Commitment to Country
Many people in our country uphold the belief that our founding fathers had no religious heritage in their lives at all. Most of our founding fathers were either deists or atheists. When they wrote the Constitution they wrote it with the intent in mind to keep God out of our lives completely. I mean, they actually put in there a “separation of church and state” clause. George Washington didn’t really have a belief in God and when he talked about God he just said things like, “Almighty Being” or “Higher Authority.” But he was never even devoted enough to call Him “God.” Benjamin Franklin, Benjamin Rush, Thomas Jefferson, they were all deists and didn’t even believe in the supernatural or in the deity of Jesus Christ. They only believed in a Higher Power and that Higher Power wasn’t even really interested in our lives. Why would they take this “god” that they didn’t even really have a relationship with and base our entire country’s foundation on him? That’s crazy right?
In 1787 delegates from numerous states had gathered in the city of Philadelphia to construct the U. S. Constitution, a plan of government that has now stood the test of time for over 200 years. They were to spend 4 long months laboring over this great foundational document that would produce the longest lasting democracy and have of freedom the world has ever known. However, things weren’t going too well during the first few weeks. There were heated debates over petty issues and the whole project was on the verge of total collapse. There had even been a proposal to dismiss and return to their respective states. In the midst of all this frustration and tension, the old statesman of the gathering, Benjamin Franklin stood to his feet, leaned on his cane, and addressed the President of the convention, George Washington. These are the words he spoke on June 28, 1787:
“Mr. President: The small progress we have made after four or five weeks close attendance and continual reasonings with each other - - - our different sentiments on almost every question, several of the last producing as man noes as ayes is, methinks, a melancholy proof of the imperfection of the human understanding. We indeed seem to feel our own want of political wisdom since we have been running about in search of it. In this situation of this Assembly, groping as it were in the dark to find political truth, and scarce able to distinguish it when presented to us, how has it happened, sir, that we have not hitherto once thought of humbly applying to the Father of lights, to illuminate our understanding? In the beginning of the contest with Great Britain, when we were sensible of danger, we had daily prayer in this room for the Divine protection. Our prayers, sir, were heard, and they were graciously answered. All of us who were engaged in the struggle must have observed frequent instances of a superintending Providence in our favor. To that kind Providence we owe this happy opportunity of consulting in peace on the means of establishing our future national felicity. And have we now forgotten that powerful Friend? Or do we imagine we no longer need His assistance? I have lived, sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth, that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probably that an empire can rise without His aid? We have been assured, sir, in the Sacred Writings, that ‘except the Lord build the House, they labor in vain that build it.’ I firmly believe this; and I also believe that without His concurring aid we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel: we shall be divided by our little partial local interests; our projects will be confounded, and we ourselves shall become a reproach and byword down to future ages. And what is worse, mankind may hereafter from this unfortunate instance, despair of establishing governments by human wisdom and leave it to chance, war, and conquest. I therefore beg leave to move - - - that henceforth prayers imploring the assistance of Heaven, and its blessings on our deliberations, be held in this Assembly every morning before we proceed to business, and that one or more of the clergy of this city be requested to officiate in that service.”
That speech had both immediate and ongoing results. The tensions melted, the atmosphere changed, and this group of men went on to construct the greatest constitution that has ever existed. Also, Congress began to start every session with prayer, a practice that continues to this present day! Incidentally, during the entire 4 months in which the Constitution, the 1st Amendment, and the Bill of Rights were being written, not one thing was said about ‘separation of church and state!’ In this prayer, Benjamin Franklin quotes from both Old and New Testaments of the Bible. There should be no doubt as to which “God” he is referring too! (www.christianamerica.com)
Benjamin Rush (1744-1813) a signer of the Declaration of Independence was considered by his peers to be one of the most prominent of the Founding Fathers, alongside Ben Franklin, George Washington, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson. Today, for the most part, he is unknown by most Americans. Read the incredible accomplishments of this very important founding father. As a physician he had no equal and was called the "Father of American Medicine" because of his numerous medical discoveries. He was also called the "Father of American Psychiatry", a statement found on his grave to this day. Benjamin Rush was also called the "Father of Public Schools under the Constitution" because he was the first to advance the idea of free public schools, and also a pioneer in the opportunity for women’s education. He helped Abigal Adam’s (John Adam’s wife) dream become a reality by establishing the Young Ladies Academy of Philadelphia, one of America’s first educational institutions for women. He wrote textbooks, formed curriculum plans, crafted educational policies, and helped establish five universities and colleges. As the founder of public education in America, listen to his definition of what education should contain:
"The only foundation for a useful education in a republic is to be laid in religion. Without this there can be no virtue, and without virtue there can be no liberty- - -"
On March 28, 1787 when Dr. Benjamin Rush proposed his plan for public education in America he wrote:
"Let the children who are sent to those schools be taught to read and write - - - (and) above all, let both sexes be carefully instructed in the principles and obligations of the Christian religion. This is the most essential part of education - -"
In another educational proposal he wrote:
"It will be necessary to connect all these (academic) branches of education with regular instruction in the Christian religion."
