Happy Fourth of July!

Jason B · #1 07-04-2009, 01:56 AM

(something to consider)

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.
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. –Declaration of Independence

Thomas Jefferson, who penned these now famous words-- Wrote on behalf of people who had become weary with oppression and injustice. Whose attempts to be heard had fallen on deaf ears. People who had suffered abuse for the last time. And people who had come to the realization that Freedom isn’t free.

Let us go back, 3 years prior to the Declaration of Independence.
The year was 1773. For nearly 10 years the American colonists had been resisting what they considered to be oppressive legislation by the British Parliament against them.

In 1764 the British Parliament passed the Sugar act-taxing imports of goods into the colonies
In the same year they passed the Currency Act-which said that the colonists could not issue their own money.
In 1765 the passed the Stamp Act-taxing everything from Newspapers to Playing Cards and Dice
In the same year, the British Parliament passed the Quartering Act- requiring colonists to essentially make their homes and personal goods available to any British soldier who decided to come to the door, regardless of if they wanted to or not.
In 1766 the Declatory Act is passed, nothing more than a formal reminder that Britain reserves the rights to pass laws and to tax the American colonies.
In 1767 the Townsend Acts are passed, which expanded the taxes in the colonies even more.

The results of these legislations were protests, and boycotts by the colonists. They felt abused by the British Parliament because they were not given a choice in the matter, because they didn’t have anyone to represent their interests in the British government, and because the legislations were passed with seemingly a special interest in keeping them down.

Yet through all of this, there was very little talk of America becoming a separate and independent country from Great Britain.

Finally, In 1773, the Tea Act was passed. The Tea act demanded that the colonists trade exclusively with the British West Indies Tea Company, and pay a special Tea Tax.

On December 16th, 1773 three cargo ships full of tea, sent by the British government waited to be unloaded. The Americans did not want the tea, yet they were told basically to “pay for it whether you like it or not.” That night, 200 men loaded those ships, and threw 342 chests of Tea into the Boston Harbor, in what is now known as the “Boston Tea Party.”

History tells us that this act of defiance against the oppressive British government was “The fuse that led directly to the explosion of American independence.”

The Boston Tea party can be considered the straw the broke the camel’s back. Finally the British government had gone too far, and finally some Colonists had decided enough was enough.

By 1775 the first shots were fired in The American War of Independence, and in 1776 the Declaration of Independence was written.

(1) America Founded on Christianity

Now we are often told how that we ought to keep religion out of politics, and politics out of religion. But if we are to consider how this great nation was formed and founded we would find that these premises are impossible to keep.

That is because no matter how many times the agnostic, the atheist, the evolutionist, or the humanist tries to deny, the fact stands that this country was most certainly formed upon Christian ideals.

**The Bible says in Psalms 33:12a “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD…”

Thomas Jefferson writes in the Declaration of Independence of a violation of “the Laws of Nature and Nature’s God.” He goes on to mention that “all men are created equally”, and that they are “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.”

Of the 55 signers of the Declaration of Independence, 52 were active members of their churches. 27 held theological seminary degrees. These were Christian men, acting on Christian principle.

Patrick Henry, the same man who said “Give me liberty, or give me death” is also attributed as saying:
**“It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religion, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For that reason alone, people of other faiths have been afforded freedom of worship here.

Our First President, George Washington said, "It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible"
Also, in his farewell address in 1796 he said,
-“Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports.”
-"Do not let anyone claim tribute of American patriotism if they [even attempt to remove religion from politics]."
And that “reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.”
First Chief Justice of the Supreme Court John Jay said on October 12, 1816, Jay wrote, "Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty, as well as the privilege and interest, of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers."

Think about that for a moment. It is the duty of this nation to select and prefer Christian rulers. And here in 2009 we celebrate the first Independence Day with a President in the White House with an Arabaic name.

A President whose Father was undeniably a Muslim. A president who has lived in 3 muslim countries, who bows to the King of Saudi Arabia, and who quotes what he calls “the HOLY Koran”-rather than the Bible.

We now have a President who seemingly takes pride in announcing to the world “Whatever we once were, we're no longer a Christian nation.” (Turkey-April 6,2009) In fact He said that He considers the United States to be “one of the largest Muslim countries in the world.” (June 2, 2009)

continued....

Jason B · #2 07-04-2009, 02:00 AM

However, America was born a Christian country, and today 70% of American’s still identify themselves as Christians. We are not a Muslim country, we don’t need Sharia Law, and regardless of what Mr. Obama says, the witness of history is against Him, and those like-minded!

