OUR GODLY HERITAGE

AMERICA’S CHRISTIAN ROOTS

OUTLINE:
I – The Signs of America’s Christianity was found in its Memoirs.
II – The Signs of America’s Christianity was found in its Monuments.
III – The Signs of America’s Christianity was found in its Meetings.
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In Ephesians two Paul reveals to us many principles or foundational blocks upon which our faith was built.

A - In verse one he speaks of our Salvation: 2:1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins:
“Quickening” in this verse refers to being made alive in Christ. It refers to the dead coming to life. It refers to a resurrection.
In verses two and three Paul reveals that we once walked to the beat of a different drummer.

B - These verses refer to one who Surrenders: 2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

C - And in verse four and five we see a willing Security: 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
By God’s mercy and grace, he saves us and secures us. We are quicken together with Christ.

D - Then verse six reminds us of our Seat: 6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
Our position with Christ is greater than any governor, politician, president or king.

E – Lastly look at our Standing with Christ: Ephesians 2: 20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:

In Psalms 11:3 we read these words. ‘If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?’

If the Christian heart and home is to be honorable, happy, and healthy it must be built on the foundation or principles of God’s Holy Word.

As most Christians examine the foundations of freedom and liberty and godliness. We find that freedom and liberty is still intact in America, but godliness is far from a character trait of the American culture.
Keep in mind there are force that be which are determined to take those freedoms away which we enjoy today.
Let’s examine many of those great Biblical principles that America was built on and be encouraged to continue the work.

AMERICA WAS BUILT UPON GREAT BIBLICAL TRUTHS
In the beginning of this country the Homes of America, the educational institutions of America and the churches of America were all build upon the righteous truths of the Holy Scriptures.

1) The belief that the Bible was God’s holy inspired word was never questioned by our forefathers in America.
2) The belief that Jesus Christ was the only Savior of the world was never doubted.
3) The belief that God should be the center of our homes, churches, businesses and government was common sense.
I want you to see these truths in this chapter as we clearly see the principles of God’s word mixed throughout America history.

The word “foundations,” in Ephesians 2:20 refer to the groundwork upon which something was or is built.
The successful Christian’s life will be built on God’s word.
The successful Christian’s home will be built on God’s word.
A successful Christian nation will be built on God’s word.

Noah Webster, a founding father and founding educator, who had a brilliant mind, accurately reflected the nation's beliefs when he stated:
"The moral principles and precepts contained in the Scriptures ought to form the basis of all our civil constitution and laws... All the miseries and evils which men suffer from vice, crime, ambition, injustice, oppression, slavery, and war proceed from their despising or neglecting the precepts contained in the Bible."

Let us examine three points in the message:
I – THE SIGNS OF AMERICA’S CHRISTIANITY WAS FOUND IN ITS MEMOIRS.

Look at just a thimble of facts found in America’s memoirs documented in the Library of Congress of the United States in Washington D.C. and you will see some of the foundations principles that made America great.

1. America was a Godly nation, built on Godly principles. Of the first 126 Universities in this land, 123 of them were Christian. They were based on the Bible. Universities such as Yale, Harvard and Princeton were clearly Christian.

Here were some of their rules for entrance into Harvard:
A – Everyone shall make the main end of his life and studies to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternal life.
B – Everyone shall engage in secret prayer seeking God’s wisdom daily.
C – Every one shall exercise the reading of the Scriptures twice a day.
*Fifty-two-percent of the 17th centuries Harvard graduates became ministers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Did you know that Northwestern University near Chicago was founded by the Methodist for the purpose of giving a Christian education and training ministers for the Gospel of Jesus Christ?
The Presbyterians, in a day when they were at their strongest spiritually founded the University of California at Berkeley. Yes, Berkeley was a school founded on the Bible for the purpose of spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ. Today Berkeley is a hotbed of nearly every evil philosophy of the world.

2. The first 46 Charters that were established had written within its contents, "We establish this colony for the spreading of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ."
One example is the Rhode Island Charter of 1683. It began this way: “We submit our persons, lives, and estates unto our Lord Jesus Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords and to all those perfect and most absolute laws of His given us in His Holy Word.”
In the present day North Carolina Constitution under Article IX on Education it states in Section 1: Religion, morality, and knowledge being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools, libraries, and the means of education shall forever be encouraged.

