ONE NATION UNDER?
Prov. 14:34; Psalm 33:12
June 30, 2002 • Dr. Larry L. Thompson (2002)
Proverbs 14:34
“Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.”
Psalm 33:12
“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he chose for his inheritance.”
INTRODUCTION:
This past Wednesday the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of appeals ruled the citing of the Pledge of Allegiance in public school is unconstitutional because the phrase “one nation under God” is an “endorsement of religion.” If this ruling stands then it will be unconstitutional for children in nine states to pledge their allegiance to the flag of the United States.
Once again we hear the dictates of liberal jurists dismantling not only our constitutional right but our national heritage. Judge Alfred Goodwin writes, “The pledge sends a message to non-religious students that they are outsiders.” Well guess what Judge? 98% of Americans polled said they believe in God. I hate to be the one to break the news to you but you are an outsider!
Perhaps we will witness in this latest attack on our nation’s spiritual heritage the reality of the Word of God where scripture teaches, “You meant this for evil but God has used it for good.” I have NEVER seen this nation so united against a judicial ruling as what I have witnessed this week. Whenever the Senate votes 99-0 on anything it is time to take notice. The House also followed suit in a unanimous vote. The President called the ruling “ridiculous judicial junk” and he was joined by the leader of the left wing Senator Ted Kennedy and Sen. Diane Fienstien from the People’s Republic of California calling for the ruling to be overturned. However, the unity doesn’t just stop in the political arena…when have you ever heard of Jerry Falwell, Al Sharpton and Jessie Jackson all being united on any issue?
In spite of this national uproar I am going to ask one question that I have not heard asked this past week. “Is Justice Goodwin in some strange and perverted way prophetic in stating that we are not “a nation under God”?
This morning I intend to ask you to join with me in the examination to scripture to determine if the judicial ruling this past week may actually be what God will use to restore our spiritual heritage and awaken the believers who have slumbered through the past forty years of the systematic removal of the presence of the Lord from our nation’s fiber.
I. REVIEW AMERICA’S INDEPENDENCE
“Righteousness exalts a nation…” (Prov. 14:34a)
Righteousness among any group of people has a very beneficial effect. Righteousness—is translated as people living by just and godly principles that produce just and godly actions.
Exalts—literally means in the Hebrew language “raises to honor.” The word exalts means “to lift up,” used here in a moral sense. It literally means that when the nation is a righteous nation then that nation will be honored among many and lifted up before all.
So how does an individual or a nation become righteous? Examine: Psalm 51:10 “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”
Understand three principles regarding “Righteousness”
• We are not righteous by nature…we are sinners.
• We do NOT become righteous by being good
• We are made righteous through Jesus Christ. 2 Cor. 5:21 “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
Our forefathers understood righteousness. They knew that righteousness was the catalyst to give birth to this nation of people looking for freedom and liberty. They knew that just as CHRIST paid the price for our liberty that they too would pay for LIBERTY. Liberty and freedom ALWAYS EXACTED A PRICE. That’s what the 4th of July is all about---remembering the price that was paid for our freedom.
Our nation was first settled by people who came to these shores looking to express their religious faith. They weren’t trying to get away from something, they were trying to find something, and they were looking for the freedom to worship. You all are familiar, of course, with the Pilgrims who came there to Plymouth Rock on the Mayflower. Just as they landed, they joined together in what is called the Mayflower Compact in 1620. These are the words of the Mayflower Compact:
“In the name of God, amen. Having undertaken for the glory of God and for the advancement of the Christian faith, do solemnly and mutually in the presence of God, covenant and combine ourselves together.”
Those settlers wrote: "We came here for the glory of God, and for the advancement of the gospel of Jesus Christ. In 1643, just about 23 years later, as more and more people came to the shores and up in New England, they formed a confederation called The New England Confederation; this was the first written constitution, of groups meeting together in 1643. The New England Confederation Constitution began:
“Whereas we all came into these parts with one and the same end and aim, namely to advance the kingdom of our lord Jesus Christ, and to enjoy the liberties of the gospel in purity and peace.”
America was founded by men and women who acknowledged God’s supreme rule over our lives. They were looking for HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS TO EXALT THIS NATION!
They weren’t perfect. They weren’t all fundamentalist Christians, but they all to a man acknowledged that God was the supreme ruler over man and over government.
Take a moment and read again the Declaration of Independence that was signed on July 4, 1776. Most of you are familiar with the prologue that says,
“We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal and are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights that among them are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
They didn’t say happiness. They said "the pursuit of happiness." You know why? Because these founders were wise. They acknowledged that these rights: life, liberty, and pursuing happiness, came from God. It does not come from human government. It comes from God and they acknowledged it and that’s why they said on the next line, “. . . and that to secure or protect these rights, governments are instituted among men.” They’re saying, “WE WANT THE FORM OF GOVERNMENT WHOSE JOB IS TO PROTECT AND TO GUARD WHAT THE CREATOR HAS GIVEN TO EACH ONE OF US.”
