During America’s history, we’ve had two great awakenings—and the opportunity for a third. We again find ourselves at a similar crossroads today. But with the first two, as a people we had knowledge and notable leaders grounded in faith. They’d received an education in reason and faith and knew God. During that third opportunity our leaders were primarily grounded in man rather than God, but as a people we still had some knowledge and sense of history.
Today, we have neither their education or notable leaders grounded in faith. But we’ve not lost. We still have a few good leaders; statesmen, warriors, faith leaders, and prophets. While these lead; it is up to us to know, discern, and do what is good. We must learn again to follow God, or we will fall. I believe God is not yet done with us, and His church is still here. Things may seem dark, but is that only because we are only now beginning to truly see? God is delivering us, but we must learn so we are less likely to stray again. We must give ourselves fully to God.
Why? Because He is our creator.
I form light, I create darkness;
I make well-being, I create woe;
I, Adonai, do all these things.
“Heavens above, rain down justice;
let the clouds pour it down.
Let the earth open,
so that salvation springs up,
and justice sprouts with it.
I, Adonai, have created it.”
Woe to anyone who argues with his maker,
like potsherds lying on the ground!
Does the clay ask the potter, “What are you doing?”
or, “What’s this you’re making, that has no hands?” (Isa. 45:7-9)
God’s Ambassadors
Satan became Earth’s ruler when Adam fell. Christ restored our position through his death, burial, and resurrection. When we accept Christ, we become God’s ambassadors, and must live in that manner. What does this mean?
We share one king, one native country, one language, one set of moral precepts, one set of rights, and one law. God is our king. We serve Him. Heaven our native country. Our language is His Word, and we voluntarily obey His commands. We follow the natural rights derived from these things, and the law derived from those rights.
While on this Earth, we live in a foreign land representing our King. We promote His policies, and keep ourselves from the land’s corruption. We communicate with the foreign land’s leaders and others, promoting our kings policies and understanding theirs. While living in the foreign land, we communicate what we learn with both our fellow ambassadors and King. All the while maintaining an attitude of service to others. Some will come. Others will not.
America’s Founding
Our Founders relied on Biblical principles; they leveraged our native country’s ideas, its rights, and laws. These principles include;[1]
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All Man is equal by nature. |
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Leaders should come from the people, be elected by the people, to serve the people. |
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The good of the individual and the people are the proper object of society. |
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Citizenship in this society is open to all. |
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Harmony occurs through our alignment with God’s will. |
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All belong to God as we’re created by Him, but we have the free will to make our own decisions. |
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Aligning our will with God’s transforms us into His image—in a word, good. |
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War is proper only in defending oneself or another. |
How Our Documents Fit In
We see some of these principles stated within America’s Declaration. They are our Founders’ promise to us. Our Founders issued the Declaration only after all attempts at correcting King George’s abuses failed. The document serves as a testimony to God and the world of the British king’s unrighteous behavior. A tyrant’s actions. These declarations served as the basis for separation. Our Declaration only referred to some of our founding principles. It didn’t go into great detail as their knowledge was common within the people, as stated by Jefferson himself.[2]
America’s Constitution fulfills the Declaration’s promises. It set in place principles, ideas, and structures aimed at correcting the king’s abuses. These documents aimed at restoring our natural rights. These rights are almost exclusively negative, in terms of power. They don’t tell us what to do, but what not to do—that is, refraining from doing what is evil. That is why our legislature is to make no laws prohibiting religion, or abridging our freedoms to communicate, or the rights to peaceably assemble and petition our leaders, etc. But exercising these rights properly requires both moral individuals and a people.
God entrusted us with much, so much is expected from us in return. But notice, is life mentioned? No, because without life, none of the rest of these matters. And life was the first inalienable right mentioned in the Declaration. It applies to all. It’s not that we have a right to life, rather life is God’s gift and no one has the right to take it away.
Today
The Two Kingdoms outlined some of the issues our society faces today. It goes into some detail as to why we are here. This article presents the answer—the only real answer. We must educate ourselves, because it is not available from our schools, institutions, or media. In addition, we must return God to all of the places where society has removed him. Again our schools, institutions, media, government, businesses, and art. It all begins with education, and requires removing all government influence from it. I’ve written elsewhere about one possibility for doing this.[3] It’s not hard. It just requires the will to do it, and a desire for our children’s welfare.
God is the basis for all good and morality. There is no other as man is insufficient in himself to provide such a basis. Therefore, God is also the basis for all good government. This governance recognizes our natural rights and the law derived from them. These begin with the family, and extend to education. They cover governance and religion. Finally, they include the economy, arts, and media.
I’m confident we will get there. But we must remember who we truly are, stand together, and say with one voice no to all the lies, deceit, and falsehoods. We deserve better, because we are better. We are God’s.
Footnotes:
[1] For more, see Wolf, Dan, A Handbook of Natural Rights, Living Rightly Publications, 2018, https://www.amazon.com/Dan-Wolf/e/B01LW7RK7L?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1648153851&sr=8-1.
[2] Jefferson stated his objective was “not to find out new principles, or new arguments, never before thought of, not merely to say things which had never been said before, but to place before mankind the common sense of the subject … Neither aiming at originality of principles or sentiments, nor yet copied from any particular and previous writing, it was intended to be an expression of the American mind.”
[3] Wolf, Dan, America’s Dysfunctional Public Education, Virginia Christian Alliance, May 19, 2019, https://vachristian.org/americas-dysfunctional-public-education/.