3. Political Science professors at the University of Houston wanted to see where our forefathers obtained their material to base the constitution of the Unites States.
They gathered 15,000 writings of the founding Fathers which took ten years of research.
The discovery concluded: "The majority of information came from men named Locke, Blackstone, and Monaskew (all Christians). But 16 times more than these men were quoted, the BIBLE was quoted.
FINAL CONCLUSION: 94% of the Constitution of the United States was based on the Bible.

4. The three branches of government were taken from Isaiah 33:22.
“For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; he will save us.”
From that one Scripture we developed the judicial, the legislative and the executive branches of our government.

5. The separation of those powers was taken from Jeremiah.

6. Tax exemption for Church was found in Ezra 7:24.
“Also we certify you, that touching any of the priests and Levites, singers, porters, Nethinims, or ministers of this house of God, it shall not be lawful to impose toll, tribute, or custom, upon them.”

7. In the "Journals of Congress" we find a brilliant Christian man by the name of Roger Sherman. He signed four major documents of America. He signed the Articles of Confederation and the Articles of Association and the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States. Needless to say, he was a well-known intelligent leader.
One occasion as he was standing before the Arms Senate committee when the question arose, "What do we do with deserters from the Navy?" One man spoke up and said "Give them 500 lashes as other countries." Of course this constituted the death penalty.
Roger Sherman spoke up and said, "In Deuteronomy 25:3, God says that we should not give more than 39 lashes." Congress said that if that is in the Bible, we will vote for 39 lashes.
Deuteronomy 25:3 “Forty stripes he may give him, and not exceed: lest, if he should exceed, and beat him above these with many stripes, then thy brother should seem vile unto thee.”
8. Many of you may have heard of Charles Finney (1792-1875). Mr. Finney was raised in the back woods of New York State. The only time he heard the name of God was in blasphemy.
While Mr. Finney was studying for his Law degree he noted that in the law books, there were many references to the Bible. He bought one but would hide it so his colleagues would never see it.
He decided to attend the Presbyterian Church near his home and found the congregation praying for revival. The young lawyer scorned and ridiculed the church. But, the youth of the church began to pray for Mr. Finney’s salvation. God’s Spirit began to convict Mr. Finney of sin. He could not sleep or eat. Finally one evening he fled to the woods and poured out his sins to God and accepted Christ as his Savior.
He immediately raced back to town and shouted up and down the streets of New York what God had done for him. It is said that many came to receive Christ as their Savior that night by Finney’s testimony.
Charles Finney gave up his law pursuit and became a Presbyterian preacher. He would go down in Christian history as one of the greatest preachers and evangelist of the nineteenth century.
In 1830 He preached for six months at Rochester, New York and saw 100,000 souls make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ.
One of Mr. Finney’s greatest questions is still one of the most important questions today: “What will you do with Jesus Christ?” What will you do sinner? What will you do Christian? What will you do with Jesus Christ this day?

**Our Forefathers, many who were lawyers, had a system that in order to receive a law degree you first had to have a theology degree. They said, "How can one understand laws of man if he doesn't first understand the laws of God upon which the laws of man are based?" Sadly, after the 1900’s the great law books by William Blackstone, upon which many of the laws within the constitution were founded and every law student studied, were removed from our law schools. The result today are many unethical practices of many lawyers and judges in our society.

9. When our forefathers were writing the constitution of the United States, Ben Franklin said, "Whoever will introduce into public affair the principles of Christianity will change the face of the World." Our forefathers did just that and the rest is recorded in the Library of Congress.

10. **The Compton's Encyclopedia reads, "The most powerful single influence in all history has been Christianity. This influence has shown itself not only in the religious beliefs and spiritual ideals of the human race, but in the march of political events and institutions as well."

11. John Witherspoon was one of our forefathers who was a teacher and the Father of 1/3 of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.

He served as President of Princeton. He also served on 100 congressional committees.

He said, "The best friend to American liberty is the person most sincere and active in promoting religion or (Christianity)".

He also said, "Whoever is an avowed enemy of God is an enemy of America." (That would constitute most of our public educational institutions today as well as many who are in official positions in our government.)

12. In 1892, the U.S. Supreme Court made an exhaustive study of the supposed connection between the government of the United States and Christianity.

