MELVIN M. NEWLAND, MINISTER RIDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK
(Much of this sermon and the following one, "Blessed Is the Nation...Part 2," came from books by David Barton, and excerpts from other sermons. At the time I prepared this sermon I was much more engrossed in preparing the message than in taking the time to footnote the sources.)
A. Let’s suppose that sometime this week you turned on the TV News & heard these 3 announcements:
#1 - “The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court has just issued this statement: ‘Divine Providence (that’s God) has given to our people the choice of their rulers, & it is the duty… of our Christian nation to select & prefer Christians for their rulers.’" (Letter to John Murray, Oct. 12, 1816)
#2 - “Inquiries by our reporters reveal that almost every state legislature has now passed a law requiring all elected officials to take this oath: ‘I do profess faith in God the Father, & in the Lord Jesus Christ His only Son… & I do acknowledge the holy scriptures of the Old & New Testaments to be given by divine inspiration.’"
#3 - “Legislation was passed today in Congress to affirm that, ‘The Congress of the United States approves of & recommends … the Holy Bible for use in the schools.’”
What do you think the response to these announcements would be, especially in the media? I think there would be more reaction to them than we could even imagine. But the amazing thing is this: Every one of these statements is historically accurate & factual.
It was John Jay, the very first Chief Justice & often called the “Father” of the Supreme Court, one of the primary writers of our Constitution, who wrote, "It is the duty… of our Christian nation to select & prefer Christians for their rulers."
It was the state of Delaware (along with most of the others) which required officeholders to take an oath affirming their Christian faith before they could take office. And they had a very logical reason for that requirement.
And not only did Congress in 1782 approve the use of the Bible in our schools, they even paid for them with tax dollars. And, in 1844, when someone sued to remove them, the Supreme Court ruled: “Why should not the Bible, & especially the New Testament, be read & taught as a divine revelation in the schools? Where can the purest principles of morality be learned so clearly or so perfectly as from the New Testament?”
Just think about this: If these people, who were so instrumental in establishing our nation, were here to say & do those things in our country today, they’d be considered right-wing radicals, & a threat to our nation. And I don’t think that’s an exaggeration.
B. We’ve gone a long ways away from our roots as Americans. So, one of my goals this morning is to do a little bit of education. In fact, this message is more of a history lesson than a Bible lesson, & that bothers me because I’d rather preach Bible-based sermons where I take a passage of Scripture & explain what it says, & do my best to apply its message to the needs of our lives today.
It bothered me so much a few years ago that I talked it over with the men who met regularly on Friday mornings for a time of Bible Study & prayer. We came to the conclusion that there is so much about our early history that most Americans just don’t know. And what finally convinced me to go ahead with this type of sermon was this statement: “People need to know this, & if they don’t hear it at church, where will they hear it?”
Our school systems & colleges & universities have become so secularized - so distanced from religion - that huge chunks of information about the spiritual roots of our nation are neglected, & unless you hear it from Christians, where will you hear it?
PROP. So, here are some things that are worth knowing about the roots of our nation, about what’s right with America:
I. AMERICA WAS SETTLED BY PEOPLE LOOKING FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
The first thing right with America is that our earliest settlers were people who came here primarily looking for religious freedom. Other nations, for the most part, came into existence by conquest for selfish & ambitious motives. But it was primarily in the atmosphere of God, not gold, that America was born.
ILL. The hardy souls who sailed on the Mayflower in 1620 fled from tyranny & oppression. And in the Mayflower Compact which they signed beneath the swinging lantern in the cabin of their ship, they proclaimed that they had come to the new world for "the glorie of God & the advancement of the Christian faith."
ILL. In the early colonies the first public building to be erected was a church house & the first public exercise was the worship of Almighty God. When sorrow came they gathered at the church to appeal to God for help. When bountiful harvests filled their barns they gathered at the church for thanksgiving to God.
