebration to remember how far God had brought them and to given Him thanks for His blessings.
1. The celebration of Thanksgiving came after enduring years of hardship but in 1623 the Pilgrims experienced and abundant corn harvest and ended up with surplus and they celebrated with their friends the Indians the first Thanksgiving in America.
2. Video Clip: From Bluefish TV - Thanksgiving and quotes of our forefathers.
iv. Marshall adds this concluding thought about the Pilgrims, “These Pilgrims were a mere handful of Light-bearers, on the edge of a vast and dark continent. But the Light of Jesus Christ was penetrating further into the heart of America. William Bradford would write with remarkable discernment, ‘As one small candle may light a thousand, so the light kindled here has shown unto many, yea in some sort to our whole nation…We have noted these things so that you might see their worth and not negligently lose what your fathers have obtained with so much hardship.’” (144).
c. The Puritans also felt called by God to come to the New World to establish a nation that was free to worship God and to fulfill His will.
i. These communities also were centered a round worship and commitment to God and His Word.
1. The Puritans would meet on Sunday to worship the Lord and to be taught His Divine Word.
a. They had such a hunger for the Word of God that they expected their Preachers to preach for at least 2 hours or more.
i. If a preacher only preached for ¾ of an hour they would speak of him as a crippled horse without any depth or strength to him.
b. The church actually voted in each year a sergeant-at-arms who was in charge of collecting the tithes from the congregation. They were also the enforcer at the Sunday service. This man would be responsible for keeping the audience alert throughout the service.
i. This enforcer carried a pole with a feather on one end to awaken the ladies if they fell asleep and a brass knob on the other end to awaken the man who may snooze off.
ii. The Puritans influence is still seen throughout our nation today. We once again see the signature of God on this group of people and how God used them to help birth this Great Nation.
T.S. – We see that the first settlers in the New England area came to the New World to fulfill a call they believed the Lord had given them. They were convinced that they were to start a place were they were free to worship God and be apart of the New Jerusalem.
II. The middle colony era began emerging in 1682 in what is now Pennsylvania and under the leadership of William Penn.
a. William Penn established a colony North of Maryland in 1682 which enforced religious tolerance among the different Christian sects who settled there.
i. He himself was a convert to the Quakers and as they moved into Penna. They did not just take land from the native Americans they actually bought it from them.
1. When the colony was established it quickly became the home of the Quakers, the Mennonites, the Moravians, the Schwenkfelders, and the Dunkards (Church of Bretheren).
a. Morre notes, “These settlers came from England, Ireland, France, Wales, Scotland, Germany, Bohemia, and Sweden (22).
2. Prayer was a major emphasis in this community of diverse believers in Christ.
a. William Penn actually wrote a prayer for Philadelphia which today still hangs in Philadelphia’s City Hall:
i. An thou, Philadelphia, the Virgin settlement of this province named before thou wert born, what love, what care. What service and what traveil have there been to bring thee forth and preserve thee from such as would abuse and defile thee. O that thou mayest be kept from the evil that would overwhelm thee. That faithful to God of thy mercies, in the Life of Righteousness, thou mayest be preserved to the end. My soul prays to God for thee, that thou mayest stand in the day of trial, that thy children may be blest of the Lord and thy people saved by His power (Moore, One Nation Under God, page 23).
ii. The reason Philadelphia was called the city of brotherly love was because all these Christian groups had different styles of worship and devotion to the Lord but they all got along with each other.
1. They loved each other in spite of their differences.
b. Whitemarsh notes this about William Penn, “William Penn, the Quaker founder of Pennsylvania, drew up the famous “Frame of Government” which guaranteed every free man a vote and religious freedom for all. Penn said that the way to make citizens good was to convert them to Christ. Imagine the uproar if the governor of your state said that today” (17).
T.S. – We see that William Penn and the Quakers also believed that they were led here by the Lord to form a place were people were free to worship God as they felt led. There was a lot of different types of Christian groups coming to America in this era to be apart of forming this New World for the Lord Jesus Christ.
