They Signed Their Names

Ps. 33:12

 

 

250 years ago it became official as our forefathers signed their names on the Declaration of Independence. They knew they were risking their lives for the great cause of founding a nation whose God is the LORD, and so many of them died young, hunted down for their stand. They not only put their names on the Declaration…they put HIS name on it. They said our rights and freedoms are endowed by our Creator, and their personal writings reveal they believed in one specific deity: the God of all Gods whose name is Jehovah, Whose Son’s name is Jesus Christ, who is the King of all Kings and the LORD of Lords.

 

Psalm 33:12 states, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD.”

 

He is the God of our Fathers. And they signed their names to it.

 

Now when you think of their signatures, what name comes to mind?

John Hancock, who signed so large. He is quoted as saying, “There! His Majesty can now read my name without glasses. And he can double the reward on my head!” That was 250 years ago. Some of you have been alive for more than 1/3^rd of our history!

 

250 is quite young in a historical perspective, but it's a long time for a nation to remain free.  But really, when you look at it in the context of world history America is just a CHILD among the nations. Egypt, China, Japan, Rome, Greece:  they all make America’s history seem so short. Consider what a brief time we’ve really been here as a nation:

When the author of the Declaration, Thomas Jefferson died, Abraham Lincoln was a young man of 17. When Lincoln was assassinated, Woodrow Wilson was a little boy [8]. The year Wilson died George Bush the elder was born.  And he just recently died during the Trump administration.

 

Point is:  The lives of four presidents can take you all the way back to the beginning of our country. We are so young. And yet we stand tall among the nations because of the Christian principles on which we were established. Our nation is young, and we cannot allow it to die young.

 

So much has happened over those 250 years, but the vision of a truly Christian nation started over 400 years ago. Colonists journeyed across the big pond and struggled and died young trying to make a home for their children in the new world. 2/3rds of those who founded Jamestown died within the first 6 months. After that, life expectancy was in the 30s-40s for decades. They had a vision and they signed their names to it. And they died young.

 

But nevermind 250 or even 400…for the faith of our nation was first made possible 2,000 years ago as Jesus said in

John 15:13 "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."

 

And it wasn’t just words, for just a few months later He signed His name to it, dying young on the cross of Calvary. He bled red so we who were blue might be made white! He signed His name in blood so sinners might go free and bear His wonderful name. Many of you are now named after Him. If you are a “Christ”ian, say amen! If you know America was founded as a “Christ”ian nation say amen! If you have been born again then you have signed on the bottom line and your name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life in heaven and one day when the roll is called up yonder you can say “Present” – and there’s my name right there. You want me to sign again? I’ll do it twice as big if you let me!

 

It all started when Jesus the Savior laid down His life for us. Over our history, millions have also signed their name to the Declaration as they fought and bled and died young so this Christian nation could keep having birthdays. We can’t allow it to die young!

 

Hold on, are we supposed to be talking about this? What about the separation of church and state?

 

Well, there are three God-ordained institutions:  the home, the church, and the government.  Nobody says boo when we preach about the home or the church, but they try to assert that we can’t preach about the government.  They say that church and state are to be separate.  They should be reminded that our forefathers had just escaped government persecution of the church, and they wanted to keep the government out of their church…not the other way around.  In fact, our nation’s entire moral code was founded on the Christian book: the Bible!

 

The phrase “separation of church and state” never appears in the Constitution! It was coined in the U.S. from a letter Thomas Jefferson wrote to the Danbury Baptist Association assuring them that he would keep the Government out of the Church (NOT the Church out of the Government). He was saying, never again will there be a government sponsored church like you had back in England, where everyone is forced to attend and support!

This is why the first amendment says:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

 

There IS such a thing as separation of church and state, and it is intended as a one-way street!

 

Some say, “No, they wanted to keep both separate.”

Well, let’s think about that.

 

As the early colonists stepped off the Mayflower they signed a compact, the 2nd paragraph of which begins:  “For the Glory of God and advancement of the Christian Faith.”

 

The Puritans:  they gave their reasons for coming to America as well.  In the opening sequence of the New England Confederation it says:  “Whereas we all came…to advance the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ and to enjoy the liberties of the gospel...”

 

Benjamin Franklin, when once challenged about having a political session opened with prayer said, "…God governs in the Affairs of Men…except the Lord build the House they labor in vain who build it.”

 

Who said the following?

“We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity; we have grown in numbers, wealth and power as no other nation has ever grown.

But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand, which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us.”

1863—Abraham Lincoln, in proclaiming a national thanksgiving day.

 

Separation of church and state?  Really?
*First colonies – Jamestown, Va. First community building was a church. It’s the only building there with wall still standing today.

[By the way, the 6^th structure built on the rail stop of New London in 1818 was a school that allowed a church to meet there on Sundays. You are right now sitting in the new location of that same church!]
*Puritans first act at Plymouth Rock = kneel, praise God, and dedicate the new colony.
*Roger Williams who established Rhode Island was a Baptist minister.
*Lord Baltimore held church service to establish Maryland.
*William Penn (Quaker) est. Penn, NY, DEL, Conn, NC, SC, Georgia.
*William Penn in writing government policies for PA made sure “all treasurers, judges, and all elected officials profess faith in Christ.”

 

Our Founding Fathers consistently spoke of the need for utilizing the Bible and Judeo-Christian values in defining and preserving this nation:

 

* Twelve of the original 13 colonies incorporated the entire Ten Commandments into their civil and criminal codes.

