Walking the Point

posted by Writer on Dec 31

“Death is more eligible than slavery. A free-born people are not required by the religion of Jesus Christ to submit to tyranny, but may make use of such power as God has given them to recover and support their laws and liberties…We implore the Ruler above the skies, that He would make bare His arm in defense of His Church and people and let Israel go.”  1773 New Year’s Resolution Marlborough, Mass(1)

During a conversation with a friend on how things were going at his church, he indicated his pastor had ’emotionally checked-out.’ How sad, because it’s not only true of  some pastors, but a majority of church-goers as well.

Many think all that is required is to show-up once, maybe twice a week, stay active in the ‘name it and claim it’ club of their choice, do a few good deeds and then go about their lives. In my church, people ‘check-out’ and head for the exits before the service ends so as not to become snarled in traffic. So much for listening to the Spirit, eh?

Many of you have ‘checked-out’ politically, believing the old line that we are to be building a heavenly kingdom, rather than preserving the one we inherited. No doubt, you’re also consumed with work, family, and how to pay for Junior’s college education. While doing so, (all good things, mind you), the country has gone to hell.

Since Sandy Hook have you heard any pastor come out publicly and state according to Scripture why these massacres are happening, and what the remedy is? There hasn’t been much talk, if any, about including God and that’s why things continue in the wrong direction.

Its possible pastors aren’t afforded the opportunity to publicly say why things are this bad, and believe me they are when babies get shot down like dogs in a schoolroom. Or it may be that by ignoring the evils and saying a few prayers, many believe things may get better. However, we know they won’t.

Our government has become increasingly intrusive, like it was in the Founding era. We have people telling us what to eat, drink, where and when to smoke, what medical care to seek, who’s name we can invoke in worship, using our money to promote and pass unconstitutional laws, and are now calling for limits on the 2nd Amendment  (after the Federal Government supplied guns to Mexican drug lords (‘Fast and Furious’) resulting in the death of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry. Let’s not forget about Benghazi, either.)

Most of the people doing this have personal lives in disarray and can’t control their own families. Yet, they look to exert more power over us. Contrary to what you have heard, we do not have a king, or lords and ladies ruling us.

Some of you have been duped into believing that the Bible teaches we are to give ‘unlimited submission‘ anytime our leaders think it incumbent to diminish individual liberties – always in the name of safety, of course. Nothing could be further from the truth and the Founders believed nothing in scripture supported that line of thought.

Let me give you the perspective from a sermon from Romans 13 from one of the premier preachers in the Founding era, Jonathan Mayhew: “It is blasphemy to call tyrants and oppressors God’s ministers…When magistrates rob and ruin the public; instead of being guardians of its peace and welfare, they immediately cease to be the ordinance and ministers of God, and no more deserve that glorious character than common pirates and highwaymen.” (2)

Now read Romans 13:1-7 in light of this and you’ll begin to see how pastors got the people in engaged in the fight to protect their liberties against an egotistical monarch. This was the mindset of the day, back then. You may also be surprised to know that Mayhew was considered by many to be a liberal.

To preserve our Republic it is imperative we look at freedom in the same manner our forefathers did. In an 1843 interview, historian Mellen Chamberlain asked Captain Levi Preston, then 91, (who fought at the Battle of Concord Bridge on April 19, 1775, photo above), why he and others went to war.

Chamberlain asked if it were because of burdensome taxes or the result of reading about Liberty from men such as Locke, Sydney and others.

Preston replied;  “I never heard of these men. The only books we had were the Bible, the catechism, Watt’s Psalms, and hymns and the almanacs….Young man, what we meant in going for those Redcoats was this: we always had been free and we meant to be free always! They didn’t mean that we should.” (3)

Christian men like Preston, and many women, put Galatians 5:1 into action; “For freedom, Christ has set us free; stand fast, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” That’s right, they put this verse into action!

That ladies and gentlemen, is what it means to live as a free American. However, the concern is that many of you may have already ‘checked-out.’

(1) 1773 New Year’s Resolution of Marlborough, Massachusetts; The Glory of America Calendar, Peter Marshall and David Manuel, January 2; (2) Marshall, Peter and Manuel, David; The Light and The Glory; p. 264; (3) American Creation – One Revolutionary Joe Six Pack’s Evalutation of the Origin of American Liberty, posted by Roger Saunders, 12-04-2008 (You can read the entire interview on this site). Also heard on the Hugh Hewitt Show on 12-21-2012 during and interview with Mark Meckler, Eric O’Keefe and Tim Dunn of Citizens for self-Governance.