“He Is Risen”—Where The Spirit Of The Lord Is, There Is Liberty
As we approach Resurrection Sunday,
it behooves us to remind ourselves (Christians should
need no reminder) of the significance of this season.
Along with the virgin birth, the death and resurrection
of Jesus Christ form the cornerstone of the Christian
faith. Indeed, the resurrection of Jesus separates
Christianity from all the world`s religions.
Furthermore, the overwhelming
number of America`s Founders understood the connection
between the Christian faith and the rise of these United
States. John Quincy Adams
said, "The
highest glory of the American Revolution was this: it
connected, in one indissoluble bond, the principles of
civil government with the principles of Christianity."
Adams
also said,
"From the day of the Declaration . . . They [the
American people] were bound by the laws of God, which they all, and by the laws of the
Gospel, which they nearly all, acknowledged as the rules
of their conduct."
Then, on July 4, 1837, Adams
said these words:
"Why is it that, next to
the birthday of the Savior of the World, your most
joyous and most venerated festival returns on this day?
. . . Is it not that, in the chain of human events, the
birthday of the nation is indissolubly linked with the
birthday of the Savior? That it forms a leading event in
the progress of the gospel dispensation? 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 corner stone of
human government upon the first precepts of
Christianity, and gave to the world the first
irrevocable pledge of the fulfillment of the prophecies,
announced directly from Heaven at the birth of the
Savior and predicted by the greatest of the Hebrew
prophets six hundred years before?"
Daniel Webster also acknowledged
the relationship between our founders` Christian faith
and America`s creation.
He said:
"Finally, let us not forget the religious character of our origin. Our
fathers were brought hither by their high veneration for
the Christian religion. They journeyed by its light, and
labored in its hope. They sought to incorporate its
principles with the elements of their society, and to
diffuse its influence through all their institutions,
civil, political, or literary."
Noah Webster, the man who is called
the Father of American Education, said:
"Education is
useless without the Bible." He also said,
"The Bible was America`s basic textbook in all fields."
Noah Webster
went on to say:
"In my view, the Christian religion is the most important and one of the
first things in which all children, under a free
government, ought to be instructed. . . . No truth is
more evident to my mind, than that the Christian
religion must be the basis of any government intended to
secure the rights and privileges of a free people."
One more quotation from Noah
Webster is necessary at this point. He said:
"The religion which has introduced civil liberty, is the religion of
Christ and his apostles, which enjoins humility, piety,
and benevolence; which acknowledges in every person a
brother, or a sister, and a citizen with equal rights.
This is genuine Christianity, and to this we owe our
free constitutions of government."
These sentiments were the
sentiments of America from the inception of our great
country. Remember, the voyagers of the Mayflower made a
covenant between themselves and Almighty God. It is
called the
Mayflower Compact, and in it they said the reason
they had made the voyage and determined to plant
a colony in the new world was
"for
the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian
faith."
It was only in the last half of the
20th Century that America began trying to distance
itself from its Christian heritage. Yet today,
educators, entertainers, chief executives, and
politicians are in the process of supplanting our
Christian heritage with the pseudo-religions of
secularism, multiculturalism, and universalism.
What many people do not understand
is that when America abandons its dependence upon the
God of the Bible, it will—at the same time—surrender the
very foundation of our liberty and independence. As
Thomas Jefferson said:
"And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have
removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds
of the people that these liberties are the gift of God?
That they are not to be violated but with His wrath?"
Patrick Henry agreed with
Jefferson.
He said: "It
is when a people forget God that tyrants forge their
chains."
As we celebrate the vicarious death
and victorious resurrection of Jesus Christ, let us
remember the importance of preserving liberty within
these United States of America.
And this commitment involves much
more than attending church once a week or repeating an
occasional catechism. It means we must seek to
incorporate the principles of liberty and independence
into the very fabric of our lives and work. It means we
will offer eternal vigilance to the fundamental
principles upon which America was built.
Liberty has no guarantees or
assurances. Each generation must work to preserve,
protect, and defend the principles of constitutional
government, or else liberty will be lost.
The angel spoke of Christ,
declaring:
"He is risen". And so He is.
And because Christ lives, liberty
and freedom may also live.
Why? Because
"Where
the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty."
Dr. Chuck Baldwin is the
pastor of Crossroad Baptist Church in Pensacola,
Florida. He hosts a
weekly radio show. His
website is
here.
