Dependence Day

Introduction

Tomorrow we will be celebrating a crucial period in the history of our country, the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Now I realize that when you bring up the subject of the Fourth of July most people hardly give a thought to the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

People look at it as a time to have a family get-together, or go to the lake, maybe cook up some hot dogs, and then after it gets dark, blow some things up.

But today, as we look back to 1776, I want you to realize it was a very dangerous course that each of those founding fathers took. Those who signed the Declaration of Independence were committing themselves to an insurrection against the King of England and the sitting government.

As John Adams signed. he said, "Whether we live or die, sink or swim, succeed or fail, I stand behind this Declaration of Independence. And if God wills it, I am ready to die in order that this country might experience freedom."

This was the kind of patriotism which led men, armed with little more than hunting rifles, to engage in battle with the most powerful nation in the world, Great Briton.

This decision to declare their independence from England was not easily nor hastily decided. Even though they lived on another continent in the colonies they were English citizens. As English citizens they felt they deserved the same rights & privileges that any Englishman enjoyed back in their home country.

After all, it was their ancestors who, a few centuries earlier, had risen against the unjust & dictatorial rule of King John & forced him to sign the Magna Carta, the "Great Charter" establishing the rights of the common man & limiting the power of the King over them.

But over a period of a few years King George began to ignore all that as far as the American colonies were concerned. And it wasn't long until oppressive taxes & regulations were beginning to make their lives unbearable.

When they complained about their treatment, King George sent troops and declared martial law. Public protests were put down by military force and those who dissented were silenced and even more laws which they considered "intolerable" were enacted.

On February 22, 1770, a crowd of protesters gathered outside of Ebenezer Richardson’s house. Richardson was a customs agent, a tax collector. Richardson became frightened and fired a shot into the crowd. An 11 year old boy named Christopher Snyder was struck and killed. Most historians identify Snyder as being the first American killed in the Revolutionary War.

The publicity around Snyder’s killing fueled public outrage that 11 days later, resulted in the killing of 5 people when British soldiers fired into a large crowd of protesters. The colonists called it the “Boston Massacre,” the British called it the “Incident on King Street.” You can see that particular perspectives were not too much different then, than they are now.

Conflicts continued to grow in severity resulting in more full scale battles between colonial militias and British forces until we had a full-blown Revolutionary War.

Meanwhile, it was during this time of conflict that Patrick Henry, the fiery patriot from Virginia, gave his famous speech before the Virginia Provincial Convention. This is how he concluded his speech:

"Three million people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us.

"Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides over the Destiny of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battle for us. The Battle, sir, is not to the strong alone, it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave.

"Besides, sir, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat, but in submission and slavery. Our chains are forged. Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! …

"Gentleman may cry peace, peace, but there is no peace. The war has actually begun! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle?

"What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, almighty God!

"I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death."

Many of our forefathers paid a terrible price in the Revolutionary War, but they finally they won the victory so that you and I might be citizens of this "land of the free and home of the brave."

But what we tend to overlook, is that in declaring their independence from England, our forefathers made an equally bold “Declaration of Dependence” upon Almighty God.

In the very beginning of our nation, our forefathers boldly declared their dependence upon God.

Declare Your Dependence on God

We must declare our dependence on God, but we aren’t the first nation to do that. At another crucial moment in history, as the people of Israel were preparing to enter the land that God had promised to them, Moses told them,

Deuteronomy 8:1–3 ESV

1 “The whole commandment that I command you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land that the Lord swore to give to your fathers. 2 And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. 3 And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

Our Founding Fathers were careful to acknowledge the Creator. The 2nd paragraph of the Declaration of Independence begins with 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."

Again, the closing words of their Declaration solemnly states: "With a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence (that's God), we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor."

Here we see in this document, written by our forefathers, that they were clearly declaring their dependence upon God.

We all know the turmoil that we see in the world today. Pandemics, wars, inflation, high prices, all kinds of financial uncertainties, and at the same time it seems strong efforts are being made to eliminate the acknowledgment of the deep and abiding faith of the founders of this nation had in God. The four-fathers knew God had blessed this nation to form against overwhelming odds. Yet today people would have you believe that the founding of this country was entirely separated from the faith that the founders had.

I love reading about those figures in history who committed themselves so passionately to a cause that they believed in.

Thomas Jefferson who was the 3rd president of the United States and a signer of the Declaration of Independence said, "God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the Gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever..."

