When our nation’s Founding Father’s gave us gave documents such as the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights they had to lean upon a common understanding of the law, government, social order, and morality. This understanding sprang from the common acceptance of what was has come to be known as the Judeo-Christian Ethic, which is the system of the moral and social values that originates in the Old ad New testaments of the Word of God.
The issue is not whether all of our Founders were Christian or not but these men through their writings, their statements, their votes, and their voices and came together and embraced these principles with the understanding that these core values would be the basis for an American nation.
PRINCIPLE #1- THE DIGNITY OF HUMAN LIFE
- Pro 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
- Psa_14:1 To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.
The Scriptures teach the great importance of the respect and preservation of human life. We have people today that cannot even define what life is or where life begins.
- Jeremiah 1:5 – Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
Where are we as a nation when we cannot even agree on the sanctity of human life? In the Declaration of Independence our nation’s Founding Father’s wrote that everyone has “unalienable rights,” and that among these are “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
Americans not only believe this for our land, but also we send our brave military men and women around the world to defend the rights of those who are threatened.
If people and nations do not grant ultimate respect and protection to both the born and unborn, all other professed morals and values are meaningless. The dignity of human life is not just a principle of the Bible- it’s the first principle of any human society.
PRINCIPLE #2 – THE TRADITIONAL MONOGAMOUS FAMILY
Our society had been based upon the belief that the biblical view of traditional marriage and family is the backbone of a healthy social order. Since the joining together of Adam and Eve, marriage has been recognized as a holy union between one man and one woman, and out of that union comes children – born into a home with a father and a mother to love them, nurture them how to become healthy, productive, and responsible citizens.
- Gen 2:23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
Gen 2:24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
The plan of God, nature, and common sense is a man and a woman producing children within the institution of marriage. When that plan is lost, “marriage” and “family” become meaningless, and a nation and its people will follow the road to ruin. World history has proven it over and over again. Preserving the traditional family is vital to the future of any great nation.
PRINCIPLE #3 – A NATIONAL WORK ETHIC
Ingrained deep within the American spirit is the willingness and the desire to give an honest days work for an honest day’s pay. In the book of Thessalonians we see that the author is giving a warning against idleness:
2Th 3:10 For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.
This independent spirit has no desire to simply exist on handouts from government or to depend on the generosity of others. It is this same independent spirit that has allowed America to create the greatest and strongest economy in the history of the world.
Americans have had their challenges. We have had to overcome great trials and whether fierce storms. The Great Depression of the 1930’s beat America to her knees but it did not beat us. Together we saw Americans rise up in the midst of great poverty and turmoil, helping one another and lifting lady liberty back up on her feet. The powers of the world have always looked upon our nation and asked themselves where this spirit of honest labor came from and where this work ethic originated.
It came from the men and women who lived before us. Those generations that have gone on before us have set the standard and have lived by the principle of honest, hard, manual labor, which is found in the Word of God.
PRICNIPLE #4- THE RIGHT TO A GOD CENTERED-EDUCATION
We see in Proverbs 1:7 that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” How can one understand Creation without knowing its Creator? We cannot.
Thomas Jefferson said these words: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
Our forefathers certainly understood this principle. Most of America’s oldest Universities such as Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Dartmouth were founded by Christian preachers or churches? Harvard University for example, founded in 1636, adopted “Rules and Precepts” which stated:
“Let every student be plainly instructed and earnestly pressed to consider well, the main end of his life and studies is, to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternal life.” Harvards original seal has these words on it: “Truth for Christ and the Church.”
The early children’s textbook “The New England Primer” taught the ABCs by having children memorize scripture with the alphabet. Today’s youth are tomorrow’s America.
There is truth in the statement attributed to George Washington: “Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail to the exclusion of religious principle….
- “It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible.
You take away the Bible as the standard and you have chaos, which is exactly what we are witnessing in our nation today. Truth no longer lies in the power of the Gospel message to many in our country. Truth has become relevant, which means truth has become whatever we want it to be. It is a very dangerous place to be.
