PLUS

II Samuel 2:10 “The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken to pieces; out of the heaven shall he thunder upon them:  the LORD shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed.”

Psalm 98:9 “For he cometh to judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity.”

Hebrews 10:30 “For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.”

Luke 12:48 “For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required”

After outlining a comprehensive list grievances, the founders wrote the following as they prepared to close out the brilliant prose of the Declaration of Independence:

“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.”

They knew that He was the “righteous judge” (II Timothy 4:8) and realized that their most poignant appeal would be to The Powerful Arbiter and The Perfect Authority.

Interestingly, however, we have forgotten that the same Judge who created the purest of liberties will judge our use of those same liberties. President Lincoln reminded his fellow countrymen of the costliness of this important truth in his second inaugural address.

Speaking of the Civil War and slavery, Lincoln quotes Matthew 18:7: “Woe unto the world because of offenses! for it must needs be that offenses come; but woe to the man by whom the offense cometh.” Of God’s judgment, Lincoln goes on to state the following as he incorporates Psalm 19:9: “Fondly do we hope – fervently do we pray – that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman’s two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as we said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said: ‘the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.’”

All-in-all, the Civil War cost the United States over $170 billion. More importantly, it cost over 750,000 lives, about one in four who fought.

May we never forget that the Supreme Judge’s authority is characterized by righteousness, equity, and surety.

PLEASE PRAY FOR AMERICANS TO NEVER FORGET THAT THE LORD WILL ENACT COSTLY PENALTIES FOR MISUSED LIBERTIES. He is The Supreme Judge!

Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”

Romans 13:1 “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.”

II Timothy 3:16-17 “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”

Romans 2:14-15 “For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves; Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another”

Romans 1:18-20 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse”

Even before the Declaration of Independence described the unalienable rights that had been endowed by our Creator, it brilliantly described the foundation of the American revolutionary philosophy in its preamble:

“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.”

God created the heaven and the earth, and we are all subject to His power. The Laws of Nature are firmly established by Nature’s God.

All our rights stem from Him, and when we are deprived of His rightful gifts of liberty, then we are justified in separating from those who are doing the depriving. This theological truth formed the basis of our forefather’s bold statement of independence.

Where do we find the laws of Nature provided by Nature’s God?

• From God’s perfect Word that is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction and instruction.
• From God’s pricks of conscience that reinforce the laws that He hardwired into our hearts.
• From God’s amazing creation in us and all around us that powerfully pinpoints His preeminence.

PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERICAN CHRISTIANS WOULD ALWAYS ACKNOWLEDGE AND ABIDE BY NATURE’S LAWS THAT ARE FIRMLY ESTABLISHED BY NATURE’S GOD. All of humanity is without excuse, and as His ambassadors, we must always direct the gaze of our fellow citizens to Nature’s God as the ultimate source of our precious predetermined liberties.

II Corinthians 3:17 “Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”

Psalm 33:12 “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.”

Romans 13:1 “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.”

II Corinthians 3:5 “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God”

This post amplifies the important truths detailed in the previous post about the true source of our rights and liberties in the United States. It all follows from those inspired lines of the declaration of independence: “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.”

Without much needed amplification, I leave the reader with some powerful truths from key figures in our nation’s history and the national dialogue about our position and responsibility in the rights and liberties which have been bestowed upon us:

• “Liberty looks upon religion as its companion in its struggles and triumphs, as the cradle of its young life, as the divine source of its claims. It considers religion as the guardian of morality, morality as the guarantee of law and the security that freedom will last.” (Alexis de Tocqueville)
• “Only patriotism and religion can carry, over a long period, the whole body of citizens towards the same goal.” (Alexis de Tocqueville)
• “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious People. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” (John Adams)
• “Let me say, as a religious leader myself, religious liberty, as it developed in America, is, I believe not just a great political achievement, it is also a great spiritual achievement because it is based on humility and self-restraint, on the knowledge that this is one nation, under God.” (Rabbi Sacks)
• “I dwell on this prospect with every satisfaction which an ardent love for my Country can inspire: since there is no truth more thoroughly established, than that there exists in the economy and course of nature, an indissoluble union between virtue and happiness, between duty and advantage, between the genuine maxims of an honest and magnanimous policy, and the solid rewards of public prosperity and felicity: Since we ought to be no less persuaded that the propitious smiles of Heaven, can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which Heaven itself has ordained.” (George Washington, during his first inauguration)