John Adams who was the second president of the United States and a signer of the Declaration of Independence said, “The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were the general principles of Christianity. I will avow that I then believed, and now believe, that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God.

Without religion, this world would be something not fit to be mentioned in polite company: I mean (it would be) hell.

The Christian religion is, above all the religions that ever prevailed or existed in ancient or modern times, the religion of wisdom, virtue, equity and humanity.

Suppose a nation in some distant region should take the Bible for their only law book and every member should regulate his conduct by the precepts there exhibited. What a utopia – what a Paradise would this region be!

I have examined all religions, and the result is that the Bible is the best book in the world.”

Patrick Henry, one of the ratifiers of the constitution said, “It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ. For this very reason peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here."

Although the book of Deuteronomy was written over 3,400 years ago, the warnings found there could very well apply to the United States today.

In the 8th chapter of Deuteronomy, beginning with vs. 7, Moses told the people that he was bringing them into a good land, with water and fruit and then in verse 10:

English Standard Version Chapter 8

10 And you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land he has given you.

The Lord has proven to the people of Israel that they could depend on Him, but He also issues them a warning to:

Be Careful to not Forget God

Deuteronomy 8:11–20 ESV

11 “Take care lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today, 12 lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, 13 and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, 15 who led you through the great and terrifying wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water, who brought you water out of the flinty rock, 16 who fed you in the wilderness with manna that your fathers did not know, that he might humble you and test you, to do you good in the end. 17 Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ 18 You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day. 19 And if you forget the Lord your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I solemnly warn you today that you shall surely perish. 20 Like the nations that the Lord makes to perish before you, so shall you perish, because you would not obey the voice of the Lord your God.

The testimony of history has made it abundantly clear that not only nations, but also individuals, need to heed that warning. The greatness of a nation is not measured by its military power or national wealth. Righteousness & justice are the determining factors.

Solomon, the wisest of men, said:

Proverbs 14:34 ESV

34 Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.

And what is happening in the United States today? To a great extent, our modern objectives have become success, status, and notoriety. These are followed closely by self-indulgence, comfort and pleasure.

We all know the song, "I've gotta be free," but sometimes our proclaimed freedom has become the very thing that enslaves us.

In Titus 3:3, Paul says,

Titus 3:3 ESV

3 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.

This is the enslaving and deceiving nature of sin. People who are caught up in sin think they are free, but in reality, they are enslaved by sin.

Go to the drunkard lying in the street. Take his bottle and say, “I set you free from alcoholism.” What is he likely to say? He will say I am not a slave to anyone or anything, now give me back my bottle.

Remember the case of The Prodigal Son. He went to his father and said, "I want to be free. Give me my inheritance now so I do what I please with it. He traveled to a far country, reveling in his newfound freedom. But his freedom didn’t last very long.

Soon his money ran out. When his money ran out, so did his friends. He quickly found himself enslaved to a Gentile master who had this young Jewish man caring for a bunch of hogs.

It was not until he returned home, not until he came back to his father that he found real freedom.

Real Freedom only Comes in Christ

So when we stand back and look at this land of the free we begin to wonder, "Is there any real freedom anywhere?"

But thank God, as Christians, we have a greater freedom than any constitution can grant us. We have the freedom that is offered in Christ Jesus.

There is a word for freedom in the New Testament. It is the word, "redemption." "Redemption" means "to be set free." It means that we have been bought with a price, that we have been freed of our bondage, and now we are truly free.

In Paul's letter to Titus he tells us that we have been set free from the bondage of sin. "For the grace of God. . .teaches us to say 'No' to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, Godly lives in this present age. . .

Titus 2:11–14 ESV

11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

Conclusion

If you really are a patriot; if you are truly concerned about America; if you earnestly want God to bless this nation, then live a life in harmony with the will of God. Only then does one truthfully have the right to sing:

God bless America, land that I love.

Stand beside her, and guide her,

Through the night, with the light from above.

From the mountains, to the prairies,

To the oceans, white with foam;

God bless America, my home, sweet home.

So, as we celebrate again the birth of our nation, pray that our country might have a new birth of freedom; not a freedom from God, but rather a freedom built upon God and His commandments.

Also, may each one of us, as individuals, reaffirm our dependence upon God so that, "looking unto Jesus the author & finisher of our faith," we might experience the freedom He gives not only from worry and doubt and fear, but also from all those sins which as described in Hebrews, chapter 12, do "so easily beset us."

If we reaffirm our dependence on God, then, as did the Founding Fathers of our country, we will find in Him our life, liberty, and true happiness.