The Riches OF GRACE
“hath appeared to all men.” Titus 2:11
Robert W. Reed
America
“Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD: and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.”
Psalm 33:12
+ Our Godly Heritage +
“It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
-Patrick Henry
The motto of the Revolutionary War was “No King But King Jesus” in opposition to King George III of England. It is evident from history that the United States of America has a Godly heritage. Our history, our songs, our heritage have been rooted in the principles of the Puritan faith and Christianity. Many try to tell us today that all our founding fathers were deists or atheists. But, the records show that many of them were Christians and believed the Bible to be the Word of God. In this article we will let them speak for themselves as we quote our founding fathers.
It all began when our forefathers boarded a tiny ship called the “Mayflower” to cross the stormy Atlantic. As they landed on the shores of what we now know as America, forty-one brave men signed a document called The Mayflower Compact on the eleventh day of November, 1620. From this simple act of faith, other colonies in succession would draft similar documents; from these the Constitution of the United States of America was formed. Three fourths of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were spiritual heirs of Jamestown, Virginia. In 1609, a pamphlet was distributed in Jamestown that said, “The purpose of this settlement is to preach and baptize into the Christian religion and by the propagation of the gospel, to recover sinners out of the arms of the devil.”
George Washington, our first president, was in public service nearly fifty years. He said, “No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the invisible hand which conducts the affairs of men more than the people of the United States.” He also said, “It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible.” In his farewell address, which is no longer in the public school textbooks, he said, “Do not let anyone claim to be a true American if they ever attempt to remove religion from politics.”
Just a few years after the Declaration of Independence was signed, the Supreme Court in 1799 said, “By our form of government the Christian religion is the established religion.” John Jay, the first Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court said, “Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers.”
John Adams said, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.” James Madison, the chief architect of our Constitution said, “We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it. We have staked the future of all our political institutions upon the capacity of mankind for self-government; upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, according to the Ten Commandments of God.” When the British attacked Boston, Congress read Psalm 35 and prayed to God for deliverance. Congress still opens every day of business with prayer. Every United States President is sworn into office with his hand on the Holy Bible. Even naturalized citizens take their oath of allegiance ending with “...so help me God.”
It is estimated that over ninety percent of our founding fathers believed in God. Thirty-four percent of all the quotes by the founding fathers came from the Bible. Also, men like Blackstone and Locke, whom the founders quoted, took much of their own quotes from the Bible. Our three branches of government came from Isaiah 33:22. Tax exemption for churches came from Ezra 7:24, which no other nation has today. The book of Deuteronomy was the most quoted book of the Bible by our founding fathers. This book deals much with civil government. This is why America was founded as a republic, not a democracy. We are governed by constitutional law, not by majority law. Our founding fathers, who framed the constitution, realized that governments of democracy were short lived and ended in bondage. Democracies are only a step from anarchy.
Our motto is “In God We Trust.” Every coin minted in the United States has inscribed on it, “Liberty” and “In God We Trust.” All money that passes through our hands reminds us of God. The first Bible printed in the United States of America in 1782 was approved and recommended by the United States Congress. The Ten Commandments hang on the wall of the Supreme Court. The message of Christianity is stamped on our capitol building, monuments and coins. Our colleges, such as Harvard, Yale, Princeton, were formed to train men to preach the gospel. Every session of Congress begins with prayer to God. The 83rd. congress set aside a room in the capitol building as a private prayer room for congressmen. In that room, there is a picture of George Washington kneeling and behind him are the words, “Preserve me, O God: For in thee do I put my trust,” (Psalm 16:1). Lining the walls of the Washington Monument stairwells are many phrases taken directly from the Bible. Also, many Scripture verses are on the walls of the Library of Congress. Our Christian heritage is seen throughout our capitol building. There is a Picture of the Pilgrims as they leave Holland, and written on the sails of the ship, the Mayflower, was, “In God We Trust, God be with us.” George Read, one of our founding fathers, after signing The Declaration of Independence, went back to Delaware and wrote the new constitution for Delaware. One excerpt from that constitution is, Delaware 1776. Article XXII: “Every person who shall be chosen a member of either house, or appointed to any office or place of trust...shall...make and subscribe the following declaration, to wit: I______, do profess faith in God the Father, and in Jesus Christ His only Son, and in the Holy Ghost, one God, blessed for evermore; and I do acknowledge the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be given by divine Inspiration.”
Today, America needs to repent and turn back to its Godly Heritage.
“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.” II Chronicles 7:14
“Give me Liberty, or Give Me Death.”
- Patrick Henry
"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” Acts 16:31
Victory Baptist Church
Pastor Robert W. Reed
14473 Bellingrath Road
P.O. Box 257
Coden, Alabama 36523
(251) 873-4422