III. The Catholic’s also impacted America as well with the Gospel during the early and middle era of the founding of this nation.
a. Throughout the continent of this great nation during the early 1500’s into the mid 1600’s Catholic groups moved into the interior of America.
i. Moore notes that, “Protestant and family-orientated colonies (sprang up) along the east coast, Catholic Spain and France sent their male explorers and priests to areas north , south and west of the British-held territory along the Atlantic corridor…Although major religious orders were not necessarily confined to strict geographical regions, each one exerted special influence in specific areas. The Dominicans made their mark primarily in Florida, the Gulf Coast, and Texas. The Jesuits, through their leaders Fathers Jacques Marquette and Isaac Joques, settled in lands along the Mississippi from Canada to the Gulf Coast. The Franciscans under Father Louis Hennepin established a presence west of the Mississippi in areas like Missouri, Iowa, and Minnesota, while Father Junipero Serra extended Franciscan control throughout most of modern day California. It was estimated that in the first two decades of the settlement of “New Spain” alone, as many as ten million Native Americans may have been baptized” (23, 24).
1. Many of the priests who came to America would tell and write that they felt God was calling them to this New World to spread the Gospel and establish a place that honored and worshipped Him.
2. Many of these priests paid the price for their call and for presenting the Gospel to the natives with their lives.
T.S. – Its important to note that many of the young priests who came to this land came to convert the Native Americans and to usher in the Gospel to these lost people. They were continuing to bear the light which Columbus started in the Bahamas. It’s important to note that these men of God came not for gold but for God.
IV. The Era of the preachers and the message of salvation.
a. With the establishment of many colonies by the mid 1600’s another wave of God would come across this great nation. This wave of God helped to re-establish this future nation’s covenant with God. This divine move of God would secure the solid foundation for the birth of this new nation and for the future of the American people.
i. Moore calls it the, “The Preachers – 1640-1750” (29).
1. A group of zealous preachers began to come to America and emerge from the scenes of America with a message and a call for purity - devotion – sacrifice –hard work and commitment to Jesus Christ.
2. Moore notes, “They unquestionably believed Divine Providence had reserved this vast, unspoiled land to allow them, as God’s instruments, to make good mankind’s spiritual destiny” (29).
a. These men set God and prayer as their focus and they went around the East Coast preaching the message of Jesus Christ.
b. The influx and rise of these many preachers created a zeal for the things of God in this birthing place for a new Nation Under God.
i. The churches became centers for zeal for God and revival meetings broke out across the New World.
b. The impact was so significant that even schools emerged onto the scene. Moore notes, “Every college established before the Revolutionary War was founded and headed by successive ministers who extolled the virtues of Puritan doctrine and promoted prayer as an inseparable part of a student’s educational curriculum” (30).
i. Some of the schools?
1. Harvard founded 1636
2. Yale founded 1701
3. Princeton founded 1746
c. The Great Awakening emerges out of this time frame and a “Sunburst of Light” hits colonial America:
i. It is said to have begun in New Jersey about 1720 with revival meetings in the Raritan Valley led by a Dutch Reformed pastor, Theodorus Jacobus Frelinghuysen, who emphasized the religion of the heart over doctrine and liturgy. It was carried on throughout the Middle Colonies under the leadership of zealous evangelical graduates of the Log College, founded in Pennsylvania about 1726 by Presbyterian William Tennent. In New England the movement was led by the stirring preaching of Congregationalist Jonathan Edwards at Northampton, Massachusetts. These and other revivalistic activities were stimulated in the years 1739 to 1741 by the tours of the English evangelist, George Whitefield. The activities spread with the preaching of Presbyterian Samuel Davies in Virginia and with later efforts of Baptists and Methodists in other parts of the South (from: http://etcweb.princeton.edu/CampusWWW/Companion/founding_princeton.html).
ii. Princeton.edu also states, “The Great Awakening, the series of religious revivals that swept the English colonies in America in the eighteenth century. The Great Awakening had other important social and political consequences, too. It brought an upsurge in missionary activities among the Indians and the first important movement against slavery. Of special importance for Princeton, it increased opposition to the Anglican Church and the royal officials who supported it, and created a democratic spirit in religion that was allied to the insistence on political home rule that eventually brought independence from Britain.”
iii. Marshall and Manuel state in their book “The Light and The Glory” this, “We came to see that the Great Awakening was actually a reawakening of a deep national desire for the Covenant Way of Life. This yearning did not die with the passing of the Puritan era, but only went dormant. It was a desire which would produce a new generation of clergyman who would help to prepare America to fight for her life” (240).
1. It’s important to note that the Great Awakening spread across Colonial America like a wild fire driven by the wind. It impacted society in such a dramatic way that it brought people to their knees before God.
iv. The history books report Mass conversions across the colonies.
