Still reflecting on all that I have seen here in D.C. surrounding the inauguration, I am rather quiet tonight. The climate in Washington is invigorating, in both a political and meteorological sense, but I am silently pondering the responsibility that must be ours to use our freedom for God’s glory.
Such freedom didn’t come to us without great sacrifice. In fact, our republican form of government was ignited by 56 brave patriots. They mutually pledged their “lives, fortunes, and sacred honor” to build a new nation beyond the grasp of a powerful king more than 3000 miles from these shores. And most paid dearly to keep that pledge. Five were captured and tortured as traitors. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons in the army, and another had two sons captured. Nine fought and died in the Revolutionary War.
What the Founders envisioned was bold and full of uncertainty and risk. The core ideals were relatively straightforward: that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”
That is the line that presses upon me tonight, for you and I are “the governed.” It means that, if you and I are to live out the promise and hope of America, that we have to take some responsibility for her character and her direction. That’s a tall order.
But that’s not all. For those of us who follow Christ, we have sacred responsibilities of an even higher order. We who walk in the Spirit have been liberated from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:1-4), and our entire lives are to be submitted to Christ’s Lordship (1 Corinthians 6:17-20). He has made us His holy people, and He is making us His holy people. In the promises of the Scriptures, both a judicial declaration and a personal transformation are in view.
We’ve been redeemed, and we’re being redeemed. We’ve been rescued, and we’re being reformed. We’re always reforming. “Semper reformanda.”
Jesus warned (Luke 12:48): “Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required.” We who’ve been granted spiritual freedom, and then been doubly blessed to enjoy a land of freedom, for how much will we give an account? May Christ find us ready: watchful, prayerful, and faithful.
Thankfully, history reveals that many of God’s people have utilized the blessings of America to support the work of gracious Christian ministry, to build strong churches, and to export Christ’s liberating gospel far and wide. They were women and men of the Word. They pressed on with one eye heavenward, as lovers and heralds of the good news. They persevered as spiritual heroes, working in the city of man, but living for the city of God. Of a celestial and eternal kingdom, patriots.
We stand on the shoulders of giants. But let’s make sure that we stand, and that we keep standing.
It’s nearly impossible to imagine what life would be like for us had the original thirteen colonies not come together and taken an unqualified stand against tyranny. Providentially, the novel and blossoming concept of self-government was spurred on by hard-fought victory in the war for freedom. That was followed by the marvelous unifying of all the states under a Constitution and rule of law which secure for all citizens those fundamental rights upon which our nation was painstakingly established, and which have been painstakingly preserved.
George Washington, having been duly elected as our first President, chose to step down from that office in 1797, setting the critical precedent that America would never be governed by a single person. No emperor. No dictator. Not here. Instead, the ultimate powers of government would be vested in “We the People.”
So here’s my point: the fact that We the People get to be We the People is a great gift from Almighty God. And with that great gift comes great responsibility, friends.
As of Monday, 74 oaths of office have been spoken by 47 Presidents of these United States of America. Each time the government’s power has been transferred peaceably, you and I have received an invisible blessing.
The blessing of freedom.
Let’s not waste it. Let’s use our God-ordained freedom to make much of the Lord Jesus. Let’s use our freedoms of religion and speech and assembly to lift high the one and only Savior of the world!
“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36). No king but Jesus.
Pastor Charles
Leave a Reply