In God We Don’t Trust

Introduction

Wonderful Jesus my spirit of sea where we pray wonderful grace wonderful in my self holy present making for wonderful evil spiritual sea when I hold his glory my face I praise wonderful grace wonderful teacher We’ve all heard of In God We Trust. We’re all very familiar with that. It’s on our money. I want to preach to you this morning. In God we don’t trust. Because we live in an America that no longer trust in God. When I say we, I don’t mean we here. I mean we in America as a whole, in God, we don’t trust. We no longer trust. We’re going to talk about America’s rejection of her God-centered roots.

Christianity has been silenced in America in the last 50 to 60 years in a pretty remarkable way. Uh, you just see it all over the headlines. Uh I looked up a couple of recent ones. Kentucky County removing Ten Commandments from schools. Atheists want iconic 17-foot cross removed from 9 11 museum. Jesus reference in city council prayer stirs debate in Ohio. You know, it’s okay to do the prayer part, but don’t mention Jesus. Push to strike under God from pledge hits Massachusetts High Court. I mean, we hear about this kind of thing all the time. We’re just used to hearing about this kind of stuff. And the idea is that, you know, uh, we need to keep God completely separate from the public eye and from any government statements and that sort of thing.

And that’s sort of the position that’s taken uh by many in our in our nation that Christianity, and that that one seems to be really the most singled out of all the religions, needs to be silenced. And God needs to be silenced. And this is a culture war that’s going on that’s worse than any physical war. Christianity is under constant attack. America used to be regarded as a Christian nation. Now many regard it as a post-Christian nation. America’s Christian foundation is disintegrating. Now, let me tell you three things that I’m not going to preach to you about today. Uh, first of all, not preaching politics. Uh, second of all, I’m not aligning myself with the believers who founded this country. Uh certainly, I think that the basic idea that God is real and that Jesus is real and that the Bible is God’s word, that idea was accepted across the board.

And biblical morality is really the foundation of this country. That’s what I am saying we need to return to, and that I am aligning myself with. But there is uh denominationalism and false doctrine always, as was in the Anglican church and the founding of this country. I’m not trying to align myself with that. I want you to understand that. I’m also not saying that America is God’s chosen nation. And sometimes we might get that thought. No, in the Old Testament, Israel was God’s chosen nation, and in today, the Israel of God, which is the body of Christ, is God’s chosen kingdom. And so that is made up of individuals who who obey Christ in any nation across the world. America is only here because God has allowed it to be and will only be here as long as God allows it to be, but is not God’s special chosen nation.

1. The Phrase Separation of Church and State

I want to talk to you about the phrase separation of church and state for just a moment. Do you know that that phrase is not actually in the Constitution? Some might not be aware of that. Those actual words, separation of church and state, or separation between church and state, are not actually in uh the Constitution. Uh the concept, I think, is there, but those words were actually written by Thomas Jefferson in a letter to the Danbury Baptists. And this was a religious group that was afraid that a state religion might be established with a more popular denomination. Uh, and that this minority denomination, uh, the Danbury Baptist, might be sort of squelched or might be left out because of that. They didn’t want that to happen.

And so they wrote a letter to Thomas Jefferson concerned about that, and he he essentially wrote them back and said, y’all don’t worry about that. America is not going to be a nation that is going to establish one state religion and that is going to silence any religious group. He said, believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only and not opinions. I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people, which declared that their legislature should make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, that is in the Constitution, thus building a wall of separation between church and state.

So really the question is this in the debate. Does separation of church and state mean that we need to keep God completely out of government? That’s how our government has basically interpreted separation of church and state. It’s got to be kept completely separate. In fact, above the Speaker of the House where it says in God we trust, they don’t even want to show that on TV. But it’s inscribed in stone. Or does it mean separation of church and state? Does it mean keep the government from interfering with the free exercise of religion? I believe in the context of the letter that Thomas Jefferson wrote to the Danbury Baptist. And uh and throughout the rest of this lesson, I think you will see sufficient evidence that our founding fathers uh regarded separation of church and state, that concept as the latter and not the former of these two questions.

2. Government References to God

So what we’re gonna do is first look at many government references to God. And all I’m trying to do is to try to show evidence uh that our country was founded upon biblical principles and Christian morality. In the Declaration of Independence, this is a one-page document. It’s a secular document. It’s not even a religious document. You wouldn’t expect for there to be anything religious in this document. You wouldn’t be upset if there weren’t. But these men who signed the Declaration of Independence were so spiritually minded that there are four references to God, well, three, and then one is to his providence. It refers to God as nature’s God. Then you have the phrase endowed by their creator, the Supreme Judge of the world, and divine providence.

