America is a Christian Nation | Part 2

When the Pilgrims came across on the Mayflower, they were wise enough to recognize the need for a philosophical foundation for our new nation.  Before they disembarked, they wrote the Mayflower Compact. Here are some of the main exerpts:
 
“In the Name of God Almighty, we whose names are underwritten . . . having undertaken for the glory of God, and the advancement of the Christian faith, . . . a voyage to plan the first colony ... do by these present, solemnly and mutually in the presence of God and one another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil governing body . . .”
 
Let’s note some key phrases. “In the name of God Almighty” recognizes the authority of our Heavenly Father over our country.
 
This is the same as saying, “Under the authority of God Almighty.” Our Christian forefathers recognized immediately that they had no authority to be free or own property or govern themselves outside of the authority provided them by God Himself.
 
Psalm 33:12 says, “Blessed is the Nation whose God is the Lord.”
 
Next, they stated their purpose for inhabiting this New World. “For the glory of God and the advancement of the Christian faith.”
 
Their desire was to be free to worship and serve God according to the dictates of their heart as taught in the Bible. And this is still the fight we are fighting to this day.  The protection of our religious liberty is being attacked on a daily basis.
 
We have always been a Christian nation and we need to continue to fight to protect our Christian foundation.
 
Joshua drew a line in the sand for the Israelites before they entered their Promised Land. “But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve . . . But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15 (NLT),
 
Early American hero, Patrick Henry proclaimed, “It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not on religion but on the gospel of Jesus Christ.”
 
Finally, they proclaimed their mutual resolve to form a “civil governing body.” A “civil” government” was a new concept. It forms the core of our freedoms.  
 
That means they pledged their honor and duty to form a government of the citizens rather than of royalty. They would no longer be ruled by a king or a dictator but rather by themselves under the submission to the authority of God.
 
As President Abraham Lincoln clarified many years later, it was a government “of the people, by the people and for the people.”
 
Proverbs 29:2 (NKJV), “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; but when a wicked man rules, the people groan.”
 
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This blog is written by Pastor John Raymond, pastor of New Horizon Church in Slidell, Louisiana.

Pastor John Raymond