As you read the Declaration of Independence, you discover what follows the prologue are about 15 or 16 charges against King George of Britain, but as they come to the final, the closing, the therefore, they make two more references to God. “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.” They said, “We’re appealing to you, England, declaring our independence, but we’re also appealing mainly to the Supreme Judge of the World, God himself.” And then, the very last line of the Declaration of Independence is this, “And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence.” Divine means God. God’s protection and Providence, we mutually pledge our lives, our fortunes, and 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 and they were debating about how the Declaration of Independence would be written. And finally, Ben Franklin stood and said, “Gentlemen, if it is true that not one single petal from any flower falls to the ground without escaping God’s attention, will the distress of this nation go unheeded? Let us therefore determine to seek His face.”
At that suggestion 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence all went to their knees as one man and began to pray and seek the wisdom of God.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful today if our congress would go to their knees in prayer, wouldn’t it be wonderful today if the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and every other court including our Supreme Court, would just get on their knees like our forefathers did and say, “Almighty God, what do you want for this nation?”
This Thursday we will celebrate “Independence Day.” It all began 226 years ago, when on July 4th, 1776, 56 brave men signed the document known as “The Declaration of Independence.”
Do you have any idea what price these men paid for the independence to live in a nation built on the Righteousness of God?
• Five were captured and tortured by the British before they died.
• Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned to the ground.
• Two lost their sons in the war.
• One had two sons captured.
• Nine fought and died from wounds or the hardships of the war.
• Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British navy. He sold his home to pay his debts and died in rags.
• Thomas McKean was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in Congress without pay and he died in poverty.
• Thomas Nelson’s home was seized by the British at the Battle of Yorktown and used as a command post. He urged General George Washington to open fire on it. The home was destroyed and Nelson died bankrupt.
Folks, it is absolutely imperative that we revisit and review our nation’s birth and history so that we understand this scripture, “Righteousness exalts a nation…”
Listen to the voice of our founding fathers and here the spiritual commitment in what they say:
John Quincy Adams who would become President said later in 1821 about the Declaration of Independence. He said:
“From the time of the Declaration of Independence, the American people were bound by the laws of God and the laws of the gospel of Jesus Christ, which they all acknowledge as the root of their conduct. We all came together to obey the word of God.”
George Washington Farewell Address to Nation:
“Do not let anyone claim tribute of American patriotism if they even attempt to remove religion from politics.”
Patrick Henry:
“It cannot be emphasized too strongly or to often that this great nation was founded not but religionists but by Christians, not on religion but on the gospel of Jesus Christ.”
President Thomas Jefferson in an address to Danbury Baptist:
“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.”
The RIGHTEOUSNESS of our government is even patterned after Biblical principles!
Do you know where the framers of our nation got the idea of three branches of government? Remember that we have an Executive Branch, we have a Legislative Branch that makes laws, and we have a Judicial Branch. Open your Bible, write this reference down: Isaiah 33:22. “For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; it is he who will save us.”
Isaiah 33:22 which refers to God in those same three aspects as our government. “For the Lord is our Judge [that’s judicial], our Lawgiver [that’s legislative], and our King [that’s executive]. It is He who will save us.” And when the framers of our government got together and said, “How can we best organize our government?” They looked to the word of God for the wisdom needed and for His righteousness.
You go to Europe today and you find that the churches are still subsidized by the state, controlled by the state. That’s why they’re stone cold dead. When the people in many of European nations pay their taxes, part of that tax money is going to keep those churches running. And the founders of our country said, “That’s wrong, we don’t want to do that.” And so they followed a biblical concept that was totally foreign to any government in the world and in the history of the world. They said, “We want to make the church separate from the government and we want to keep the church exempt from taxation by the government.” Where did they get this concept? Examine Ezra 7:24: “You are also to know that you have no authority to impose taxes, tribute or duty on any of the priests, Levites, singers, servants, or other workers at this house of God.” That is a right that our forefathers discovered in the Bible and said, "Let’s make it a part of our government." I’m here to tell you I’m glad that America formed our government based upon the word of God for our forefathers KNEW: “RIGHTEOUSNESS EXALTS A NATION!”