Suppose that the people who make up America today were to form a declaration of independence. Think it would have any of that in it? The Pledge of Allegiance. One nation under God, right? Do you know that 1852 was the year that Francis Bellamy wrote that, and he didn’t have the words under God in the pledge. You know who added the words under God over a little over 60 years later? Congress.

That’s unconstitutional. Our Congress added those words by choice. And today it’s anything that we can do just to keep the words in there.

And you don’t have to cherry pick these. You can look at almost any, and they will make some reference to God or to his providence. And so, for example, the very first inaugural address, George Washington, he says, he refers to, quote, that Almighty Being who rules over the universe, who presides in the councils of nations, and whose providential aids can supply every human defect. He calls God the great author of every public and private good. He says, no people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the invisible hand which conducts the affairs of men, Daniel 4, more than the people of the United States. Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency.

And to that I say, Amen. Our very first president, recognize that. And I think that we as a people have forgotten that, as an American people. That the reason we are who we are is not because of our technological advances or because of our education or because of our American spirit. It’s because God’s providence has allowed us to become what we are, and we were we reject him, then I believe he will reject us. And I believe that’s what we see happening in real time. He refers to God as the benign parent of the human race. And many other things we could look at in his inaugural address. John Adams, the second president of the United States, in his inaugural address. He refers to a veneration for the religion of a people who profess and call themselves Christians.

And you can’t say that in your inaugural address. Didn’t he know better? He specifically said, Christianity, now that’s the religion that I recommend. And he said, and may that being who is supreme over all, the patron of order, the fountain of justice, and the protector in all ages of the world of virtuous liberty, continue his blessing upon this nation and its government, and give it all possible success and duration consistent with the ends of his providence. Wow. I saw one of you say, wow. That makes us say, wow, that people would say this. They were unashamed. But this is, they were simply reflecting what the people who voted them in the office believed. This is this is the general consensus of America at the time. It’s amazing how far things have gone.

How far they’ve fallen. Thomas Jefferson. Now he is generally regarded as the most religiously bland of all of the founding fathers. We are made to believe that all these founding fathers were deists. They didn’t refer to the God of the Bible. And I want to continue to show you later some evidence that I don’t believe that that’s quite the case as it’s made out to be. But he didn’t make much reference to God, but he did say, and may that infinite power which rules the destinies of the universe. Lead our counsels to what is best and give them a favorable issue for your peace and prosperity. James Madison, in his first inaugural address, he refers to that almighty being whose power regulates the destiny of nations.

3. The Founding Fathers Knew Their Bible

You see a theme here? God rules over the world. The destiny of the nations. It’s in his hand. Now let’s uh kind of broaden the field here and talk about the founding fathers in general. The founding fathers are the fifty-six signers of the Declaration of Independence, the uh the 90 members of the first Congress, Washington’s presidential cabinet, and so on. The men who, well, really got this nation on its feet and founded this nation. That’s why they’re called the Founding Fathers. In a book, Origins of American Constitutionalism, there’s research done on the source of the quotations of the Founding Fathers. And the number one source that they quoted was the Bible. When you look at their public statements and their writings, the number one source that they quoted was the Bible.

I find that impressive. Consider the famous speech by Patrick Henry in 1775 at the second Virginia Convention. It’s pretty astounding. He refers to the great responsibility which we hold to God in our country. He refers to God as the majesty of heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings. He says, Are we disposed to be of the number of those who having eyes see not and having ears hear not, the things which so nearly concern their temporal salvation? A reference to Mark 8 and verse 18. He says, Is it that insidious smile with which our petition has been lately received? Trust it not, sir. It will prove a snare to your feet, Jeremiah 18, 22. Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed with a kiss, Luke 22, 48.

Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance by lying supinely on our backs and hugging the delusive phantom of hope until our enemies shall bound us, shall have bound us hand and foot, John 11, 44. Sir, we are not weak if we make a proper use of the means by which the God of nature has placed in our power. I’m not wanting you to necessarily remember all of this. I’m wanting you to see that he is referring to the Bible over and over and over and over, and he’s not stopping to say, this is from this book and this chapter in this verse. He just knows his Bible that well.

Matthew 20 and verse 6. 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. Oh, we know about that last part. That’ll be in the textbook. But the teachers aren’t going to say all the other stuff that he said. All those references to God in the Bible. It’s astounding. He knew the Bible better than probably most of us. And these founding fathers were very biblically literate. Benjamin Franklin. How biblically literate was Benjamin Franklin at the Constitutional Convention in 1787. He refers to God as the Father of Lights.

Have you ever heard of that? James 1 and verse 17. Every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father of Lights. He says, daily prayer in this room for the divine protection. Our prayers, sir, were heard, and they were graciously answered. Those prayers are today challenged. But he didn’t want them to be challenged. He referred to a superintending providence in our favor. He says, God governs in the affairs of men, Daniel 4, in verse 17. He says, and if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, Matthew 10 29. Is it probable that an empire can rise without his aid? We’ve been assured, sir, in the sacred writings, 2 Timothy 3 15, that except the Lord build it, they labor in vain to build it.

Psalm 127 and verse 1. Benjamin Franklin knew his Bible. He wasn’t stopping to look these passages up as he went either. Pretty impressive. Noah Webster. Where do we know him from? Dictionary. Well, he was very religiously minded. He said, in my view, the Christian religion is the most important and one of the first things in which all children under a free government ought to be instructed. Notice what he said, free government. Our government was founded with this idea that religion ought not to be withheld. And it wasn’t withheld, even in public schools. Noel Webster was part of that. I’ll tell you that about that in just a minute. But imagine if your children went to public school, if all the children in America at public school were taught first and foremost Christian morality and biblical facts and principles.

You know, years ago, there was a pretty good biblical literacy rate in this country. Nowadays, you ask somebody if Genesis was in the old and new testament, and they have no idea. No idea. But children used to be taught in public schools. I’m getting ahead of myself. He said, No truth is more evident to my mind than that the Christian religion must be the basis of any government intended to secure the rights and privileges of free people. You want to have a free country like America? Try to do it without having Christianity and Christian morality as a foundation, and it’s going to fail. And I believe that that’s why we see the failing of America. We’ve we’ve rejected God. And we’ve rejected his morality. State Constitution preambles.

They’re only about a paragraph long. Forty-five of them. All of them refer to God. Every single one of them. Consider Florida’s. We, the people of the state of Florida, being grateful to Almighty God for our constitutional liberty. Not being grateful to Buddha. Not being grateful to Allah. Being grateful to Almighty God. And that term, Almighty God, comes up over and over. Georgia. At the end there, we the people of Georgia are relying upon the protection and guidance of Almighty God to ordain and establish this Constitution. Alabama. In the middle there, invoking the favor and guidance of Almighty God. And you can just take a look at all of them. They’re all going to mention God. It’s because our founding fathers were very spiritually minded and they recognize that God is behind us all.

4. The Public School System

Now let’s switch to uh the public school system. Talk about that for a minute. I gave you a preview of that a moment ago. You know what the first textbook was in our public school system in early colonial America? The Bible. It was used to teach spiritual truths and moral principles and reading and writing and memorization. So it was killing two birds and one stone. Not only were you learning how to do all these things, you know, that you needed to learn, but you were also learning the Bible. And you’re learning morality at the same time. What a marvelous thing. The New England Primer. And no, it’s not primer, it’s primer. This was actually the first official textbook that was used in early America. Consider just how you would learn the alphabet as a child.

Many of these letters referred to biblical characters. A, in Adam’s fall, we send all. Maybe some Calvinism there. But nevertheless, referring to Adam. B, thy life to men, this book of ten. J, Job fills the rod, yet blesses God. K, Proud Korah’s troop was swallowed up. P, Peter denies his Lord in Christ. Now, not every letter is going to refer to a Bible character, but a bunch of them do. And we go all the way down. We see letter Z, Zacchaeus, he did climb the tree as Lord deceived. So you’re learning these, this basically this big long poem and interworked in there is all these biblical characters and stories that you’re teaching your children as they learn the alphabet. Just the alphabet. Questions and answers out of the Holy Scriptures.

There’s dozens of them throughout this book. Who made you? God. Who redeemed you? Jesus Christ, who sanctifies and preserves you, the Holy Ghost. Of what are you made? Dust. What does this teach you to be humble and mindful of death? Children are learning this at school back then. Not today. The next popular set of curriculum was the McGuffey’s readers for different grade levels. Let me just give you some sample of some of the chapter titles of what your children would be going to learn at school. Praise be to God. How the world was made. I’ll tell you today. They can freely teach evolution because it’s a fact, right? But don’t mention creationism. It’s unconstitutional. You can’t impose all that religious stuff and put it in school.

The Lord’s Prayer, story about Joseph, Ten Commandments. About using profane language. And today kids go to school to learn how to use profane language. Imagine going to school and your teachers are telling you about how wrong profane language is. God is great and good. Blueback Speller. This is the spelling book by Noah Webster. And some of these sentences where you were learning punctuation and how to write. It’s pretty interesting, some of the practice sentences. They could have been about anything. The Bible, that is the Old and New Testament, contains the Holy Scriptures. The laws of nature are ordained by the immediate presence and agency of God. The heavens declare an almighty power that made them. Psalm 19. Good children will submit to the will of their parents.

