Our nation was the first nation founded on Scriptural principles of representative leadership and participation of the citizenry, not principles of maintaining control of the people. Nations, and even rulership of the world, had been determined by might, power and control of people. Great empires had been established through domination and dominion of those under the dictator’s control for centuries. Alexander the Great, the Caesar’s of Rome, Napoleon of France and the Nazi dictatorship of Hitler are historically failed attempts to rule people by power, coercion and control. The right to rule people by “divine authority” was proposed through numerous monarchies and kingdoms, justified by the false declaration that the proper rulers of the world were appointed by God and propogated by followership by the masses.

Not until the seventeenth century did any nation attempt to declare its government of the people through principles of representative leadership and governing through the “consent of the governed.” Many previous nations had called upon God’s name to justify and legitimize their existence. It was not until the founding of America, however, that the leaders of a nation declared their intention to found the nation on the blessings and liberties that God had promised. America broke with the long standing tradition that the people of a nation were not capable of choosing their leadership. It was America who first chose to separate the God-given rights of leadership that had justified kings from a right for each individual citizen to worship in the way they chose and select their leaders from among themselves.

Interestingly, the Scripture tells us through the ages that God always puts into positions of leadership whom He chooses. That did not start with our Constitutional Republic. God chose Nebucchenezzer to rule over Babylon to bring about his will in the existence of His own people. He sets rulers up and He takes them down. He also demands that we pray for our leaders, whether they have been chosen or not. What changed in the establishment of our nation was the choice by its leaders to follow Scriptural principles in looking to God for its founding.

In England, the King or Queen was, by definition, titled the “defender of the Christian faith.” As all human-inspired governments would go, however, it demanded absolute obedience to that King or Queen who always knew exactly how men ought to live and how they should worship God. It was the independence of those who left Europe to seek freedom to worship God how they chose that led to establishment of colonies in what was to become America.

From the beginning of our history, America’s people exercised their freedoms to worship God as they chose apart from the domination of their mother land. Like the ancient nation of Israel, it was actually the unjust practice of how the people were taxed that caused their eventual revolution from and independence from which they had come. Many will claim that God’s blessing was upon our nation from its beginning. Certainly, through the tests and trials of our revolutionary war with England, our leaders constantly insisted on their reliance of God in everything from their very survival to eventually how they would overcome the strongest Army and Navy in the world.

It doesn’t take an exhaustive search through the founding documents of our establishing documents to see that we founded everything about our existence as a nation our faith and trust in God. When George Washington was faced with obliteration on numerous times, he prayed to God almighty for His protection and provision where there appeared to be none left. God always provided.

“It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the Providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor.”
      George Washington, Thanksgiving Proclamation, 1789

Benjamin Franklin, during our war for Independence wrote of our trust in God’s providence:
“How has it happened, Sir, that we have hitherto once thought of humbly appealing to the Father of lights to illuminate our understandings? In the beginning of the contest with Great Britain, when we were sensible to danger, we had daily prayers in this room for Divine protection. Our prayers, Sir, were heeded and they were graciously answered…”

“I have lived, Sir, a long time and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth – that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid? We have been assured, Sir, in the sacred writings that ‘except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it.’ …I firmly believe this…”

During the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln admitted: “We have grown in numbers, wealth and power as no other nation has grown. But we have forgotten God ... It behooves us, then, to humble ourselves before the offended power, to confess our national sins ...” Abraham Lincoln, 1863

Most recently, President Ronald Reagan acknowledged our dependence on God as a nation when he addressed the Religious Broadcasters in 1984:“God’s most blessed gift to His family is the gift of life. He sent us the Prince of Peace as a babe in a manger. I’ve said that we must be cautious in claiming God is on our side. I think the real question we must answer is, are we on His side?”
      Ronald Reagan, Speech to National Religious Broadcasters, 1984

Our founding fathers constantly declared Psalms 33:12 “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.”

Our leaders declared Proverbs 14:34 “Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.” Pastors covered our new nation with calls for repentance and turning to God. God answered with the Great Awakening that we experienced in those early days which strongly influenced how we founded our nation on reliance on God. Our leaders took to heart, literally, what Isaiah preached in Isaiah 60:12 “For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea those nations shall be utterly wasted.”


Scripture: God governs in the affairs of man…..
Acts 17:24-26
“The God who made the world…gives to all life and breath and all things; and He made…. every nation…., having determined their appointed times, and the boundaries of their habitation.”
Proverbs 16:9-10
“The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps. A divine decision is in the lips of the king.”
Psalms 22:28
“For the kingdom is the Lord’s, and He rules over the nations.”
Daniel 4: 17, 26
“The Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind;… Your kingdom will be assured to you after you recognize it is Heaven that rules.”
2 Chronicles 7:14
“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”


Three Things We Must Do…..
1) We must become people of God again.
2) We must get involved. Vote. Participate in the political process. Run for office.
3) We must help our nation return to a reliance upon God and His providence and sovereignty.

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Churches and Ministries - Missions - Youth Camp - Conferences - BPH - Leadership - Doctrine - History - Doc Varnell

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