Having reviewed America’s Independence we now turn our attention to the pressing need for all of us who call this nation home. We must…
II. REPENT OF AMERICA’S INDIFFERENCE
“…but sin is a disgrace to any people.” (Prov. 14:34b)
“But sin” among the nation’s people has an adverse, destructive effect. It is a disgrace, “reproach,” a word used only here and in Lev. 20:17 which refer to a family member revealing the nakedness of another member of the family. Though people, or even a nation, may seem to be getting away with sin, ultimately it catches up with them and shames them.
SIN=missing the mark of God’s standard for His people. Very simply, SIN IS DISOBEYING GOD. SIN is beyond our ability to CURE. SIN WILL ALWAYS FIND YOU OUT. That leads to the disgrace.
“IS A DISGRACE”—EXPOSED IN OPENNESS AND BRINGS ON THEM THE ILL-WILL OF OTHERS. COMPARE PROVERBS 13:6: “RIGHTEOUSNESS GUARDS THE MAN OF INTEGRITY, BUT WICKEDNESS OVERTHROWS THE SINNER.”
Let’s do some review as to where our nation has fallen from righteousness to sin.
We didn’t have a “pledge” to our flag until a man by the name of Francis Bellamy, who was on the magazine staff for a boys and girl’s periodical entitled, “The Youth Companions” introduced the idea in 1890.
It was then President Benjamin Harrison who proclaimed the first use of the original pledge on October 12, 1892 during Columbus Day observance in public schools:
“I pledge allegiance to my flag and to the republic for which it stands; one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
The words “my flag” were changed to “the flag of the United States of America” by an amendment adopted on Flag Day, June 14, 1924.
Then in 1954 the Congress of United States jointly amended the pledge with the words, “under God.” President Dwight D. Eisenhower said as he signed this amendment, “This shows the transcendence of religious faith in America’s heritage and in her future.”
It was finally spoken as “Our Pledge of Allegiance” for the first time on June 14, 1954, Flag Day on the steps of the Capital in Washington.
“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands: one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
It has remained our Nation’s Pledge up until last Wednesday when the 9th Circuit ruled it to be unconstitutional.
Should we really be surprised? For it was less than a decade after our own Government added the phrase, “under God” that some Americans began to do everything legally within our power to remove GOD’S presence and GOD’S character from our nation.
• In 1963 the Supreme Court first took out prayer in schools
• The next ruling removed the Bible readings from our classrooms
• They then took the 10 Commandments off the walls of all schools and public buildings Later it was ruled that students can not pray at graduation.
• The Court ruled that there is a certain segment of our society that does not have equal rights, the unborn. Today a million abortions a year are preformed.
• A young woman that wrote a term paper on the life of Jesus in an assignment, “The man I admire the most” was given an “F” because her teacher said, “It was unacceptable in public school.” Tragically, the ruling was upheld in the courts.
• NOW we have yet another systematical removal of God’s presence with the 9th Circuit ruling that our pledge us unconstitutional because of the reference to God.
Next the godless of our society will challenge our money, our prayers that open the Supreme Court and the House and Senate and within a matter of time we will have regressed to the undeniable reality “…but sin is a disgrace to any people.”
HOW THEN HAS SIN DISGRACED OUR NATION? REMEMBER “DISGRACE” MEANS TO BRING INTO THE OPEN, TO BRING DOWN…
• 1 of 2 marriages end in divorce with medium age for divorce 34 for men 30 for women
• In 1960 a woman was the sole provider of her home in only 1 of 10 households with no husband present. Today it is 1 of 5.
• Gallup reports that there are enough students between the ages of 12-18 to fill the Rose Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Orange Bowl and Fiesta Bowl that are involved in some type of prostitution to support an addiction to illegal drugs.
• One million girls under the age of 17 will get pregnant outside of wedlock with half of those pregnancies ending in abortion.
• 40% of America’s 14 year-old girls will be pregnant before their 19th birthday.
• Almost 60% of evangelical Christian students ages 12-18 are sexually active
• 66% of America’s students have reported to use illegal drugs or alcohol.
• Child abuse is up 240% in America since 1976.
• Corruption and Conviction of public officials is up 450% since 1973
• Sexual abuse of children is up 1,375% since 1962
• America has the highest illiteracy rate of all the industrialized nations in the world.
• We actually had to debate and vote to approve our School Superintendent’s decision to fire a teacher who was appearing in gay pornographic films. This decision was followed by the teacher’s attorney saying, “It’s important to remember my client has committed no crime and absolutely no illegal act. We are talking about his freedom and we will appeal this action before an administrative judge.” HIS FREEDOM? Is this really what our forefather’s fought to preserve?