1. Marshall and Manuel note this about it’s impact in 1734 – 1735 on the town of Northhampton, Massachusetts:
a. Perhaps God chose Edwards’s parish because he had recently been preaching ever bolder sermons against the popular notion that man, by his own efforts, can accomplish the purposes of God, rather than solely by enabling of His grace…For whatever reason, the lightning did fall, and no one was more astonished than Edwards himself… He did a first class job of reporting God’s lightning storm in his Narrative of Surprising Conversions: ‘the Spirit of God began extraordinarily to…work amongst us…Presently upon this, a great and earnest concern about the great things of religion and the eternal world became universal in all parts of the town and among persons of all degrees and all ages…And the work of conversion was carried on in a most astonishing manner and increased more and more; souls did, as it were, come by flocks to Jesus Christ…in the spring and summer following , Anno 1735, the town seemed to be full of the presence of God. It was so full of love, nor so full of joy…there were remarkable tokens of God’s presence in almost every house. It was a time of joy in families on the account of salvation’s being brought unto them, parents rejoicing over their children as new born, and husbands over their wives, and wives over their husbands…The goings of God were then seen in His sanctuary, God’s day was a delight and His tabernacles were amiable. Our public assemblies were then beautiful; the congregation was alive in God’s service, everyone earnestly intent on the public worship, every hearer eager to drink the words of the minister as they came from his mouth. The assembly in general were, from time to time, in tears while the word was preached, some weeping with sorrow and distress, others with joy and love, others with pity and concern for their neighbors…There were many instances of person that came from abroad, on visits or on business…who partook of the shower of divine blessing that God rained down here and went home rejoicing. Till at length the same work began to appear and prevail in several other towns in the country… South Hadley … Suffield … Deerfield… Hatfield …West Springfield … Long … Meadow …Enfield …Westfield … Northfield … In every place, God brought His saving blessings with Him, and His Word, attended with His Spirit…returned not void” (242-243).
b. This movement of God prepared the way for the birth of One Nation Under God and America’s break from England.
c. The preachers across Colonial America were calling people to repentance and declaring “No King but King Jesus!”
i. This became the battle cry of the Colonial Army by the way!
ii. The King of England did not like the many vocal pastors of the colonies and the attack he was taking for his unfair treatment of the Colonies.
T.S. – The Lord prepared the way for the people to break from tyranny and he used the voices of the preachers to pave the way and to show how victory would come over a superior force – by the hand of God.
V. The break from King to King Jesus.
a. The beginning of the Revolutionary War also points clearly to the fact that America was being formed officially as “One Nation Under God.”
i. Marshall notes when the dawn of war broke in 1775 the nation stood up after hearing the words of Patrick Henry’s famous speech given March 23 in the Virginia House of Burgesses:
1. There is no longer room for hope. If we wish to be free, we must fight! An appeal to arms and to God of Hosts is all that is left us! They tell me that we are weak, but shall we gather strength by irresolution? We are not weak. Three million people, armed in the holy cause of liberty and in such a country, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us. We shall fight alone. God presides over the destinies of nations, and will raise up friends for us. The battle is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave…Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, almighty God! I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death” (269)!
b. Marshall notes this about the war and the many miracles that accompanied the American Colonialist Army, “For it there is one thing that the Bible teaches, it is that God honors obedience with His blessings. He does not honor disobedience. We did find –in such abundance that we no longer needed to be concerned about ‘shoehorning coincidences’ to fit our theory. We found that even the British began to rue the fact that Divine Providence appeared to be favoring the American cause” (270).
i. In the sessions of Congress that spring and summer of 1776 came the debate about the war and the decision to be made. Marshall notes, “Should America seek to retain the security of her earlier relationship with the mother country? Should she put her trust in the vaunted ‘rights of Englishmen’? Should she seek reconciliation, and return to peace of former years at whatever price? Yes, was the opinion which prevailed in Philadelphia … The situation was reminiscent of the Israelites in the wilderness convincing one another that they had been better off in Egypt … it may well have been the unknown, and having to trust in God because there was nowhere else to turn, that was causing many delegates to Congress in 1776 to turn their thoughts to the past, wishing that they could go back … (301-302).
ii. But God was at work in the midst of the fear and the apprehension and he was leading these leaders forward into the founding of a new nation.
iii. After much debate and prayer the Congress adjourned for three weeks to put the decision to the people of each colony whether to declare independence or to submit to the British rule.