*Our first president, George Washington, took the oath of office and put his hand on what? (the Bible)

What was his first official act as President? (kissed the Bible, then held a 2 hr. praise/worship session in Congress)

How did they determine to open sessions of Congress? (in prayer)

Who would lead in those prayers? (chaplains)

How would they be paid? (government tax dollars)

        Does that sound like they wanted to keep God out of government?

 

By the way, opening in prayer is an ironic subject…why is it that the little boys and girls cannot open in prayer in school, but the big Congressmen can?

*It was Congress who voted to put “In God We Trust” on our currency.

*In 1776, 11 of the 13 colonies required that one had to be a Christian to be eligible to run for political office.  [what if that were today?]

*In 1777, the Continental Congress voted to spend $300,000 to purchase Bibles for distribution in the nation. [$9 million today]

* President John Adams stated, “The law given from Sinai was a civil and municipal code as well as a moral and religious code.”

*94% OF THE WRITINGS OF THE FOUNDING FATHERS OF THE U.S. CONTAINED QUOTATIONS FROM THE HOLY SCRIPTURES.

*THE STATE CONSTITUTIONS OF ALL 50 STATES MENTION GOD.

*The famous "Liberty Bell" has Leviticus 25:10 inscribed on it: "Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof."

*Proverbs 14:34 is inscribed above the L.A. city hall door: "RIGHTEOUSNESS EXALTETH A NATION: BUT SIN IS A REPROACH TO ANY PEOPLE." [ironic]

*An image of Moses the lawgiver faces the Speaker of the House of Representatives.  [Jim Jordan could have had the job]

* The Supreme Court [bldg. entrance features Moses at the center of several lawgivers…some of the justices MUST enter from the back or something!] begins each of its sessions with the phrase 'God save the United States and this honorable court,'

*The entering President takes his OATH OF OFFICE with his right hand on the Holy Bible, and concludes his vow "So help me God."

 

We were honored today that Congressman Jim Jordan and Sen. Jon Husted sent messages to their fellow Americans. I have here some other statements from a few other great leaders:

*First Vice President and Second President, John Adams wrote in 1798:

"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."  [how true!]

*His son and our sixth President, John Quincy Adams said:

"No book in the world deserves to be so unceasingly studied, and so profoundly meditated upon as the Bible."

*President Thomas Jefferson:

"I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever." - 1781

*Theodore Roosevelt, our 26th President, wrote:

"In this actual world, a churchless community…where men have abandoned and scoffed at, or ignored their religious needs, is a community on the rapid down-grade." - 1917

*Woodrow Wilson, our 28th President and Governor of New Jersey, said this:

"America was born a Christian nation. America was born to exemplify that devotion to the elements of righteousness which are derived from the revelations of the Holy Scripture." - 1911

*Calvin Coolidge, our 30th President, said this about our founding fathers:

"America was born a Christian nation…derived from the revelations of the Holy Scripture…who can fail to see it in the hand of destiny? Who can doubt that it has been guided by a Divine Providence?" - 1923

*Franklin Roosevelt prayed this prayer on a national radio hookup on D-Day, June 6, 1944, as our troops stormed the beaches of Normandy, France:

"Almighty God... with Thy blessing we shall prevail over the unholy forces of our enemy. Lead us to the saving of our country. Thy will be done, Almighty God. Amen."

*Gerald Ford, our 38th President, quoted a 1955 speech by Dwight D. Eisenhower on December 5, 1974:

"Without God there could be no American form of government, nor an American way of life. Recognition of the Supreme Being is the first - the most basic - expression of Americanism. Thus the founding fathers of America saw it, and thus with God's help, it will continue to be."

*President Ronald Reagan:

"If we ever forget that we are 'One nation, under God', then we will be one nation gone under."

 

If the intention of separation of church and state was to keep the church from influencing the government, then the vast majority of our founders, leaders, and presidents have ignored that directive!

 

If we don’t want our nation to die young, and if we truly want to be great again, we must seek to be Godly again! 

 

We sang God Bless America…but which America should He bless? There are now two.  Half of our nation is now drenched in ignorance of our Christian heritage. Many of those are revisionists, trying to rewrite our history. Others don’t deny it but reject it and want to burn it all down and start over without God.  Many are angry and protest simply just to vent from wicked hearts. And so many patriotic Americans died young so they could have their freedom of speech.  When you look at this American Flag please realize that these red stripes are bars of blood, a price paid for you to be free!  And when people today burn that flag in ignorant demonstrations, it’s not freedom of speech, it’s high treason against the land of the free and the home of the brave!

 

It’s very telling that millions of foreigners are here for the World Cup, so many of them expressing that we are the greatest nation in the history of the planet, and yet so many of our own people don’t appreciate what they’ve got. We are now 250 - we cannot allow this great nation to die so young! We need more to sign their names to a Declaration of “Dependence” upon God who gives us life and breath and freedom.

 

It would be easy to lose hope, except for the fact that our hope is in the Lord, and not in man.  Ultimately it may be in God’s hands, and yet, He said in II Chron. 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.

 

Here’s a NT version in 1 Peter 4:17

For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

 

Our hope is not in the White House, state house, court house, but in God’s house, which is made up of your house and my house!

 

If we want America to be great again, we must be godly again!  Don’t forget the God of our Fathers.  If you want true freedom you must be born again!  Make sure your name is written in the Book of Life! [give gospel]