Many skeptics of the Bible tell us that if a nation is built upon the principles of the Bible, that nation will soon be doomed to destruction.
In fact, there are many who would have us to believe that Christianity had no part in the foundation of America, despite the obvious facts of history. For example, the courts have long since declared that America was founded upon Christian principles (despite the unpopularity of this fact):
“The documentary evidence of the Christian origin of this nation is voluminous; it would take hours even to quote it. The Supreme Court of the United States thoroughly studied this issue, and in 1892 gave us what is known as the Trinity Decision. In that decision, the Supreme Court declared, “These, and many other matters which might be noticed, add a volume of unofficial declarations to the mass of organic utterances that this is a Christian nation.”5 That is where this nation began.” (D. James Kennedy with Jerry Newcombe, What If America Were A Christian Nation Again? 203-204 (Kindle Edition); Nashville, TN; Thomas Nelson)
One author, a Native American commissioned to write down the legends of his people for future generations, documented about the Christian foundations of our nation:
“In 1811, New York Supreme Court Chief Justice James Kent in People v. Ruggles held: “‘…whatever strikes at the root of the Bible tends manifestly to the dissolution of civil government….’ We are a Christian people, and the morality of the country is deeply engrafted upon the Bible…. The Bible in its enlarged sense, as a religion revealed and taught in the Bible, is part and parcel of the law of the land…” (People v. Ruggles, 1811) The South Carolina Supreme Court upheld the Christian foundation of this nation when it ruled in 1844 ” Charleston v. Benjamin, “The Bible is part of the common law of the land, with liberty of conscience to all. It has always been so recognized…. Judge Nathaniel Freeman in 1802 charged Massachusetts Grand Juries as follows: “The laws of the Christian system, as embraced by the Bible, must be respected as of high authority in all our courts…. [Our government] originating in the voluntary compact of a people who in that very instrument profess the Christian religion, it may be considered, not as republic Rome was a Pagan, but a Christian republic.” (City of Charleston v Benjamin, 1846)..”. (Chief Joseph Riverwind, Assisted by Laralyn RiverWind That’s What The Old Ones Say: Pre-Colonial Revelations Of God, 146-147 (Kindle Edition); Marble, NC; Word Branch Publishing)
Our country was indeed founded on the principles of the Bible. It was when our rich Christian heritage was recognized and appreciated that our people were greatly prospered. It is only since we have forgotten the God Who has loved us and blessed us that we have seen great national despair.
in the midst of our nation’s identity crisis, I want to share with you the story of a village called Shimabuku. John Blanchard relates the account to us:
“Some years ago, Reader’s Digest carried a story entitled ‘Shimabuku — the Village that Lives by the Bible’. It told how an advance patrol of American troops liberating the Island of Okinawa were approaching a particular village when they were confronted by two old men carrying a Bible. Suspicious of a trap, they called for the chaplain, who said he felt they could go on. Entering the village, they found it spotless, the fields tilled and fertile, and everything a model of neatness and cleanliness — totally unlike the other run-down villages they had seen. They soon discovered the reason for this amazing contrast. Thirty years earlier, an American missionary on his way to Japan had called at Shimabuku and stayed long enough to leave behind two men who had come to believe in God. He also left a Japanese Bible, which he urged them to study and live by. Without any other outside human help, the community had gradually been transformed. There was no jail, no brothel, no drunkenness, no divorce, a high standard of health and a remarkable spirit of social unity and happiness. Clarence Hall, the war correspondent who wrote the story, quoted the words of his dumbfounded driver: ‘So this is what comes out of a Bible… Maybe we are using the wrong weapons to change the world!’”” (John Blanchard, Does God Believe In Atheists? 9345-9362 (Kindle Edition); Carlisle, Pa; EP Books USA)
In this village history, we are reminded of the transformative power of God’s Word.
The only hope which our nation has is to return to the principles of the Holy Scriptures. It is only when we learn again to love the Lord with all of our being and to love our neighbor as ourself (Matthew 22:37-40). We need to again remember that righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people (Proverbs 14:34).
As a New Testament Christian, I will do what I can to teach people about the saving power of Jesus Christ (Romans 1:16), while at the same time praying that this great nation will remember the God Who is the Giver of every good and every perfect gift (James 1:17).
Years ago, when I was a child growing up in the beautiful state of West Virginia, I remember my preacher Charles Pugh delivering a message one Sunday morning on how our leaders were forgetting the Christian foundations of America. At the conclusion of his lesson, he shared this powerful poem that still speaks so eloquently to our day and age:
I Dreamed I Saw America On Her Knees
C.L. Powell
I dreamed I saw America on her knees.
I dreamed I heard her say: “God, help us, please.”
I saw our children playing happy and free.
I heard them sing: “My Country, tis of thee.”
I walked inside an old country school;
I heard the children quote the golden rule.
I saw the people passing on their way.
I heard them with kind words to say.
I saw a family, with happy boys and girls.
They were a familiar scene, in a Godly world.
I heard a mother call in words so kind,
“Come to the house, children; it’s supper time.”
I saw them around the table, I hear Daddy say,
“We must thank God for our food; let’s pray.”
I walked into a place of worship; I heard them sing,
Not with style nor glamour; just voices, with a Godly ring.
I awoke from my dream with glad refrain.
Please help us bring America back to God again!
Friends, the Lord Who has the power to save this nation has the power to save you. He wants to save you from sin, and is now calling you to Him to be saved. He says that His desire is that even the most wicked will turn from their wicked ways and turn to Him and live (Ezekiel 18:23). He loves us so very much that He sent His Son Jesus Christ to die for our sins on the Cross of Calvary (John 3:16; 1 Timothy 2:6), be buried, and rise from the dead on the third day (1 Corinthians 15:1-8). He is calling upon you now to trust in Him as the only Savior (Acts 16:31). Will you not as a believer in Him repent of our sins, confess Him as the Son of God, and be baptized into Him with the determination to live faithfully to Him-even to the point of death-as a member of His church (Acts 2:38; 8:37; 1 Timothy 6:12)? When you fall short as a Christian and sin, He will forgive when you repent and confess your sins to Him in prayer (1 John 1:9). Why not turn to Him today? If I can assist you in any way, please call on me.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.
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