America’s Journey Into Darkness-2
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 15th
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."
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