Rachel Joy Scott was on of the victims of the Columbine massacre in which two teenage boys went on a killing spree in their High School looking first for followers of Lord by asking the question, “Do you believe in God?” Rachel’s father, Donald Scott spoke before the United States Senate and said the following:
“I’m here today to declare that Columbine was not just a tragedy, it was a spiritual event that should be forcing us to look at where the real blame lies. Much of that blame lies here in this room. Much of that blame lies behind the pointing fingers of the accusers themselves. "I wrote a poem just four nights ago that expresses my feelings. This poem was written before I knew that I would be speaking here today.”
Here’s his poem:
Your laws ignore our deepest needs
Your words are empty air.
You’ve stripped away our heritage
You’ve outlawed simple prayer.
Now gunshots fill our classrooms
And our precious children die.
You seek for answers everywhere
And you ask the question why.
You regulate restrictive laws
Through legislative creed.
And yet you fail to understand
That God is what we need!
We have seen the heart of our founding fathers as we reviewed America’s fight for independence. We have seen how our nation has fallen from its godly principles and how we are a people who need to repent of our indifference. Finally, there is but on action that America’s men and women of God must take, and that is to…
III. RECLAIM AMERICA’S INSPIRATION
“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he chose for his inheritance.” (Psalm 33:12)
“Blessed is the nation”—the idea here is, that the nation referred to is happy, or content, or that its condition is desirable for all. What is true of a nation is also as true of an individual.
“Whose God is the Lord”—Whose God is Yahweh—for so this is in the original Hebrew. This reads, “The nation which worships Yahweh is under his protection.” This is evidently said to distinguish such a nation from those which worshipped false gods or idols. Such a nation is blessed or happy, because:
(a) He is a real God, the true God, not man made, imagination or fiction
(b) Because His laws are just and good, and their observance will always tend to promote the public welfare and prosperity;
(c) Because His protection will be provided to such a nation; and
(d) Because His worship, and the influence of our faith in Him, will tend to promote virtue, intelligence, purity, and truth, over a land, and thus will promote the welfare of the nation.
How can we reclaim the inspiration and the power of God that was so obviously directing our founding fathers? The answer lies in those who in this room today, those who are listening to this message or reading these words. If you claim to be a man or woman of God you must act on that faith, you must live in the righteousness of Christ and you must stand and fight once again for the freedom that was purchased for us by those who gave their lives! What can you do?
• You can personally repent of sin and commit your life to Christ
• If you are a Christian you can quit riding the fence, CHOOSE YOU THIS DAY WHOM YOU WILL SERVE
• You can pray for our nation and her leaders
• You can insist that we not allow a liberal, atheistic minority to rob us of our spiritual heritage.
• You can live your life in a manner that reflects your trust in our living God
A generation ago another great American was standing for freedom and righteousness. Dr. Martin Luther King gave his most memorable address entitled “I Have a Dream.” As I contemplated this message I would conclude with these words…
“I TOO HAVE A DREAM!”
I too have a dream that those who claim to be children of God, redeemed by Christ, will declare their faith without fear or shame and live a life that matches their profession.
I too have a dream that America will one day realize that we can not change man by simply changing his environment but understanding that it is a work of God in man’s heart that effects an eternal change in man’s life.
I too have a dream that the people of God would destroy the walls men have created to divide us and join hands and hearts to show the unified power and love that is ours as followers of Jesus Christ.
I too have a dream that one day in our great nation there will be such a spiritual renewal and awakening that we won’t have to worry about prayer in our schools because the witness in our homes will produce godly young men and women that will impact their schools, our neighborhoods, our cities, our states and our nation with His righteousness.
I too have a dream that one day America will repent of our national sin in killing the unborn child.
I too have a dream that revival will spread across this land reaching into every community so that the LIGHT of the LORD will be seen from America and HIS light will go into all the world.
I too have a dream that the men and women who aspire to serve this nation would run for office from a conviction that as God has made a difference in their lives and they can now serve the people in moral purity, truth, conviction and righteousness.
I too have a dream that our families will be restored and protected and we will seek to strengthen our homes with godly men who are filled with God’s Spirit and understand their role as spiritual leaders.
I too have a dream that God would give this nation divine wisdom to understand the schemes of our enemy! Wisdom to know that if allowing children to view pornography on the internet is judged a constitutional right, then give us godly judges that will rightly interpret our constitution.
I too have a dream that the Church, God’s CHURCH IN AMERICA will once again rise up, awake from her slumber and become the moral and spiritual voice of the community where people will look for comfort, inspiration, direction and moral leadership.
I too have a dream that the churches of America will be filled once again and that there would be a great hunger for God’s Word that will increase across this land.
I too have a dream that America will return to the faith of our Founding Fathers. Yes, I too have a dream. A dream that this world will once again say of these United States of America…
“BLESSED IS THE NATION WHOSE GOD IS THE LORD…”
---End---