Andrew Jackson, 7th President of the United States said “[the Bible] is the Rock upon which our Republic rests.”

Calvin Coolidge, 30th president of the United States said, “The foundations of our society and our GOVERNMENT rest so much on the teachings of the Bible that it would be difficult to support them if faith in these teachings would cease to be practically UNIVERSAL in our country.”

And, Abraham Lincoln said, “It is the duty of nations as well as men to recognize the truth announced in Holy Scripture and proven by all of history that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord."
(and when Honest Abe spoke of Holy Scripture, He wasn’t talking about the Koran)

The Mayflower Compact of 1620 tells us that the first people from England to come to this land, came here specifically “for the advancement of the CHRISTIAN FAITH.”

And for the sake of time, I will have to leave off of quoting Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Adams, John Quincy Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, Noah Webster, and nearly everyone who was involved with the formation of America. Nor read from the preambles of all 50 state constitutions, all of which acknowledge the God of the Bible.

This is the first point I want to make, that regardless of how much some deny, the fact remains that America was formed as a Christian nation. And when we let those who did the forming speak for themselves, there is little to debate.

So what if the ALCU claims that America never was a Christian nation. Whose word should we take, the words of some radical, agenda driven liberal lawyer, or those of George Washington himself. And the very words of the people who were involved.

It’s kind of like people nowdays reading the words of Christ, and coming to a different conclusion than the very one who He spoke to. The very ones who were able to ask follow up questions, and get explanations.

Jesus said a man must be born again of the water and the Spirit. All through the New Testament we see Peter, Paul, John, Phillip, and all of the apostles baptizing people who repent, and those people receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost.

The very ones who walked with Jesus interpreted his teachings in that way, and now many in the church in the 21st century teach people to simply accept the Lord as their personal Savior. As though they know how better to interpret the words of Jesus Christ, than the apostles.

So it is with this mythical assertion that Christianity had nothing to do with forming and maintaing this great country. This could not be further from the truth. This is my first point.

2.) The second thing I want to speak on is the false premise of seperation of church and state.

Over the last few decades, and especially in our world today, it has become “all the rage” (Abe Lincoln) to speak of the seperation of Church and State. That religion has no place in politics, and that politics has no place in religion.

Building on the first point I have made, I would like to expand this thought by quoting Abraham Lincoln.

(March 6,1860) (as I read through this consider in place of slavery, some of the more controversial moral topics of our time. Topics such as abortion, gay marriage, pornography, etc. And consider what the church’s responsibility is, and the role that religion SHOULD play in politics, according to the man most consider the greatest President in the history of our nation.)

“What we want, and all we want, is to have with us the men who think slavery [abortion,homosexuality,etc] wrong. But those who say they hate slavery, and are opposed to it, but yet act with the Democratic party -- where are they? Let us apply a few tests. You say that you think slavery is wrong, but you denounce all attempts to restrain it.[Listen to what He asks here] Is there anything else that you think wrong, that you are not willing to deal with as a wrong? Why are you so careful, so tender of this one wrong and no other? You will not let us do a single thing as if it was wrong; there is no place where you will allow it to be even called wrong! We must not call it wrong in the Free States, because it is not there, and we must not call it wrong in the Slave States because it is there; we must not call it wrong in politics because that is bringing morality into politics, and we must not call it wrong in the pulpit because that is bringing politics into religion; … and there is no single place, according to you, where this wrong thing can properly be called wrong!”

The fact of the matter is that it is the church’s responsibility to this nation to preach the Word of God. As George Washington stated “You cannot have national morality apart from RELIGIOUS PRINCIPLE.”

The preachers of the day have a responsibility to preach truth, whether controversial or not. We are called first by God to distinguish between the Holy and the UnHoly, and secondly, we are called out by the greatest leaders of this country, and our founding father to preach the gospel, to preach on righteousness and on sin, and as Abe Lincoln noted through preaching this we will “elevate” American society.

The reason that this society is in the gutter isn’t because of Barack Obama. It isn’t because of liberal democrats, activist lawyers or judges, and it isn’t even because of Satan.

The reason our national morality is in the gutter is because of the American Pulpits. The pulpits quit preaching sin. They quit preaching a genuine repentance, they exchanged the truth of God for a lie.

The preaching became watered down and diluted, and the church as a whole became watered down and diluted. To the point that the church is today in the same condition as those in Lincoln’s day who claimed to be against slavery, but felt like they had no right to publically “push their view” on others.

So today, we have thousands, or more likely, millions of people who claim to be “Christians” but when it comes to abortion, they say, “I don’t believe in it, but it’s not my choice.” Or they give in to the arguments of relativism, by saying that what’s right for me, may not necessarily be right for you. And what wrong to me, may not necessarily be wrong for you.”

