“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.”
John Adams, on the day after the vote to approve the Declaration of Independence, wrote his wife, Abigail: “I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty.”
As we take this weekend to celebrate the Declaration of Independence let us take time to give thanks to God for His gift of the men and women who founded this great nation. Let us be refreshed with the truth of their devotion to God as an example of the true foundation of our land. Without God’s divine intervention during the war for freedom and His divine inspiration during the writing of the Declaration and the Constitution, the United States of America would never have happened.
This year our nation is in need of a great refreshing of the foundational truths upon which the nation was built. We are bombarded each day by things that should not be, but are, so we to remember that the power in this nation lies in the people – the citizens. We must not allow ourselves to become overwhelmed by where we are as a nation but instead let our love of this nation strengthen us to declare truth and liberty until we see the victory. There is always a remnant and I believe there is more than a remnant waking up and coming together to stand strong for truth, liberty and property.
Just as God was the hope for the American colonists He is our hope today. Our motto should be that we will never, never give up. Use this celebration as a time to teach your children, grandchildren and those around you about the Declaration of Independence and the principles that have made America great. All of our basic freedom and rights come from God and should be loudly declared. As creator, God is the one who gave mankind all of the unalienable rights listed in the Declaration – see Genesis 2:7. God is also the giver of liberty (2 Corinthians 3:17).
To refresh our memories let us remind ourselves the four principles that anchor the Declaration:
1. Rights come from God.
2. The purpose of civil government is to secure those rights.
3. The power of civil government is given by the consent of the governed, each of whom is fully entitled to rule.
4. The right to govern is forfeited by a tyrant to lower civil magistrates in order to restore the rule of law.
These principles are rooted in the Judeo/Christian view. We are “endowed” with “certain unalienable” rights according to the Declaration. This means that what God has given us cannot be given away by those who receive them – they are always ours. Neither can they be taken away by the donor for God is not a liar and always keeps His word. The Declaration also makes it clear that governments are instituted among men for the express purpose of securing these rights. So we need to always remember that rights are given by God, governments are instituted by men and they derive their powers from the consent of the governed! Government has no legitimate authority unless “We, the People” give our consent because in America there is no divine right to rule because we are all created equal.
The Declaration is truly a document that cannot be separated from the Constitution for they are divinely connected and beautiful. Happy Independence Day!
Next Week: Biblical principles found in the Declaration and the Constitution
Dinner Table Discussion Question: What made the Declaration of Independence historic in terms of the rest of the world’s nations at that time in history?