1. Franklin, Adams, Sherman and Jefferson hurried to draft a proposed declaration to be signed upon approval of the colonies.
c. This was the Declaration of Independence: IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776. The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
i. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world. He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions. In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people. Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends. We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
1. The 56 signatures on the Declaration appear in the positions indicated:
i. Column 1
Georgia:
Button Gwinnett
Lyman Hall
George Walton
ii. Column 2
North Carolina:
William Hooper
Joseph Hewes
John Penn
South Carolina:
Edward Rutledge
Thomas Heyward, Jr.
Thomas Lynch, Jr.
Arthur Middleton
iii. Column 3
Massachusetts:
John Hancock
Maryland:
Samuel Chase
William Paca
Thomas Stone
Charles Carroll of Carrollton
Virginia:
George Wythe
Richard Henry Lee
Thomas Jefferson
Benjamin Harrison
Thomas Nelson, Jr.
Francis Lightfoot Lee
Carter Braxton
iv. Column 4
Pennsylvania:
Robert Morris
Benjamin Rush
Benjamin Franklin
John Morton
George Clymer
James Smith
George Taylor
James Wilson
George Ross
Delaware:
Caesar Rodney
George Read
Thomas McKean
v. Column 5
New York:
William Floyd
Philip Livingston
Francis Lewis
Lewis Morris
New Jersey:
Richard Stockton
John Witherspoon
Francis Hopkinson
John Hart
Abraham Clark
vi. Column 6
New Hampshire:
Josiah Bartlett
William Whipple
Massachusetts:
Samuel Adams
John Adams
Robert Treat Paine
Elbridge Gerry
Rhode Island:
Stephen Hopkins
William Ellery
Connecticut:
Roger Sherman
Samuel Huntington
William Williams
Oliver Wolcott
New Hampshire:
Matthew Thornton
ii. These brave men stood up against a far superior force and placed their ultimate faith and trust in the Supreme judge of the world God!
d. Video Illustration from Blue Fish TV “1776” about the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
e. THE PRICE THEY PAID – From Illustrations Unlimited:
i. Have you ever wondered what happened to those fifty-six men who signed the Declaration of Independence? Five signers were captured by the British as traitors and tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons in the Revolutionary Army, another had two sons captured. Nine fought and died from wounds or the hardships of the Revolutionary War. What kind of men were they? Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists. Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners, men of means, well educated. But they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured. They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor. Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts and died in rags. Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward. Vandals or soldiers or both looted the properties of Ellery, Clymer, Hall, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton. At the Battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson, Jr., noted that the British General Cornwallis, had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. The owner quietly urged General George Washington to open fire, which was done. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt. Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife and she died within a few months. John Hart was driven from his wife’s bedside as she was dying. Their thirteen children fled for their lives. His fields and gristmill were laid waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home after the war to find his wife dead, his children vanished. A few weeks later he died from exhaustion and a broken heart. Norris and Livingston suffered similar fates. Such were the stories and sacrifices of the American Revolution. These were not wild-eyed, rabble-rousing ruffians. These were soft-spoken men of means and education. They had security, but they valued liberty more. Standing tall, straight and unwavering, they pledged: “For the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of the Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other, our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.” They gave us an independent America. Can we keep it?
1. Contrary to the lies you hear today these men were men of God and Christians and they knew were their strength to win would come from.
f. CHRISTIANITY AND PATRIOTISM became the way of the New Country from Illustration Unlimited:
i. Christianity and patriotism have much in common. It is significant to note that: Our patriotic hymn, “My Country, ’Tis of Thee,” was written by a Baptist clergyman, Samuel Francis Smith. The Pledge of Allegiance to the flag was written in 1892 by a Baptist minister, Francis Bellamy. The words, “In God We Trust,” carried on all of our coins, are traced to the efforts of the Rev. W. R. Watkinson of Ridleyville, Pennsylvania. His letter of concern, addressed to the Hon. S. P Chase, was dated November 13, 1861. Seven days later Mr. Chase wrote to James Pollock, Director of the U.S. Mint as follows: “No nation can be strong except in the strength of God, or safe except in His defense. The trust of our people in God should be declared on our national coins. Will you cause a device to be prepared without delay with a motto expressing in the finest and tersest words possible, this national recognition.” The president of the College of New Jersey, the Reverend John Witherspoon (Presbyterian), was the only clergyman to sign the Declaration of Independence. He is too much forgotten in our history books: John Witherspoon had a far-reaching influence on democracy. He had personally taught several of the signers of the document, and nine of them were graduates of the little college over which he presided at Princeton. When he took up his pen to put his name to the document, Witherspoon declared, “There is a tide in the affairs of men, a spark. We perceive it now before us. To hesitate is to consent to our own slavery. That noble instrument upon the table, that insures immortality to its author, should be subscribed this very morning by every pen in this house. He that will not respond to its accents, and strain every nerve to carry into effect its provisions, is unworthy of the name of free man. For my own part, of property I have some; of reputation, more. That reputation is staked, that property is pledged on the issue of this contest; and although these gray hairs must soon descend into the sepulcher, I would infinitely rather that they descend thither by the hand of the executioner than desert at this crisis the sacred cause of my country.”