Benjamin Rush was a founder of the Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery and served as its president. His activities in the Christian faith included being the founder and vice-president of the Philadelphia Bible Society, which was America’s first Bible Society. He also helped found "The First Day Society" which was the beginning of Sunday Schools across America. Francis Scott Key, the author of The Star Spangled Banner later became the Vice-President for the American Sunday School Union. In 1791 Dr. Rush wrote a lengthy pamphlet entitled ’A Defense of the Use of the Bible as a Schoolbook’. Here is how that writing began:
"It is now several months since I promised to give you my reasons for preferring the Bible as a schoolbook to all other compositions. Before I state my arguments, I shall assume the five following propositions:
1. That Christianity is the only true and perfect religion; and that in proportion as mankind adopts its principles and obeys its precepts they will be wise and happy.
2. That a better knowledge of this religion is to be acquired by reading the Bible than in any other way.
3. That the Bible contains more knowledge necessary to man in his present state than any other book in the world.
4. That knowledge is most durable and religious instruction most useful, when imparted in early life.
5. That the Bible, when not read in schools, is seldom read in any subsequent period of life.
My arguments in favor of the use of the Bible as a schoolbook are founded - - -"
Benjamin Rush was another of the majority of the Founding Fathers who would be enraged at being called an atheist, agnostic, or deist! His stand as a Christian was undeniable.
www.christianamerica.com
For many of you talking this way, about our country’s heritage in this way, borders dangerously on politics and the pulpit. We are going to do our best to stay away from specific political agendas or viewpoints. Instead I want to focus on the Christian, God and our country. How do they go together? What about our country are we supposed to be committed to that has anything to do with God? Is there a connection between the two somehow? I’m so glad you asked because it just so happens that there is a connection between the two. Open your Bibles to
2 Chronicles 7:14 and let’s read what it says there. It says, “…and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” The first step a Christian must take in committing to our country from a biblical standpoint is to…
1. Pray
One of the Christian’s most powerful weapons for getting anything accomplished in this world is prayer. As Christians, do you really believe what that passage says? I want to point out it doesn’t say that the entire nation of good and bad guys must turn to Me. It says, “IF MY PEOPLE.” We could stop and look at our country and analyze everything that is happening. We could look at all of the political agendas; we could look at all the different groups trying to get their agendas across; we could look at all the apparent turmoil our world is in and blame it on a war. There are a lot of things that we can sit around and do. We can protest this law, or we can protest the Supreme Court on this issue. There are many options that the Christian has to get their point across. Guess which one we don’t use, that we are told to use in Scripture? We don’t just stop and pray. There are more Christians out there today who would rather get into a political argument with their neighbor who voted for a different candidate than they would just to stop and pray for the country and the state that it is in. If we would humbly stop and pray and seek God’s face, He says He will not only hear us, but He will also act. He will heal the land and He will remove our sin. I don’t know about you guys, but those promises sound pretty good to me.
As Christians here today we may not be able to agree on which candidate is right for whichever office, that is some instances is unfortunate, but there is one thing we can agree on; that our country needs prayer. And not only that, we need God to intercede and build us back up again. So, I don’t care which side of the political fence you are sitting on right now, if you are seeking God and you are humbly praying to Him for our country as you should be, then God will act in our world.
Let’s look at first Timothy 2:1-4 as well. It reads, “First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, in order that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” God desires for all men to be saved, He is pulling for them. And in that sense, our job of prayer in this world is even bigger than we may have at first realized. When you spend time in prayer for those “in authority”, the President, judges, Supreme Court Justices, etc., you are not only praying for them but you are praying that they will come to know Jesus Christ. As God cares for all men, we are to care enough about them to pray that somehow through someone those who lead us and make decisions for us will come to know Christ as their Savior.
Now prayer takes on a whole new meaning as we begin to realize that we are to be praying that people, those in authority specifically here, will come to know Jesus Christ. Just as Benjamin Franklin stopped the Constitution proceedings to spend time in prayer, we should be interrupting our busy lives to spend time in prayer, not only for ourselves, but for the leaders of our nation and for those who are in authority over us aside from political lines.
As Christians we still have more obligations to our country. We also have an obligation biblically to…
2. Get Involved
Joseph Goebbels, Nazi Germany’s Propaganda Minister, believed in the theory of the Big Lie: if you tell a lie, no matter how large, enough times, people will begin to believe it. This is actually a fact and is capable of being accomplished.
