Pastor David L. Brown, Ph.D.
Sermon Delivered 01/04/04

 Deuteronomy 28:1-26

Introduction

Families are the backbone of any society, "family" as defined by the Bible. The colonial preacher, Dr. Cotton Mather (1663-1728) said, "Well-ordered families naturally produce a good order in other societies. When families are under an ill discipline, all other societies being therefore ill disciplined, will feel that error in the first concoction."

America is journeying deeper and deeper into darkness because pressure is being brought to bear on parents and laws are being passed that undermine the authority of parents, particularly in the area of biblically disciplining their children. Further, parents are giving into their children and allowing early, recreational dating that nearly always leads to sinful premarital behavior. Then, there is the public advocacy of homosexuality alleging that this perversion is normal and natural, when the Bible clearly says it is against nature and an abomination to God. As I am preaching this message, there is a drive to legalize homosexual marriages. Americans, and in fact, many American Christian’s are increasingly walking in darkness when it comes to having a "well-ordered family."

In today’s message I intend to establish the fact that…

• America Was Founded Upon Biblical Principles

President Woodrow Wilson said, "A nation which does not know what it was yesterday, does not know what it is today, nor what it is trying to do. We are trying to do a futile thing if we don’t know where we have come from, or what we have been about." It is becoming increasingly obvious that our nation "does not know what it was yesterday."

I remind you that the USA is unique amidst the world community? We have been blessed by God, because, from the founding era our nation reverenced the Lord God and the principles of His Word. There are blessings accorded nations that reverence God and His principles and there are judgments prepared for those who do not. Turn to…

Proverbs 14:34 "Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people."

Psalms 33:12 "Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD…"

One of the many ways God has blessed our nation is by the longevity of our Constitution. We have lived under one constitution for more that 200 years. That is not true of other countries. France, for example, had her revolution about ten years after we had ours and yet the people of France are living under their 15^th constitution. Brazil has had seven constitutions since 1822. Russia has had four since 1918. God has blessed our nation because of the biblical foundation our forefathers laid. But, our nation is turning is back on the light and walking into the darkness. The pseudo historians of our day are denying our nations Christian heritage. One recent example is a book titled The Godless Constitution by Isaac Kramnick and R. Laurence Moore. These two pseudo historians are following the well worn path of historical revisionism that began around 1920 and has snowballed until many, perhaps most Americans believe that Christianity played little or no part in the founding of this Nation. Nothing could be further from the truth!

Turn in your Bibles to Psalms 127:1 "Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain." Why do I bring up this particular verse? It is because on Thursday, June 28, 1787 Benjamin Franklin issued a sobering challenge and motion for prayer to the deadlocked Constitutional Convention! He said in part…

In this situation of this Assembly, groping as it were in the dark to find political truth, and scarce able to distinguish it when presented to us, how has it happened, Sir, that we have not hitherto once thought of humbly applying to the Father of Lights (see James 1:17) to illuminate our understanding! In the beginning of the contest with Great Britain, when we were sensible of danger, we had daily prayer in this room for the Divine protection. Our prayers, Sir, were heard, and they were graciously answered. All of us who were engaged in the struggle must have observed frequent instances of a superintending Providence in our favor. To that kind Providence, we owe this happy opportunity of consulting in peace on the means of establishing our future national felicity. And have we now forgotten this powerful Friend? Or do we imagine we no longer need His assistance? 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 (see Daniel 4:25). And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice(see Matthew 10:29), is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid? We have been assured, Sir, in the Sacred Writings (see Psalm 127:1), that "except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it." I firmly believe this; and I also believe that without His concurring aid, we shall succeed in this political building no better, than the builders of Babel: We shall be divided by our little partial local interests; our projects will be confounded; and we ourselves shall become a reproach and bye word down to future ages (see Deuteronomy 28:36-37).

Franklin then makes a motion that, "henceforth prayers imploring the assistance of Heaven, and its blessings on our deliberations, be held in this Assembly every morning…" and the local pastors be called upon to lead the prayer time.

Let’s consider some other key statements. John Adams said,

"The general principles on which the Fathers achieved independence were…the general principles of Christianity. Now I will avow that I then believed, and now believe that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God."

The son of John Adams, John Quincey Adams, made a speech on July 4, 1837. In this speech he asserts by a rhetorical question, that "the Declaration of Independence…laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity."

Is it true that Christian principles were the cornerstone of the republic? YES! Here is why I can say that with confidence. Dr. Donald Lutz of the University of Houston headed a ten-year study that focused on the writings of the Founding Fathers so as to ascertain those political writers and theories that guided them in establishing our unique form of representative government. The researchers looked at over 15,000 documents from the Founders, written between the years 1760 -1805. (The results were published in 1983, Volume #78, of the American Political Science Review). The study concluded that the most often quoted source of the Founding Fathers, over a third of the time, was the Bible, especially the Pauline writings. However, the study didn't stop there. They discovered that another 60% of the time, they were quoting others who were quoting Scripture or Scriptural principles. So, the most often quoted source in the Founding Fathers' writings was the Bible. In fact, 94% of their writings were references to Scripture or quoting someone making references to the Bible. So, who influenced the Founding Fathers most? The writers of the Old and New Testaments: the Bible. (see - www.restoringourheritage.com/info.htm).

In 1853, a group of people requested that Christian principles be separated from Government. The House Judiciary and Senate committees studied the situation for a full year and finally issued their report on March 27, 1854…

United States Congress
March 27,1854, a report from Mr. Meacham of the House Committee

"At the time of the adoption of the Constitution and the amendments, the universal sentiment was that Christianity should be encouraged, not any one sect [denomination]. Any attempt to level and discard all religion would have been viewed with universal indignation." The object was not to substitute Judaism or Mohammedanism, of infidelity [Atheism], but to prevent rivalry among the [Christian] sects to the exclusion of others.

It [Christianity] must be considered as the foundation on which the whole structure rests. Laws will not have permanence or power without the sanction of religious sentiment, -- without a firm belief that there is a Power above us that will reward our virtues and punish our vices.

In this age there can be no substitute for Christianity: that, in its general principles, is the great conservative element on which we must rely for the purity and permanence of free institutions. That was the religion of the founders of the republic, and they expected it to remain the religion of their descendants. There is a great and very prevalent error on this subject in the opinion that those who organized this Government did not legislate on religion."

(see - http://users.ipa.net/~les/congress.html)

These United States of America and her citizens are journeying into darkness because they refuse to acknowledge and obey the God of the Bible and His principles, which formed the cornerstone of this nation. What will be the result, if our nation and her citizens’ do not return to their Christian roots? Lewis Cass (1782-1866), U.S. Senator, Secretary of State under James Buchanan and Governor-General of the Territory of Michigan gives us the answer; "The fate of republican government is indissolubly bound up with the fate of the Christian religion, and a people who reject its holy faith will find themselves the slaves to their own evil passions and of arbitrary power."

Christians need to wake up and smell the roses! We must share the Gospel openly with others, advocate biblical principles publicly, vote biblically, pray for those who hold public office, and some of you, who will not compromise Bible values, should consider getting involved in politics.

Ephesians 5:8 & 14-16 "For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: 14 Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. 15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil."