Our Forefathers Understood All About The Real Source of Freedom

“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” (2 Corinthians 3:17)

It’s a sad commentary, but the fact is we have been taught that there is a time and a place for everything. In fact, Christians have confused submission with apathy for so long, many of us won’t even talk about Jesus until Christmas.

Dr. William James – who is often referred to as the Father of Modern Psychology – once said, “There is nothing so absurd but if you repeat it often enough, people will believe it”.

Dr. James was right. All of us have heard that religion and politics don’t mix and most of us believe it. But George Washington didn’t believe it, and his contemporaries didn’t believe it either. In his farewell address to his young nation, Washington said, “Do not let anyone claim the tribute of American patriotism if they ever attempt to remove religion from politics.”

We have also been taught to believe that our freedom to worship is protected by the constitutional doctrine of the separation of church and state. Yet, Thomas Jefferson – in an 1802 address to the Danbury Baptists – said:

“‘The First Amendment has erected a wall of separation between church and state, but that wall is a one-directional wall. It keeps the government from running the church, but it makes sure that Christian principles will always stay in government.”

What in the world have we let happen to our country? The truth is we have lost sight of – and to a great degree control of – the principles on which our country was founded. In our zeal to “live and let live”, we have allowed the lost and the misguided to change the very fabric of our country.

The French writer, Alexis de Tocqueville, after visiting America in 1831, said:

“I sought for the greatness of the United States in her commodious harbors, her ample rivers, her fertile fields, and boundless forests, and it was not there. I sought for it in her rich mines, her vast world commerce, her public school system, and in her institutions of higher learning, and it was not there. I looked for it in her democratic Congress and her matchless Constitution, and it was not there. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.”

Instead of looking forward to the next holiday because of the vacation it offers, maybe we need to hold on to July 4th for the freedom it provides. And this time let’s not forget, or be ashamed of, the real source of that freedom. “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14)