The following is a prelude to the articles which will appear each week for the next several weeks. The source is the article by Judge Roy Moore, George Washington warned us.

“And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure – reason and experience both forbid us to expect that National morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.”

– George Washington, Farewell Address, Sept. 19, 1796

[Judge Moore wrote] “America needs God and His true religion to restore national morality, a pillar of our society. Washington knew that those who oppose religion undermine the national morality of this great country when he said,”

Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, Religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of Patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great Pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of Men and citizens.

          http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=52382

   (Read the article by Rev. Dr. Paul G. Irwin at the following URL)           http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewCommentary.asp?Page=/Commentary/archive/200707/COM20070703b.html   

                                                 Introduction

 This lesson and the ones that follow aren’t strictly Bible lessons, but yet they will be. (The lessons aren’t in any particular order.) They are about the survival of a nation which many would say isn’t about following the Bible but yet, it is involved in all facets of life. Some will say that a Christian need only be concerned about the gospel and leave the things of government to those who aren’t involved in preaching the Word. Are they wrong? Indeed they are, and this and succeeding lessons will explain the reasons why that in order to survive as a nation of people who enjoy freedom and liberty, the people must follow God and the teachings of Christ and the apostles to maintain that freedom and liberty. Though they have the freedom and liberty to not become Christians, they don’t have that same freedom and liberty to destroy the heritage on which this nation rests. When our heritage is destroyed, even the freedom and liberty of the destroyer will vanish as well.

Doesn’t the idea of following the principles of the Bible violate the separation of church and state doctrine? No, that doctrine is false and the reasons will be explained in various ways using Bible principles applied to the Constitution as the lessons progress. Essentially, the Constitution protects religion from government and not the other way around. When government fails to follow sound principles, decay and rot become the norms. It is true the word Christian isn’t found in the Constitution, but it is also true that the principles found in the document have their origin in God’s printed record, the Bible. The articles you will read each week are practical applications of selected verses of scripture as they relate to the Constitution and its provisions for Godly limited government. Those who protest that verses are out of context, and as such it is not handling the word of God right, it is the principles that are being discussed as they relate to the founding of the nation.

Let us say for the moment that following God’s principles will keep the nation strong and those principles can be followed by anyone, but following the principles alone won’t make one a Christian. It takes obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ if one desires to be saved. Simple adhering to the Ten Commandments won’t bring salvation, but such adherence will keep the nation from drifting as will be explained along the way. And it isn’t suggested at all that the Constitution is an extension of the scriptures for it isn’t; yet certain biblical principles under gird the meaning the Constitution and help us to understand the work of the founders.  Now a quote from a founder:

"It is impossible for the man of pious reflection not to perceive in it [the Constitution] a finger of that Almighty hand which has been so frequently and signally extended to our relief in the critical stages of the revolution."
James Madison (Federalist No. 37, 11 January 1788)
 Reference: Madison, Federalist No. 37 (230-31)

At this point a word of caution must be given when studying the Bible and the Constitution. When anyone studies the parts of the Bible and the Constitution, they must relate the parts being examined to the whole message of each respective work. Each is a cohesive work with no one part being greater than the whole and any one part taken for study must be in harmony with all other parts or false teachings will result. It is fine to look at the parts and determine meaning and principle, but the meaning and principle so learned and applied must not conflict with the other parts and must fit in a proper relationship with each other part.

To arrive at the correct understanding, the context of the parts chosen and the historical time of the work must always be considered. Failure to do so leads us to have fractured understanding of them both. A warning about tampering with the Bible message is given in Revelation [Rev 22:19] And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. In other words, tampering with the Biblical message will destroy the message of salvation. In like manner, to apply the biblical warning of tampering to the Constitution, tampering will destroy the formula of freedom and liberty that the founders gave us for limited government.

                                          Part I

Morality will be mentioned here since it is the underpinning, (the heart of a stable society) and without that underpinning, we begin to drift into areas that destabilize our nation; and because the morality of those in positions of governance are part and parcel of Paul’s words in Romans 13. Are politicians the ones to be relied upon to change the moral climate of a nation when it begins to drift? The answer has several parts which will be explored. At the outset we need to examine from the political stand point why a country drifts into debauchery.

There are two elements of our national life, one found in the Bible and one in the Constitution that are ignored (or not understood), and since they are, we find ourselves in an ever swelling cesspool of sin.

The basis for government is found in Romans Chapter 13. Rom 13:1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. 13:2  Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. 13:3  For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: 13:4  For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. 13:5  Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. Rom 13:6  For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. Though the word government isn’t found in the original Greek text, there isn’t any doubt that Paul was speaking of earthly rulers in the verse. The word power means to delegate authority and God has delegated his authority to man to enable him to operate the earthly society. Those who are called to service in the public realm are God’s ministers and as such, are duty bound to follow godly principles of leadership and personal conduct. Though realistically, many won’t follow sound principles, they are still answerable to God as are all people since God is no respecter of persons. But notice that not one word can be found in scripture that says that the leaders must be Christians. The teaching is that they are to follow God’s principles of leadership since God has delegated to them the authority to conduct earthly affairs. Those who choose to violate the ways of God in their government service generally are brought to an ignoble end. History tells us what happened to rulers who violated God’s instruction and the list contains many names from Adolph Hitler to Benito Mussolini to Nicolai Ceausescu, and most recently, Saddam Hussein, to mention but a few who claimed themselves to be above God.

In the United States, though an office holder might not be a Christian as were most of the founders, they are still duty bound to follow the Constitution as they affirmed by oath at the time of taking office. For by following the Constitution they will be following God’s principles. That might be offensive to many, but nonetheless, that is the truth of the matter.

© 1-26-06 DEC

Note: Each article may not have a copyright date. 01-26-2006 will be the copyright for all such undated  articles.

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