In "The Birth of a Nation," Christian author David Barton wrote, in part:
...America has been blessed as the longest, on-going Constitutional Republic in the history of the world. These blessings are not accidental -- they are blessings of God...
Preserving American liberty depends first upon our understanding of the foundations on which this great country was built, and then it
depends
on preserving the principles on which it was founded.
On July 2, 1776, Congress voted to approve a complete separation from England. Two days later, the early draft of the Declaration of Independence was signed. Four days later, members of Congress took the document and read it out loud from the steps of Independence Hall, proclaiming it to the city of Philadelphia, and afterwards they rang the Liberty Bell. The inscription on the top of the bell is
Leviticus 25:10
, which reads, "Proclaim liberty throughout the land and to all the inhabitants thereof."
John Adams said, "The general principles on which the Fathers achieved independence were the general principles of Christianity." Probably the clearest identification of the spirit of the American Revolution was given by John in a letter to Abigail the day after Congress approved the Declaration. He wrote her two letters that day: One was short and jubilant that the Declaration had been approved; the other letter was much longer and gave serious consideration to what had been done that day. Adams could already foresee that their actions would be celebrated by future generations.
A Different Holiday
Adams also noted: "This day will be the most memorable epic in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival." He felt the celebration should be in a manner that would commemorate the day as a "day of deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty." John Adams believed that the Fourth of July should be a religious holiday. The two top holidays celebrated in this country are Christmas and the Fourth of July. According to John Quincy Adams, the two dates are connected. On the Fourth of July, the Founding Fathers simply took the precepts of Christ and His birth (Christmas) and incorporated those principles into civil government.
The Declaration of Independence was the birth certificate for this nation, but the men who signed it knew it could be their death warrant. The closing paragraph states, "And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance of the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor." The 56 Founding Fathers, 27 of whom were trained as ministers, took their pledge seriously. On the morning of the signing, there was silence and gloom as each man was called up to the table of the President of Congress to sign the document, knowing that it could mean their death by hanging.
So with this foundation in place, how then should we as police officers in general, and Christian officers in particular, look at what we celebrate this day?
"Servant Day"
First, let's look to a statement made by Martin Luther in his "The Freedom of a Christian" written more than 250 years before our
Declaration of Independence
:
“A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to no one. A Christian is a
perfectly dutiful
servant
of all, subject to all.” (added emphasis mine)
Luther’s statement is a great reflection of the Apostle Paul’s God-breathed words in
Galatians 5:13
: You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.
Look at the words used in both Luther's quote and God's (Paul wrote it but he wrote what God gave him --
2 Timothy 3:16-17
): "
servant
" (one who serves) and "
serve
." In the original Greek, the word "minister" and "servant" have the same meaning, and of course our Biblical authority as cops in
Romans 13:1-4
includes this very word and concept as well:
For he
(the police officer)
is God’s minister
(
servant
-- ESV)
to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister
(servant)
, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil.
(v. 4, added emphasis mine)
Colleagues, it is vital that we understand that a huge part of God's calling for those of us who
SERVE
in law enforcement (and the military) today is preserving our nation's freedoms by being, in part, "a terror" ("avenger" --
Romans 13:4
above) against those who would take our freedom from us. In fact, the oath we take in the military and in many police departments includes these words:
“I solemnly swear that I
will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic...”. Swear to whom? Today many are trying to take God out of our country, but, rest assured, we've taken a solemn oath before the God who establishes all authority (
Romans 13:1-4
) and all nations (
Acts 17:26
).
"Dependence Day"
Secondly, especially for those of us who serve, this day could rightly be called "Dependence Day." Dependence on whom? On the One who established this and all nations! Our Founding Fathers understood this and wrote that understanding into our founding documents. Sadly, there are many today who would remove everything of God.
What we find time and time again both in history and in God's Word is that even the greatest of nations fail and fall, particularly when sin replaces righteousness (as God alone gets to define it). Frankly, given the depths of wickedness in our nation (slavery and discrimination in our past; abortion, godlessness and the overall lawlessness --
2 Thes. 2:1-12 --
today), it is only by God's grace and mercy in response to the prayers of His faithful remnant that He has not already destroyed us.
The bottom line, of course, is that we can't save ourselves. Just as God blessed and protected Israel, He also righteously imposed consequences for their sin and rebellion. Independence Day is a great reminder to us that, as with our nation, we need to heed God's clear, clarion call to follow Him and be obedient to His "Constitution" and law book (without "amendments" -- changes -- mind you), the Bible. History (including the history found in the Bible) also teaches us that we will fail if we trust only in our own strength and so-called "goodness." In
Psalm 20:7
, David -- writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit -- proclaims: "
Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God
." He adds similar in
Psalm 56:4
-- "...
in God I have put my trust; I will not fear
...".
And what do we get from that? Our National Motto: "
In God We Trust
"!
Let us make time today to offer a prayer of thanks to God Almighty for the abundant blessings He has bestowed on us as a nation, recognizing that we can keep our independence only as long as we are "in dependence" upon Him. In fact, my Commander in Chief from my military days (and perhaps our country's greatest President), Ronald Reagan, rightly wrote, "If we ever forget that we are one nation under God, we will be a nation gone under."
If not on duty this Independence Day and holiday weekend, let us enjoy our families, our cookouts, our public (LEGAL) fireworks shows and our patriotic parades. If on duty (serving) this weekend, let's thank God for the privilege of doing our part to protect the liberties of others. Let us also remember the great sacrifices that were made to earn us the liberty that we so enjoy in our God-ordained (
Romans 13:1-4
) representative,
Constitutional Republic
(again, we should praise God we're not a mob-rule "democracy").
Finally, if you're reading this today and have never placed your whole trust in Christ as your Lord and Savior, I can't encourage you enough to scroll down to the
"Know God?"
section below. Understand that you can't "earn" your salvation (or escape hell) without Him (again, "
Dependence Day
").
Happy
birthday
America
!
_____________________
KNOW GOD?
(1) Do you falsely believe that you can "earn" or otherwise "badge" your way into heaven and escape hell because you consider yourself to be a "
good
" cop or "good" person? That you can be "good" enough without God? Take the
Good Person Test
and see how you do!
(2) Jesus' first recorded words in His earthly ministry were and remain, "
Repent and believe in the Good News
" (
Mark 1:15
). To
repent
is a "180" -- a complete,
radical
change of mind and heart as it relates to our sin (as God defines it). To "believe" (
pisteuo
in the original Greek) as Jesus intends it here is to wholeheartedly trust and
surrender
your life to Him in faith in the same way we have "faith" that our body armor will do its job against the rounds it is intended to stop; that a well-maintained weapon will function properly when used in defense against criminals intent on destroying us or others; or that our parachute will open when it is supposed to (we stake our very lives on it)! For more, see
What does it mean to believe in Jesus?
(3) This same concept of "
believe
" (the saving kind) is further revealed in
John 3:1-21
where Jesus says, "
... you must be born again
." Again, note our Lord's emphasis on the word "
must
" (not "may" or "should" or even "someday"): this is ultimately the life-saving AND life-changing personal relationship (and NOT "religion") with Jesus Christ that I stress here every week (see
What does it mean to be a born again Christian
? [hint -- there is no other kind]).
(5) Need more? Then check out this powerful, short video message from police Commander
Travis Yates
:
Cops and Salvation
.
(6) Have you now said "yes" to Jesus as Lord and Savior but are wondering what to do next? The "now what" is also an important part in dealing with the issues that can lead to suicide and sin in general. Click on,
Now what?
MC
