Acts 4:1-3 Now as they spoke to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them, being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they laid hands on them, and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening.
In the second chapter of Acts we read of the formation of the Church. Two short chapters later it came under persecution and has been persecuted ever since. Jesus said in John 15:20 Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you.
The Church is being persecuted today in a great way and like so many times before, it is the spirit of antichrist behind it all. The Truth of the Gospel of Christ has continually come under fire from the enemy and this will continue until the Second Coming of Jesus.
The United States of America has stood strong against the enemy because it was deeply rooted in the foundation of Faith in God and His Word. Yesterday we looked at the National Monument of the Forefathers which stands in Plymouth, Massachusetts and I encourage you to study this for yourself.
One of the most powerful and influential of our Forefathers was a man named, John Witherspoon. He and his family came to America in 1766 in answer to a call to be the sixth president of what is now, Princeton University. He was the first University Professor to ever use the “lecture” method of teaching which continues to be used in our education process today. His students were many and went on to include 39 US Congressmen, 21 US Senators, 12 Governors, 3 Supreme Court Justices, 1 Vice President, and 1 President of the United States.
Witherspoon had a brilliant mind and possessed a great knowledge of world history and the Holy Bible. He believed with all his heart and taught that civil liberty and religious liberty went hand in hand and could not be separated. When you lose one, you will ultimately lose both. To quote Witherspoon on this he said, “There is not a single instance in history, in which civil liberty was lost and religious liberty preserved entire.”
John Witherspoon was not only the President of what is now Princeton University, he was a Presbyterian Minister and as we read his quotes and lecture notes we find that he was unable to separate his faith in Christ from his work as an educator. The source for all education is the Word of God for therein lies the Truth and guidelines for living for all mankind.
The social issue of the day in the mid 1700’s was not abortion or same-sex marriage, that was unheard of at that time. The issue was religious liberty and it was this issue that drove the passions of the men and women in America at that time; the liberty to practice their faith without persecution or prosecution.
Life for our Forefathers can easily be compared to life for the early Church we read about in the Book of Acts. They too came under great persecution for their faith in Jesus. The Priests, and the captain of the Temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them…..and they laid hands on them, and put them in hold unto the next day. They were persecuted and prosecuted for their faith. They were robbed of the Freedom Christ gave His Life for them to have; arrested and incarcerated. This is tyranny.
The King of England in the mid 1700's was a dictator. Anyone who disagreed with the King was immediately found guilty, incarcerated, and sometimes put to death. The ONLY religion allowed at the time was the Church of England which was the Anglican Church. This is tyranny.
Although the Pilgrims had left England and settled in America the King still tried to impose his tyranny on them. The issue was religious liberty. The people in the new world, America, were not all Anglican. The 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention in America consisted of, 28 Episcopalians, 8 Presbyterians, 7 Congregationalists, 2 Lutherans, 2 Dutch Reformed, 2 Methodists, 2 Roman Catholics, 1 unknown, and 3 deists.
These men came together in unity to form our country and write our Constitution which ensures liberty. Nothing in America is more important and as we approach the Presidential election next year, please keep in mind the blood that has been shed to defend the Constitution of the United States that has served us so well. The Oath of Office of the President of the United States is as follows: I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States. We must have someone who understands the Constitution and will, to the best of their ability, preserve, protect, and defend it.
Please God……….turn the tide
Praying for America , Doreen
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