ii. These men put their trust and faith in God – King Jesus – not in an earthly King and the Lord delivered them and protected them from defeat. The result was the forming of “One Nation Under God!”
Conclusion:
The United States grew quickly into a Great and powerful nation because of the protection and the guidance of the Lord. Whitemarsh in his book We Can Change America makes this observation about what was the success of United States tremendous growth and prosperity. The French Statesman Tocqueville came to America to seek to discover what made this such a Great Nation in the world. From his research and first hand experience he pin pointed the following reason for her greatness:
America, in the 19th century, was seen as the success model of the world. The famous French statesman and historian, Alexis de Tocqueville, came to discover why and wrote: I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her commodious harbors and he ample rivers, and it was not there. I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her fertile fields and boundless forests, and it was not there. I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her fertile fields and boundless forests, and it was not there. I sought for the greatness and the genius of America in her rich mines and he vast world commerce, and it was not there. I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her public school system and her institutions of learning, and it was not there. I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her democratic congress and he matchless constitution, and it was not there. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great (17, 18).
What an observation! America was great because of her goodness! She was great because the righteousness of her people! But he also prophetically warned this nation by also stating, “If America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great!”
All the historians writing before 1960 agreed that America was founded as indubitably as a Christian nation and was “One Nation Under God!”
* All 50 state constitutions refer to "God" and a higher power in them!
* Everyone of the country’s major anthems including “The Star-Spangled Banner,” “America” and “My Country Tis of Thee” speaks in some way about pray and God.
*The first book printed in America was a prayer book.
*The first songbook published in America was a hymnal.
*”In God We Trust” is printed on our money.
*The nation’s motto is “In God We Trust!”
*The following states have the following motto’s, Arizona – “God Enriches”; South Dakota’s - “Under God the People Rule;” Ohio’s - “With God All things Are Possible;” Colorado’s – “Nothing Without Providence.”
*When we stood in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol a few weeks back we viewed several large paintings to attest to America’s heritage this is what I saw: Columbus and his men kneeling in prayer after landing in the New World. A painting with Pocahontas in prayer as she is about to be baptized. Another painting were the Pilgrim families are praying with wonder as their ship speedwell embarks for America.
* As I walked around Washington I saw the signature of God on America!
*At the top of the Washington Monument etched in the peak at 555 feet these words “Praise be to God.”
*At the Jefferson Memorial chiseled in its walls this quote “The God who gave us life gave us liberty at the same time.”
*At the Lincoln Memorial is the entire text of Lincoln’s inaugural address which is a prayer in itself.
*I reflect back in our history and ever since the first oath was administered to George Washington in 1789, every President of the United States has invoked the name of God and prayer, either directly or indirectly, in his inaugural address.
*Most remarks made by the Oval office and its presidents have ended with “and may God Bless America.” (Information from Moore’s book One Nation Under God).
Let me say with out being ashamed “God’s signature is all over this nation and this nation is what it is today because of God’s protection, God’s intervention. God’s mercy, and God’s Word. God has been the power behind this nation and if this nation continues to drift away from God and try to remove God from her foundation it will fall with a great crash and all the world will watch and groan.”
I must come back to my early verses from the writings of the Apostle Paul and ask, “Has America and it citizens become ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Are we ashamed of our Christian heritage? Are we ashamed that it was His power which founded this nation and helped this nation to defeat Great Britain and to become what she is today?
I must ask the question whether some are trying hard to take the glory away from the Lord and place it on the shoulders of men?”
Reread the text Romans 1:16, 17:
16I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 17For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”
Altar Call: Are you ashamed of the Gospel Today in the United States? If you are not then stand up for what is right and be the witness Christ has called us to be in this nation so that revival will sweep through her again!
Things to do!
Vote for righteous people!
Pray for God to restore America again!
Pray and allow the fire of Heaven to use you to ignite the 3rd Great Awakening of this nation!