When I was in college, there was a guy in the dorm name Colby Combs. He wasn’t the brightest bulb in the box, but everyone on campus loved Colby. He was on the 6 year plan at Central. The relentless pranks on Colby were constant. One day, the guys in the dorm decided to try this theory out and tell a lie over and over and see if Colby would begin to believe it. They had heard about it in class and were excited to try it out on their new test dummy. At the beginning of the day around 7 am, one of the guys went up to Colby and said, “Colby, you don’t look so good. Do you feel okay?” And Colby of course responded, “I’m fine.” This continued throughout the entire morning. These guys would go up to Colby and say things like, “Colby, you look sick. Shouldn’t you be in bed?” And Colby stayed strong most of the morning and told them he was fine. But around lunch time and in the early afternoon he said to one of them, “You know, I don’t feel so good. I think I’m going to go to bed.” He had heard a lie enough times that he not only believed it, but he skipped the rest of his classes that day to go to his room and get some sleep.
Our country has been told a lie long enough and Christians along with everyone else, has bought into it. We all believe it. The lie is that the Constitution says that there should be a “separation of church and state.” Did you know that phrase isn’t in the Constitution? Did you know that most Law students don’t even know that because the majority of Law schools don’t even make you read the Constitution as a requirement for graduation? We are graduating students in Law to grow up and lead our country who aren’t even required to read the document our country is founded on, they are just told what it says. And they are told that there is a “separation of church and state” clause in the Constitution. That’s why it is important for the Christian to get involved.
Let’s look at Acts 17:11. It says, “Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily, to see whether these things were so.” The Christians at Berea weren’t taking Paul’s word as Bible. They were actually going to the Scripture to read for themselves to make sure Paul was right. Too many Christians are just buying into whatever is fed them today. I bet a lot of us here believe that there is supposed to be a “separation of church and state.” So this is my challenge to you; take an example from the Bereans and do some reading. Get online and look up the Constitution and read it word for word. It won’t take you that long. Then specifically read the 1st Amendment where this supposed clause is located. Don’t take my word for it, go and read it for yourselves. Look and see that what some people tell us is there, isn’t actually even there.
We are told Bibles and prayer can’t be in school because of this phrase. Well we already looked at the fact that the writer of the 1st Amendment didn’t have any problem with the Bible in school. In fact he said that it was the main book to be used in the classroom. Christians, we need to get involved in our country and open our eyes to what is really going on sometimes.
Proverbs 29:2 has something to say as well. It reads, “When the godly are in authority, the people rejoice. But when the wicked are in power, they groan.” May I ask you a question? In our system of government, how do the “godly” people that are talked about here get into a position of authority? It’s called voting. When voting began way back in the late 1700’s, 100% of Christians voted because they believed it to be their God ordained responsibility. Somewhere along the way, that thought process has been broken. Now that we need Christians to vote more than ever, we can’t find them. I would encourage you brothers and sisters in Christ, when the time comes to vote, you vote. You look at that ballot and you vote for the person you think is most likely to bring a godly presence to that position of authority. It doesn’t matter if the vote is for county coroner or the President of the United States. We can’t sit in our little prayer groups and gripe about the state of the nation if we aren’t involved and helping in some way. It’s time for Christians once again to view voting as their God ordained responsibility and begin to vote into place godly men and women.
I want to close today with some quotes directly from the prayer journal of the first President of the United States of America.
"Direct my thoughts, words and work. Wash away my sins in the immaculate blood of the lamb, and purge my heart by thy Holy Spirit, from the dross of my natural corruption, that I may with more freedom of mind and liberty of will serve thee, the ever lasting God, in righteousness and holiness this day, and all the days of my life. Increase my faith in the sweet promises of the Gospel. Give me repentance from dead works. Pardon my wanderings, & direct my thoughts unto thyself, the God of my salvation. Teach me how to live in thy fear, labor in thy service, and ever to run in the ways of thy commandments. Make me always watchful over my heart, that neither the terrors of conscience, the loathing of holy duties, the love of sin, nor an unwillingness to depart this life, may cast me into a spiritual slumber. But daily frame me more and more into the likeness of thy son Jesus Christ, that living in thy fear, and dying in thy favor, I may in thy appointed time attain the resurrection of the just unto eternal life. Bless my family, friends & kindred unite us all in praising & glorifying thee in all our works begun, continued, and ended, when we shall come to make our last account before thee blessed Saviour, who hath taught us thus to pray, our Father."
These next words George Washington spoke as he resigned command of the General Army on December 23, 1783.
"I consider it an indispensable duty to close this last solemn act of my official life by commending the interests of our dearest country to the protection of Almighty God and those who have the superintendence of them into His holy keeping." ( www.christianamerica.com)
If the founders of country found it this important to pray to God for guidance for our nation and that those who followed would do the same? If God thought it important enough to put the words we looked at today into His Holy Word, then how important is it for us to follow through? Christians, we have a responsibility to this country and to God, and we need to get committed to it!
(for a better feel, listen to this sermon online at www.godshere.org)