ILL. In 1643, as more & more people arrived on these shores, they joined together to form “The New England Confederation.” They wrote a constitution, the first constitution written in the New World, & it began with these words: “Whereas we all came into these parts with one & the same end & aim, namely to advance the kingdom of our lord Jesus Christ, & to enjoy the liberties of the gospel in purity & peace…"
These are our spiritual forefathers who came to the shores of America so they could worship & practice their faith without fear of persecution. So the first thing that’s right with America is that its earliest settlers came here primarily looking for religious freedom.
II. OUR FOUNDERS HAD A STRONG DESIRE TO BE PLEASING TO GOD & TO DO HIS WILL
A. The second thing right with America is that the founders of our nation had a strong desire to be pleasing to God & to do His will.
But before I go any further, please remember that around 150 years passed by from the time of the earliest settlers to the beginning of our nation. And we’re not very proud of some of the things that happened during those years.
You see, as time passed, & the original settlers died off, many of their descendants were more concerned with increasing their wealth & comfortable living than being faithful to God & His Word. And as wave after wave of immigrants arrived, many of them came for other reasons & with entirely different motives than those earliest settlers.
For example, whether out of concern for them, or just to get rid of those considered “undesirable,” England began a program of emptying its prisons by making it possible for prisoners to come to the New World as “indentured servants.” At the same time, the King of England granted vast tracts of land in the New World to his special friends, & slavery was introduced into the colonies to work these plantations.
The spiritual atmosphere deteriorated rapidly. Churches were dying & many of them that had once sought religious freedom for themselves were now being intolerant of others. And it was during this time that some went off in strange spiritual directions.
ILL. For example, in 1692 a slave girl was brought by her master to live in Salem, Massachusetts. She began to tell young girls there wild & vivid tales about the power of Voodoo, & it wasn’t long until fear filled the community & the Salem Witch Trials began.
The end result of it all was that by 1730, only about 10% of the people in the Colonies attended church at all. That which had begun “for the glorie of God & the advancement of the Christian faith” had almost disappeared from our land. By the way, much of what you hear derogatory about our early history comes out of this period. Those who oppose Christianity love to point out the faults of that time.
B. But then something amazing happened! Beginning in 1734, a handful of preachers – Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, Gilbert Tennant, John Wesley, & others – began to preach in the churches & in the streets & in the fields. These soon turned into great crusades & revivals that spread throughout the 13 Colonies.
So many people came to Christ that that era came to be known as “The Great Awakening.” Tens of thousands dedicated their lives to Jesus Christ & were baptized. So many people came to hear Whitefield as he traveled the colonies that he had to hold open-air meetings because there just wasn’t enough room in the churches.
ILL. Benjamin Franklin wrote, “It was wonderful to see the change soon made in the manners of our inhabitants. From being thoughtless or indifferent about religion, it seemed as if all the world were growing religious, so that one could not walk through the town in an evening without hearing psalms sung in different families of every street.”
In fact, Franklin was so impressed with George Whitefield's preaching that he helped build an auditorium to accommodate the crowds of up to 30,000 that came to hear Whitefield preach. By the way, Philadelphia had a population of only 25,000 at that time. People were coming from everywhere to hear these preachers preach!
And it was not just in Philadelphia, it was all throughout the 13 Colonies. And openly-devout Christians were no longer just 10% of the population. Now they made up 50% or more.
C. Why am I telling you all this? Because this “Great Awakening” was a precursor to the American Revolution. Our Founding Fathers, the signers of the Declaration of Independence, those who wrote our Constitution & the Bill of Rights, those who put their lives on the line, who fought & died that we might be free – all these grew up & came into leadership while this “Great Awakening” was engulfing the land. The generation that experienced the “Great Awakening” became the leaders of the American Revolution!
ILL. Check out this prayer recorded in the personal diary of George Washington, & in his own handwriting: "Let my heart, gracious God, be so affected with Your glory & majesty that I may ... discharge those weighty duties which thou requirest of me ... Again, I have called on thee for pardon & forgiveness of sins ... for the sacrifice of Jesus Christ offered on the cross for me. Thou gavest thy Son to die for me; & hast given me assurance of my salvation."
I don’t care what you have heard about George Washington from the modern debunkers of our history. He was a devout Christian! And he wasn’t alone in his faith!