After viewing hundreds of volumes of historical documents, while dealing with the court case, “The Church of the Holy Trinity V. the United States, the Court asserted,
“Our laws and our institutions must necessarily be based upon and embody the teachings of the Redeemer of mankind. It is impossible that it should be otherwise; and in this sense and to this extent our civilization and our institutions are emphatically Christian.”

In 1896, the Courts of the U.S. said, "By our form of Government, we are a Christian Nation.
Again, in 1931, Supreme Court Justice George Sutherland stated, "Americans are a Christian people."

13. More than 100 years after the signing of the Constitution, the courts said, "Our laws and our institutions must be made and based on the teachings of the Redeemer of mankind."

14. In 1811, there was a court case that said, "Whatever strikes at the root of Christianity, tends to destroy our government because it tends to corrupt the morals of the people and destroy good order."

One Court case was called People vs. Ruggles. Here was the main issue: A man wanted to start his own school and teach morals without religion or the Bible. The courts said that it would be impossible to teach morals without the Bible. The man became angry and he blasphemed and cursed God. He took the Lord’s name in vain in a vicious manner. The man was apprehended for his conduct. He was arrested for contempt of court and tried for his actions and found guilty.
The court said "When you attack Jesus, you attack Christianity. When you attack Christianity, you attack the foundations of the United States of America." They convicted the man of Treason, fined him $500, and placed him in jail for 3 months.

First we saw the signs of America’s Christianity were found In its memoirs.
2 - THE SYMBOLS OF AMERICA CHRISTIANITY WERE FOUND IN ITS MONUMENTS.
1 – First, think about the American Flag. The flag was a symbol of America’s belief and dependence on Almighty God.
Think of the words to the pledge. “I Pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
2 – Second, think of our money. The America currency was a symbol of America’s faith. ‘In God We Trust” first appeared on Union coins in 1865. A preacher, Rev. M.R. Watkinson of Ridleyville, Pa., wrote to the Secretary of the Treasury, Salmon P. Chase and said, “From my heart I have felt our national shame in disowning God.” He then suggested that we recognize God on our coins by printing “In God We Trust.”
This was done on many coins, and then it disappeared. But as late as 1955 the Congress of the United States ordered it placed on all paper money and all coins in the United States.
The Great Seal of the United States was adopted by the continental Congress in 1782. It appears on every one-dollar bill.
The pyramid with the Eye as a cornerstone represents the all seeing eye of God. The Latin words “Annuit Coeptis” means “He (God) hath favored our undertaking.” At the bottom of the pyramid are the Latin words, “Novus Ordo seclorum” or “A New Order of the Ages.”
Our forefathers believed that building this nation on Jesus Christ would usher in the New Millennial Age.

3 – Another symbol on an American monument is found on the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia the inscription is taken from the book of Leviticus 25:10. “Proclaim Liberty throughout the land to all the inhabitants thereof.”
4 – Our United States National Anthem gives praise to our Lord and Savior.
Francis Scott Key, was a captive on board a British ship. He hoped that Fort McHenry would still be standing ad he watched the barrage of mortar shells that fell upon it during the night of September 20, 1814. The next morning as Francis Scott Key saw the sun rise he also saw victory and he wrote these words:

Oh, say, can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hail'd at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thro' the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watch'd, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof thro' the night that our flag was still there.
O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
This verse all patriotic Americans sing but a verse few ever read gives great glory to the Lord. It reads…
Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
Congress proclaimed this song the U.S. National Anthem as late as 1931.

5 – On the Supreme Court Building above the chief Justice’s head appear the Ten Commandments. Till this day each session is opened with the crier’s words: “God save the United States and the Honorable Court.
6 – Engraved on the metal cap on the top of the Washington Monument are these words, “Praise be to God.”
7 – In the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. are many Scripture verses. One such verse is Micah 6:8, “What doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly and have mercy and walk humbly with thy God.”

Like our nation the Bride of Christ, the Church, was built on a great foundation, God’s Word.
Men from all over the world were invited to freely come and become a citizen of this nation, just as all the world is invited to receive God’s free gift of salvation.
But, to prosper physically and to keep our freedom, it took work and sacrifice and this is true spiritually as well. To prosper spiritually and to keep our freedom, it will take work and sacrifice.
The hope of America is for our political leaders to uphold the Constitution of the United States.