PRICNIPLE #5- THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT
Our founders and much of America for over the last 200 years have always held fast the covenant that God has made with the people of Israel. Israel started with Abraham.
- Gen 12:1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
Gen 12:2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
Gen 12:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
A covenant is a decision involving two individuals or groups stating that they will keep a promise or fulfill an agreement between them. The Book of Genesis records God making a covenant with Abraham. The basis of that covenant was that Abraham would follow God, obeying His laws and commandments, God would bless Abraham with generations of children that would outnumber the stars in the heavens.
- Gen 15:5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.
Gen 15:6 And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.
Abraham believed God, obeyed His Word, and God rewarded him with many descendants, a nation of people now known as Israel.
For most of our nations history we as Americans have accepted this covenant between God and Israel to be true. The belief in this covenant was part of the foundation in which our nation was built upon. The principle of this covenant between God and Abraham states that if the people obey God, observes His Word, the truths found in the scriptures, then these people or nation will be blessed.
Our Founders were God-fearing, praying people who in their language, their deeds, their lifestyles, their writings, they blessed God and in turn God blessed us. We have indeed been a blessed nation. The writer of Proverbs tells us this:
- Pro 14:34 Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.
PRICNIPLE #6- COMMON DECENCY
Simply put, this is the belief that a decent nation is made up of decent people. That nation, when faced with any trying or difficult situation, will do the decent, right, and honest thing. And for the most part, that has been the record of our national history.
For example, Americans have given their lives in wars on foreign soil so that others around the world may experience freedom. Americans have worked to feed the world’s poor, clothe the naked, and aid in the hurting. Americans have opened their arms to many of the worlds oppressed and given them safe haven.
- Mat 22:39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
- Mat 5:43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
- Mat 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
At the base of the Statue of Liberty there is an engraving on a bronze plaque with these words written on it from the poem “The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus. “Give me your tired, give me your poor, your huddled masses, yearning to breathe, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me; I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
The people that came to our shores all these many years ago wanted to be Americans. They wanted a better life for their families so therefore they wanted to make America better. They honored this nation with their works. We have always been a nation of immigrants, people of all different races and backgrounds.
Now it seems like people are coming here trying to erase America- and many who live in America are the ones who are enabling these people trying to get into our country illegally, enabling them to help destroy and erase our nations culture and history.
The Statue of Liberty is a world renowned symbol of freedom, this statue stands to remind us all that America has indeed been, and continues to be today, a nation of common decency.
PRINCIPLE #7- OUR PERSONAL ACCOUNTABILITY TO GOD
- Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
This is perhaps the greatest restraint against acts of evil toward others is the knowledge that every person and nation will one day give an account for their actions to Almighty God.
As a nation today we are nearly split right down the middle as a majority of Americans (56%) say they believe in God “as described in the Bible.”
The farther we drift away from the truth that is in the Word of God, the farther we drift away from the principles that are in Scriptures, the teachings of Christ, the more we will start to see common decency between our fellow man erode away. Even if we disagree, we can still show respect and love one another.
The Bible teaches us that we are all responsible for our own actions. It seems today that we are all trying to blame each other for our problems. We are accountable for what we do and don’t do.
The Scriptures also teach us that there is a penalty for doing wrong and blessing when we do that which is right, noble, and just. There are consequences for sin and for the choices we make as well as rewards and blessings. God has given us the freedom to make these choices. Our founders believed in an Almighty Creator in which our rights were given to us.
The great American statesman was once asked this question:
“What is the most sobering thought has ever entered your mind?
His response: “My personal accountability towards God.”
Webster knew that one day he would stand before God in eternity and give an account for his actions. The same applies to every man, woman, and nation.
Sources used : Writings from the American Patriots Bible, King James Version
Restoring Faith, Family, and Freedom in America 