Independence Day 7/4/09

The 4th of July is a time to celebrate the independence from what the colonies saw as the tyranny of the king. As we face increasing tyranny by a central government that seeks to control every aspect of life the 4th should be a time to reflect on what our founding fathers desired from their declaration of independence.

We have become a people that have moved from our founders reliance, dependence, on God to being a people reliant on “Uncle Sam.” When I say founders we must not forget that the true founders of this country arrived on these shores over 150 years before 1776. They came with a puritan view of God that saw His sovereign hand in all that happened including their move to the new land they were in. Their mindset also came with a biblical view of man and his depravity which would lead them to see the need for even godly leaders and government to have controls since man was still man and prone to his own ends instead of God’s.

The following are some sections of the Declaration of Independence with thoughts:

“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”

Sadly many try to disconnect God from our founding and our nation but any basic understanding of the history of our nation and the writings of its founders will show quite the opposite. In the quote above it is clear that what we are endowed with is not what we desire as life, liberty and happiness but what God decrees as such. Since it is God that gives us these rights it is not the governments place to take them away or create new ones. We are to search out these rights in the word of God and not by our sinful inclinations. The government then is to protect the rights that God has given to His creation and the only way to do this is to have these rights defined by His word and not by mans ever changing view of himself.


“That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,..”

Do you see that the place and purpose of government is not to rule but secure those rights that God decrees in His word. Government has no need to create what God has already decreed. This is basically what Paul tells us about government in Romans 13, that the government is to protect us from evildoers that would deprive us from God given rights. It is also clear that the founding fathers placed the government as the servant of the people and not the other way around. The government is to derive its “just powers” by the consent of the people and the nature of those powers are tied back to and define by God. I do not think the intention of he founders was that popular opinion was to drive the government but that the founders wanted the government to realize for what purpose it existed, to care for the rights, biblical rights, of the people and then to act justly.


“ 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,”

This last section appeals not to man or some legislative body but to the “Supreme Judge of the world.” The founders did not seek approval with regards to their intended separation from England from man but from God. As we look at the present landscape of our country we need to have the focus of the founders in that our intentions are seen as not judged by the vote of men or the inclinations of culture but by the very word of God. Also, prior to the statement above there is a long list of tyrannical activities of the crown that led them to the point of seeking separation from England. This list shows this was not done as a knee jerk reaction but was embarked on only after extended acts of tyranny. While the acts may be different from today tyranny still exists. Government run by man and with man as its judge, instead of God, will only lead to tyranny.

We have come a long way from the God centered view of the leadership in 1776 to the secular humanistic God denying government of today. Sure, many in government claim the mantel of “Christian” but when weighed by scripture they come up severely wanting. We need to seek life, liberty and happiness as defined in scripture and that is a far cry from what is offered up by today’s government. Many want to separate the bible from politics and government but that would be seeking to do other than the founding fathers desired. More importantly it would be a far cry from what God desires.

I would encourage you to read the Declaration of Independence. As you read through it ask yourself if this country was founded on biblical principles. Once you see the centrality of God to the founding of this nation you should see the need to seek out God’s desires for how we are to live so that then we can truly see what God intends for “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” It is a far cry from what is presented to us today by the government and mankind in general. Let us seek to live lives that are in line with God’s word and not simply acceptable to the world around us. Let us be a light in this world.