In fact, this is our current Presidents view of sin. When interviewed in 2004, He was asked if He believed in sin, to which He answered “Yes”, He was then asked what sin is, to which He answered “being out of alignment with MY values.”

Wrong answer. Sin isn’t defined by OUR values- sin is defined by God’s values. By moral truths, and moral absolutes. Which is why it is of particular interest that when Abraham Lincoln referred to slavery, he repeatedly referred to it as a MORAL WRONG. And spoke of the church’s responsibility to preach MORALITY. That is an ABSOLUTE STANDARD. Not something that wrong for some, but not for all.

But a seperation of righteous from unrightous. And Holy from Unholy.

So when it comes to the morality of this country, the blame doesn’t lie with our political system. The blame lies with the church.

When we consider the responsibility that the church has in this world, we cannot afford to be silent. No issue is taboo or off-limits. As Christians we should not repress our views, we should be the most outspoken. Only let our views be based on Biblical truths, not on personal preference.

continued.............

Jason B · #3 07-04-2009, 02:04 AM

And while considering the doctrine of Seperation of Church and state, it should be noted that “the words separation of church and state don't appear in any official government documents authored by the founding fathers.”

The phrase “seperation of church and state” comes from a letter that Thomas Jefferson wrote to the Dansbury Baptist Association in Conneticut in 1802. He used this phrase in reference to the First Amendment of the Constitiution which states that “congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”
This is what is known as “Freedom of Religion.”
This is a measure intended to protect the church from government influence (remember these people came from England, where there was an official church).

The first amendment protects against there being an official religion or denomination run by the governement. It is also because of this, that if someone decides to be an atheist, they are not killed. If someone converts to Islam, they are not killed.

There isn’t true freedom of religion in most muslim countries. If a Muslim converts to Christianity, the family will report them to the authorities, and if that individual is caught, they are likely to be tortured, killed, or most often times, both.

Therefore, we can see that the intent of this phrase was that the church would be protected from government intervention, not the other way around. In fact, it is better said by Thomas Jefferson:

"The 1st amendment has created a wall of separation between church and state, but that wall is a one directional wall, it keeps the government from running the church, but it makes sure that Christian principles will always stay in government." - Thomas Jefferson

Therefore, my second point is that there should exists no separation between church and state. We as the church have a God given, and government given right and responsibility to declare and promote Christian ideals and morals to the people of this country. This is not a time for Christians or Preachers to back away from politics, but the urgency of the hour demands we more be involved and vocal than ever before.

I would like to move on to my third, and most important point.

When we consider the early days of this nation, going all the way back to the Boston Tea Party, we see a commmon theme. That those engaged in those activites, saw in what they were doing a purpose bigger than themselves.

When those 200 men jumped on board ships that December night, and threw the Tea overboard, they knew if they were ever caught, they would be publically executed.

When the Declaration of Independece was signed, John Hancock famously gave an enlarged version of his signature. Knowing that these 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence, if caught, would trade their life for their signature, and yet, He signed it plain as day for the King of England, and the world to see.

These men had became fed up with oppression, with tyranny, and with injustice. They came to a boiling point, they came to a point where they decided that their cause was Worth Fighting For.

The Merit Encylopedia tells us, “When Europeans first learned of the American rebellion, few thought that the colonists would be able to win their freedom by force. The British Navy was the most powerful in the world. Their army was small, but experienced, and the British possessed the advantage in population, resources, and manufacturing. In sum, there seemed little change for sustained American resistence.”

The fact is, their chances of success looked bleak. They were a people who did not even yet have a government, an army, or a navy. But a cause that they believed in. FREEDOM.

We started out as a nation fighting for our freedom, for our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We had something that was worth fighting for.

Early on, this nation was founded on Christian principles. Both prayer and bible reading were encouraged in public schools. That is no longer the case. It is no wonder our politicians marginalize Christianity today. Abraham Lincoln said, “The philosophy of the school room in one generation, will be the philosphy of government in the next.”

We began fighting a War for our Indepdendence, we fought in World War I and World War II. There was a purpose to what we were doing. Those weren’t wars that we wanted, they became necessary.

Yesterday, we found ourselves involved in Vietnam, a war would should have stayed out of. Today we find ourselves involved in Iraq and Afghanistan. We see these wars, we see young men, who lose their lives in these wars, and we have to ask, “Is there not a cause?” Are these wars that ARE WORTH FIGHTING FOR?

There has been some talk of bringing back the draft. And I have considered within myself what I would do if ever drafted.

