Over two centuries ago 56 men individually picked up a goose quill pen and signed a document that would radically alter the course of human events. In all actuality they were not just signing a declaration of independence, they were beginning a grand experiment of which the world had never known - a government governed not by an elite group of men, but instead by the common man. The baker on the street corner, the housewife, and those that have lived long enough to know what is right. This was a government by and for the people.
Yet, how did these great men come to understand liberty? How could they have constructed a system that has lasted this long without descending into the quagmire of tyranny and rule by fear? To what foundation did they take hold that could withstand the punishments of time and change? It is simple really. They had been given the understanding that liberty, not just under the laws of man, but true liberty of soul and body, is found only in one place: Where the Spirit of Christ resides. For indeed "where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." (II Cor. 3:17) They knew that any society that seeks personal as well as public freedom must be founded upon something more secure and more eternal than the ideals and ideologies of carnal man. They must reach beyond themselves and take with force the promises and principles left humanity by its Saviour. However, how can we be sure that they relied upon the teachings and ministry of Jesus to be the foundation for such a Republic as this? To understand their thoughts we must know what they believed. We must call to witness their words, for no man could know them better than they themselves.
George Washington: "It is impossible to rightly govern . . . without God & the Bible."
John Adams: "Religion & virtue are the only foundations, not only of republicanism and of all free government, but of social felicity under all governments and in all the combinations of human society."
Thomas Jefferson: "Of all the systems of morality, ancient or modern, which have come under my observation, none appears to me so pure as that of Jesus."
James Madison: "We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not on the power of government...[but] upon the capacity of each and every one of us to govern ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God."
John Quincy Adams: "Is it not that the Declaration of Independence first organized the social compact on the Foundation of the Redeemer's mission upon earth? That it laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity?"
These were not men that sought to alienate government from religion, but rather understood that a government not nestled in the heart of true worship of God cannot stand. It will be as the man who built his house upon sand. This country, however, was fashioned on a rock and that rock was and is Jesus Christ. If we seek to truly keep our freedom we must never allow ourselves to rest upon another foundation. The recompense for such actions will undoubtably be swift and righteous.
Let us therefore seek to understand our foundation; let us long to be united with the beliefs of our past. Let us never forget that Jesus is watching, though we legislate his word out of our buildings, or bring laws against those that proclaim His message of hope, peace, and freedom to a lost and dying world, even if we forbid the mention of His name He is still here. For no authority can deport Him, no judge can rule over Him, for he filleth all in all [Eph. 1:23]. He will always walk the corridors of our hearts and souls, but if we reject Him, His mission will not be to protect, but rather he judge. He is the Law Giver whose judgements are righteous and true. He is the King of all things, we can appeal to no higher. In that day God will be our enemy and who then shall save? As the prophet so clearly warned: "But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them." (Isa. 63:10). |