5. Government Architecture

If sinners enticed thee, consent thou not, but withdraw from their company, confess your sins and forsake them. How can a young man cleanse his way? Oh, how love I thy law. Look at this last one. It was once a practice in France to divorce husband and wife for incompatible. I’m on my medication, y’all be patient. It was once a practice in France to divorce husband and wife for incompatibility of tempers. A practice soon found to be incompatible with social order. So children are going to school to learn in spelling class, that divorce is a bad idea. Like they’re doing it over there in France. Now, let’s take a look at government architecture. You know, we have groups like the ACLU that wants to remove any reference to God and the government and all that.

I don’t know how they’re going to remove some of this stuff. In the House Chamber, I referred earlier to where the speaker of the house sits above that inscribed in the stone is in God We Trust, and they won’t show that on TV. They’ll show underneath that.

At least what I’ve what I’ve seen or what I’ve read that will usually be obscured from sight. But I suppose the ACLU is going to have to get up there with a hammer and chisel and just chisel it out because it’s there. The Lincoln Memorial. This is the second inaugural address that Lincoln gave, and the words to that address. He refers to the Civil War. Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invokes his aid against the other. He refers to the divine attributes, which the believers in the living God always ascribe to him. He quotes from Psalm 19 and verse 9, the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. That’s on public government property. The Jefferson Memorial. Again, Jefferson is considered to be the least religious of all the founding fathers.

He was just a deist. He didn’t really believe in anything specific, just some general idea of just some uh some God that wound everything up and just let it go. Well, let’s just look at a few uh things that he says. He starts out Almighty God hath created the mind free. All attempts to influence it by temporal punishments or burdens are a departure from the plan of the holy author of our religion. What religion was America’s religion? Christianity. I know of but one code of morality for men, whether acting singly or collectively. What code of morality was that? The Bible. Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just. That is justice cannot sleep forever. Washington Monument, and I’m almost done. On the capstone at the very top of the Washington Monument, I think facing the east side is in Latin Laos Deo.

Which means praise be to God. So I guess the ACLU is going to have to climb on top of the Washington Monument and chip that out. Because that’s unconstitutional. The cornerstone has many important newspapers and documents. It also has the Bible deposited there. Not the Quran. Not the Book of Mormon. Not the Hindu Vedas. The Bible.

6. National Symbols

National symbols. The liberty bell has cast in it. It was cast. With Leviticus 17 and verse 10, proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof. I don’t know how they’re going to try to get that out of the Liberty Bell. And the Liberty Bell was rung at the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence. That same passage, Leviticus 17 and verse 10, is found in the seventh of seven plaques on the fourth floor of the Statue of Liberty. And it’s theirs, there for good. Finally, the Great Seal. There’s two sides of the Great Seal. And one side I kind of refer to as the spiritual side. This is not our one-dollar bill. You have this pyramid with these 13 levels that are unfinished, the 13 colonies, and this continual building and moving towards something.

And what do you have above that? This pyramid with the all-seeing providential eye of God. With rays that radiate. That’s what that is. That’s what you have in your pocket right now. And then you have the Roman numerals down there at the bottom of the pyramid, 1776, the Euro Nation began. And you have the Latin words Anuit Coeptus, which means He favors our undertakings. He who? He God. Every American who owns a dollar bill has that on their money. Every atheist in this country is sitting on that right now. He favors our undertakings. Well, you know what?

Conclusion

I’m not sure he does anymore. And that’s a scary thought. Because this nation as a whole has rejected God. And what our hope and prayer needs to be is that there are enough righteous people, like there were in there weren’t in Sodom and Gomorrah. That God might preserve this nation and not destroy it, like he did Sodom and Gomorrah. We need to pray that righteousness will increase in this land and that God will have mercy on us. And we need to pray for the leadership of our nation, for leadership that will stand up for God, for the Bible, and for morality, and that will not be ashamed of Him or of His name. Would you bow with me in a word of prayer? Our Father, we thank you so much for your word.

We thank you for the faith that so many in this country have had to at least establish this country on principles that are found in your word that were taught by Jesus, the morality that was taught there, and the biblical facts that were taught to our children, and that were unashamedly professed in public places by our government and in all other quarters. We pray that Christianity, we pray that you would not be silenced in this country by those who oppose you, but that you, Father, would be exalted. We pray that we may be sought and that we may be light, that we may not be hidden, but that we may be put on a hill, so that all may see our light and glorify you when they see our works that are your works.

Be with this nation. Forgive us for our sin and for our lack of faith. Have patience with us and bless us so that we may continue as a people to serve you in humble and quiet Christian service and not be resisted by our government. We pray that that will continue and not change. We pray that Christianity would flourish. We pray that your will would be done on earth as it is in heaven. It is through your Son that we pray. Amen. We’re now dismissed to Bible class.