PLEASE PRAY FOR OUR NATION TO CLING ONCE AGAIN TO THE INDISSOLUBLE UNION BETWEEN VIRTUE AND HAPPINESS, AND BETWEEN DUTY AND ADVANTAGE. We must return to these genuine maxims in order to have a future characterized by prosperity and felicity.

Psalm 33:12 “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.”

Psalm 20:7 “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.”

Romans 13:1 “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.”

As described in last week’s post, we have been endowed by our Creator with the rights that we enjoy. As stated in the Declaration of Independence: “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.”

There are two important ramifications of this powerful statement of God-given rights that me must never forget.

First, we must remember the superiority of God in everything in our lives and our society, including His preeminence in the blessed provision of our rights. The famous French Historian and political philosopher Alexis De Tocqueville wrote the following in the 1830s: “It is religion which has given birth to Anglo-American societies: one must never lose sight of that; in the United States, religion is thus intimately linked to all national habits and all the emotions which one’s native country arouses; that gives it a particular strength.” When we rely on a false foundation for our rights and our strength, trusting in anything other than the Lord, it produces a fragile freedom.

Second, we must never lose sight of the line in the Declaration of Independence that immediately follows the sentence listed above: “That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” Government is not the source of our rights, it is only charged with securing the rights that we already have been given. Rabbi Sacks (mentioned last week) boldly stated this poignant truth: “when human beings arrogate supreme power to themselves, politics losses its soul securing the defense of freedom.”

Our rights hinge on these two critical truths!

PLEASE PRAY FOR AMERICAN CHRISTIANS TO STRONGLY CONTEND FOR OUR GOD-GIVEN RIGHTS BY NEVER ALLOWING GOVERNMENT TO SUPERSEDE GOD’S PROPER PLACEMENT IN THE ESTABLISHMENT OF OUR LIBERTIES. May we never arrogate God’s rightful position in the establishment of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Galatians 5:1 “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.”

Romans 13:1 “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.”

The Declaration of Independence brilliantly describes the true and ultimate source of our rights: “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.”

We have been endowed by our Creator with rights that must not be taken away from us. They are unalienable!

He gave us life, he gave us liberty, and he gave us the opportunity to pursue happiness. We must never rob the Lord of the appreciation fully due to Him for these blessings in our lives. Once we lose sight of the source of these rights, we quickly drift away from liberty and towards bondage.

Rabbi Sacks, the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the British Commonwealth from 1991 to 2013 reminds us that America’s “source of inspiration was the Hebrew Bible.” He goes on to say that “the tree of liberty has religious roots. Don’t believe you can sever these roots and have the tree of liberty survive.” President Thomas Jefferson echoed these thoughts by words engraved on the walls of the Jefferson Memorial: “God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God?”

John Winthrop was the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. During his long voyage to the New World in 1630, he wrote “A Model of Christian Charity.” In it, he provides a stark warning for all: “For we must consider that we shall be as a City upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us. So that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken, and so cause him to withdraw his present help from us, we shall be made a story and a byword throughout the world.”

If America loses sight of the Christ-centered source of our rights, then we risk becoming the cautionary tale of a nation that has been abandoned because we first did the abandoning.

PLEASE PRAY FOR AMERICAN CHRISTIANS TO RECOGNIZE AND RETURN TO THE TRUE SOURCE OF OUR RIGHTS. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness hang in the balance.