As we get into today’s sharing, let me ask you this question. Are you beginning to see just how much the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ was incorporated into the foundations of the United States of America? Are you seeing the covenant commitment that our founding fathers had with the Lord, and why they were so driven to establish a nation in which Jesus Christ was Lord?
There is a lot of ground to cover today, so let’s get right to it. Humanism plays upon people's fears. It gets its governance in society by creating a multitude of "what if?" scenarios. People react to those scenarios in fear, and Humanism has accomplished its ends. Socialism steps into that reactive place and says, "I have the answer for you. Let me create a government program to solve it."
We wrapped up last week quoting from the apostle Paul where he instructs prayers and intercession on behalf of our leaders and representatives in government. Let’s pick up where we left off. We are taking a short break in our narrative on the founding documents for the colonies. Paul laid out very clearly what kind of government God purposes for a praying people. The verse I just quoted is a small portion of what Paul had to say on the topic.
It becomes pretty clear when you read some of the early founders’ documents that they had a VERY strong purpose in establishing this nation – as well as the early colonies – as a place where Jesus Christ is Lord! The way they expressed themselves back then would go over about like a lead balloon today, but when you realize that they were fed up with a state-sponsored religion, as was England, it isn’t hard to understand their vehemence. Last week, we quoted the first part of Maryland's Act Concerning Religion. There’s a lot more to go, so let’s take a look at it. An Act Concerning Religion (continued)
As you will see (and continue to see) in the following documents, the term, “religion” did not mean, Buddhist, Muslim, Confucianism, or any of a host of other non-Jesus Christ honoring beliefs. For our early settlers and founding fathers, “religion” simply meant differing denominations or sects, but all believing in the same fundamental tenets of Christianity. They could differ on doctrines, but NOT on the supremacy of the Lord Jesus Christ.
After our Christmas and New Year’s holiday break, let’s continue looking at the specific wording that our early settlers used in describing the covenants they made with each other in the establishing of this country. Two weeks ago, I said that we would take a look at the charter that John Winthrop wrote (actually, he wrote it jointly with roughly a dozen other men) for the Massachusetts Bay Colony. It would take up all of today's Coffee Break, and then some, if we were to quote the entire charter; but there is a paragraph in the charter germane to our ongoing discussion, and that's where I'd like to begin today.
It has been a constant source of amazement to me that Jesus has always been painted as poor and indigent -- never mind what the Word clearly states. Ever since the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D., error after error after error has crept into the body of Christ and promulgated with traditions that have no validity in the Word. The compromises that Constantine made with church leaders in order to bring the Roman Army into the church and declare them to be "Christian" have contaminated the truth ever since.
Once again, Good Morning! Let’s pick up today where we left off last week. Some folks have wondered why, when I deal almost exclusively with spiritual issues and what Holy Spirit is saying to His people today, that I would seem to deviate from that to talk about the foundations of our government. Unfortunately, our society today has attempted to separate matters of government from spiritual issues, and especially Christianity.
Good Morning, Good Morning, Good Morning! After weeks of making reference to this series which deals with the foundations of our nation, we're actually going to begin with it today. You will see, as this series unfolds, that every single one of the 50 states in our union recognizes that their existence, as a body politick, flows from God. The rejection of this principle by modern politicians is a huge contributing factor in the chaos which has unfolded since prayer was removed from public schools, and gradually from public discourse.
My hope and plan is to wrap up this part of the series on Covenant today. We’re into this subject now for two and a half months, and we still have a long ways to go! My objective is to now begin sharing on the Covenant that our founding fathers made with the Lord for the establishing of America as a land – a country – dedicated to the propagation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