ILL. Over a 10-year period, political-science professors at the University of Houston collected & cataloged 15,000 writings by the founding fathers. Their goal was to determine the primary source of ideas behind the Constitution by identifying the sources quoted most often by them. Guess what that primary source was? It was the Bible. 94% of the quotes of the founders of our nation were based upon the Bible.
SUM. The point of all this is that the cultural environment on the eve of the American Revolution was undeniably spiritual. And this focus dramatically affected the men & women who gave birth to this nation.
III. AMERICA WAS FOUNDED BY MEN & WOMEN WHO ACKNOWLEDGED GOD’S SUPREME RULE OVER MEN & NATIONS
Here’s the third thing that I think is right with America: “America was founded by men & women who acknowledged God’s supreme rule over men & nations.” They weren’t perfect. They weren’t all devout Christians, but they all acknowledged that God was the supreme ruler over man & over nations.
ILL. Sometime you ought to read again the Declaration of Independence. Most of you are familiar with the prologue that says,
"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, & the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”
They’re saying, "We want a form of government whose job is to protect what the Creator has given to each of us." Then, after listing a series of charges against the actions of the King of England, they make two more references to God:
"We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, assembled,” (listen to this) “appealing to the Supreme Judge of the World…” They’re saying that God is the Supreme Judge of the World!
And then they end their Declaration with these words: “And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence” (that’s God), “we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes & our sacred honor.”
I’ve seen a painting of the first Continental Congress. And many of you have heard the story of how they were discussing & debating the Declaration of Independence. Finally, one of them suggested they all get on their knees & ask God what should be done. And these gramers of the Declaration of Independence all went to their knees as one man & began to pray & seek the wisdom & guidance of God.
ILL. John Adams, in a letter he wrote to his wife, Abigail, about the meeting of the First Continental Congress, said, “The most amazing thing occurred. Even the stern old Quakers had tears gushing down their cheeks.”
Wouldn’t it be wonderful today if our president, our congress, & our Supreme Court, if they would just get down on their knees like our forefathers did & ask, "God, what do you want for this nation?"
ILL. At the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Samuel Adams, often called the "Father of the Revolution," declared: "We have this day restored the Sovereign to Whom all men ought to be obedient. He reigns in Heaven, & from the rising to the setting of the sun, let His Kingdom come."
So that’s the third thing that’s right with America: “America was founded by men & women who acknowledged God’s supreme rule over men & nations.”
CONCL. Now folks, I’m not anywhere near through with the things I would like to say about the beginning of our nation. But I’m going to stop at this point in my sermon. Before I do, though, let me give you just an idea of the things that I’m skipping.
First of all, I believe that America was protected & directed by God from the very start. The British Empire at that time possessed the most powerful fighting forces on the face of the earth. The ragtag assembly of volunteers, farmers & tradesmen who composed the ranks of the Continental Army were out-manned, out-gunned, & out-financed. Only a miracle could have brought them success. And I know of at least 2, maybe 3, miracles for which there are no logical explanations.
Again, American Government is patterned after & based on Biblical principles. Where did they get the idea for 3 branches of government? They got it right out of the Bible, that’s where. And there’s more. But let me go on.
Again, American law as written by our founding fathers guarantees our religious freedom to practice & proclaim our faith, regardless of what the Supreme Court may say today. Now I have a lot that I would like to say about that, but maybe later.
Oh yes, I also have some thrilling stories about how our young people are standing up for their rights, & refusing to let anyone quench their faith & their witness for God.
Well, I don’t have time to talk about all that this morning, but if enough of you are interested, I’ll consider finishing this sermon later.
ILL. By the way, do you know what the tallest structure in Washington, D.C. is? It’s the Washington Monument. And by law, nothing taller than the Washington Monument can be built there. And do you know what is inscribed at the pinnacle of the Washington Monument? These words in Latin from scripture: "Let God be praised."
There may be legislators who don’t know that. There may be presidents who don’t know that. There may be Supreme Court justices who don’t know that. But at the very top, the pinnacle of our nation’s capitol are these words, "Let God be praised." O America, lift up your eyes & praise God for the greatness & the blessings of this country in which we live. Let’s pray.