The hope of every Christian home and every Christian Church is for the leaders of both to uphold the teachings of the Holy Bible, and to allow its precepts to govern our homes and hearts.
But, like America’s political system, many churches and homes have neglected, forgotten and ignored that which made it great.

First, we saw the signs of America’s Christianity were found In its memoirs. Second, the symbols of America Christianity were found in its monuments.
3 - THE SPIRITUALITY OF AMERICA CHRISTIANITY WAS FOUND IN ITS MEETINGS.
The greatest meetings that had the greatest impact on communities, states and governments were the amazing revivals our land has experienced.
We spoke earlier about Charles Finney and the great moving of God’s Spirit and the salvation of souls in the 1800’s.
Before the 1800’s America began to grow cold spiritually but God prepared a man by the name of Jonathan Edwards. He entered Yale university at thirteen and graduated valedictorian at seventeen.
His mighty sermon, “Sinners in the hands of an angry God” was in literature books in High School and College across our country through the twentieth century. For over 200 years his sermon was praised and exalted but over the last half of the twentieth century, it was ridiculed and mocked.
God also raised up George Whitefield who came over from England. God gave this man a built in microphone. He was known to preach to 20,000 people and his voice could be heard clearly by all.
Benjamin Franklin said that he went to hear Whitefield preach. He passed off 500 steps. That was the length of five football fields, and could still here Whitefield as clear as a bell.
People prayed and God touched these men and between 1740 and 1742 one out of six people were saved in New England. There was a great revival among the Methodist, Baptist and Presbyterians.

But by the middle of the 1800’s the church had fallen away from the Lord again. One man by the name of Jeremiah Lanphier started a prayer meeting in the upper room of his Dutch Reformed Church in Manhattan. He advertised it and six people out of a population of one million came to pray.
The following week there were 14 and then 23. They then decided to meet every day. Three churches were soon filled up with people praying. Then public buildings in downtown New York started having prayer meetings at noon each day.
HORACE GREELEY
The famous newspaper editor Horace Greeley sent out a reporter to see how many men were praying. The reporter said that he could only get to 12 meetings in one hour but counted 6,100 men.
Church bells throughout New England began to ring at 8, 12, and 6 calling people to prayer. A revival broke out in all the churches. It is said that the Baptist had so many people to baptize they had to cut a big square in the ice and baptized folks in the cold water. History says in one year more than one million were converted in all of New England and the affects were felt over 40 years.
It began with prayer and it was sustained by prayer.
In the Denver Post, January 20, 1905 was this article:
“Entire city pauses for Prayer”
For two hours at midday all Denver was held in a spell… The marts of trade were deserted and all worldly affairs were forgotten and the entire city was given over to meditation of higher things. The Spirit of the Almighty pervaded every nook. Thousand of men and women radiated this Spirit which filled them and the clear Colorado sunshine was made brighter by the reflected glow of the light of God shining from happy faces.

THE WELCH REVIVAL
In 1904 the Welch had experienced a great awakening. It is said that within five months 100,000 were converted to Christ. There was however this criticism, “Of the 100,000 that followed through with baptism and joined the churches after five years only 80,000 remained faithful.”

The judges of Wales were presented with white gloves. That means they had no robberies, murders, burglaries, embezzlements. They had dismissed most of their police force. Drunkenness was cut in half and illegitimate birth rate dropped 44%.
Now, think with me, “What does America need?” We need Christians that will give themselves to individual daily prayer and weekly collective prayer.
Let this be a challenge to all Christians. Pray. If God leads you to open your house to a hour of prayer a week, do so. Invite folks over for just an hour and pray. If you have children, let one family watch the children while the other adults pray.
Think about this. If you live within five miles of other Christians whether they are in this church or not, invite family and friends over one night a week for prayer. What night? That is up to you. Why not gather on Saturday night or Friday night from 6:00 to 6:30 or 6:00 to 7:00.
Get together and just pray. You may want to read some scripture and pray. Give praise to the Lord and offer thanksgiving and pray for your family, your church, your community, your children and your country. Ask God for a revival. And then go home.
Let’s quit expecting the preacher to do something he can not do. He can study and preach but only God can revive hearts and save souls.