And I have to consider. Is it worth fighting for a country that punished people and educators for saying a Christian prayer in school, or at a school function?
-A nation that has become offended at the name of Jesus, and the very Word He has given us
-A nation that says killing innocent babies is a matter of choice
-A nation where pronography is a legal multi billion dollar industry
-A nation which promotes homosexuality
-A nation which takes great efforts so as not to offend any relgious creed or culture, especially muslims, but does everything they can to strike the name of Jesus and the religion of Christianity from the history books and from public society

Is that nation worth fighting for?!

The fact is as Christians that our wars are not over in Afghanistan, or over in Iraq. Those are not wars worth fighting.

Our war to fight is right here, and right now. This isn’t a war to be fought with bombs and guns, nor is it a war against a carnal enemy.

**2 Corinthians 10:3-4 “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh. For our weapons are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds.”

We have to correctly indentify our enemy, and we have to decide what is worth fighting for.

So what is worth fighting for?

continued......

Jason B · #4 07-04-2009, 02:06 AM

1)Our Children and Grandchildren. They deserve the right to a future.

They are being raised in a society that is increasingly becoming anti-Christian and anti-God, a society with a warped sense of values. Things that the Bible cleary teaches are wrong, are taught to them as to be be good and acceptable.

The very things that our children are being taught, are the very things that the Bible says will cause them to go to hell. This world is leading our children straight to hell, and do we even care enough as to bat an eyelash?

Or are we too consumed in our own life, our own hobbies, and our own social and economic status, to slow down and teach them right from wrong?

They are children, they can’t fight for themselves. If we don’t fight for them who will?
They’re worth fighting for.

What else is worth fighting for?
2)The souls of mankind.

We live in a generation that is under attack by the enemy. Because of the absense of God in the school system, we are turning out a society of adults who have been taught they the theory of evolution is true. That they are nothing more than a highly evolved animal, and because of this, we have a generation of people who struggle with the basic questions of life:
1)Why am I here
2)Where did I come from
3)What happens when I die

People have questions that society gives them no good answers for. We should not cease to contend for the salvation of mankind just because the church has surrended authority to public society.

During the War of Independence there was a naval battle, in which when the battle seemed all but over, the British captain of the 44-gun ship Serapis, offered American John Paul Jones the opportunity to surrender-to which John Paul Jones famously replied, “I have NOT YET BEGUN TO FIGHT!”

History tells us that the Serapis eventually ended up surrendeing to Jones’ ship. Just because the church has gotten a late start in the cultural war doesn’t mean that we have to give up our fighting.

**After 9/11 happened, as special committee was set up to study the reason it happened, and what could be done to prevent future attacks. Condelezza Rice later made this statement: “The terrorists have been at war with us for a long time, we are just now starting to fight back.”

The terrorists had bombed the World Trade Center in 1993, sank our ships, attacked our Embassies. But it wasn’t until after 9/11 that we attempted to do anything about it.

That is what we so desperately need to realize. We are in fact fighting a two-front war. One war we are fighting corporately over ideoligies, and another war we are fighting spiritually as individuals. We are fighting a cultural war in this country, and we are fighting a spritual war against the enemy of our soul.

In conclusion, I quote the Gettysburg Address:

“The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here….It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought he have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us-that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion-that we highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain- [and] that this nation, UNDER GOD, shall have a new birth of freedom.”

Even as the blood of Abel cried out from the ground, so the blood of men who were willing to give their lives to the cause of a Christian nation, based upon Christian principles, and upon the gospel of Jesus Christ cries out. Cries out against a people who would deny the God who gives them freedom. Cries out against the day a man was elected who takes pride in saying “America is no longer a Christian nation.” And cries out “was my blood shed in vain?!”

The government cannot bring people to Christ ,nor can a political leader ever be a Savior. Nor should the church try to rule the world through secular political power.

Salvation comes only through the blood of Jesus Christ, and the only Kingdom the church should ever seek is the Kingdom of God.

In the course of human history, many nations and empires have risen and fallen. There is no gaurentee that there will be a United States of America in 50 years, 100 yeas, 200 years (if the Lord shall tarry). There could come a time when 4th of July in America, is no longer celebrated as Independece Day.

It is our responsibility in this hour, and in this generation to begin to take back ground that we have given up in this cultural war.

In closing, I would quote Lincoln one final time: “Did we brave all then, to falter now?…The result is not doubtful. We shall not fail—if we stand firm, we shall not fail. Wise councils may accelerate, or mistakes may delay it, but, sooner or later, the victory is sure to come.”