1 00:00:04,750 --> 00:00:17,910 Greetings. This is Pastor David Bass at New Geneva Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Idaho Falls, Idaho, with a moment of truth where we challenge you to think through an important issue of life and faith. 2 00:00:17,910 --> 00:00:39,750 And today, since we are approaching the 4th of July, many of you will hear this after the 4th of July, but in remembrance and in celebration of our liberties and our freedoms, I want to challenge you to think through the issue of the Christian background of the American Constitution, in particular, the colonial period. 3 00:00:39,750 --> 00:00:52,570 Colonial America embodied so much of what the ideals of the American Constitution and Declaration of Independence aspired to keep and preserve and encourage and nurture. 4 00:00:52,570 --> 00:00:58,490 And so I want to look closely at that period of our history, colonial America. 5 00:00:58,789 --> 00:01:14,209 There has been a historical blackout in the media and especially in our schools, which normally would take us through the changes of American constitutional background, which is very much Christian. 6 00:01:14,209 --> 00:01:25,549 But instead, we have had an historical blackout, a condition I hope to ameliorate, at least to some extent here today and in future broadcasts too. 7 00:01:26,310 --> 00:01:39,670 Just a reminder, I am Pastor David Bass, and I minister at New Geneva Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Idaho Falls, Idaho, and we meet for holy worship on Sunday mornings at 10 a.m. 8 00:01:39,670 --> 00:01:51,790 Our location is 101 4th Street on the corner of 4th and Boulevard, and we have just an excellent website that you can check out, describes us a little bit, and we have articles there. 9 00:01:51,930 --> 00:02:02,689 We have some sermons catalogued, and then we also have, that is newgenevaopc.org, newgenevaopc.org, one word, of course. 10 00:02:02,689 --> 00:02:14,610 And then we have a second website, omnispotestas.org, O-M-N-I-S-P-O-T-E-S-T-A-S.org. 11 00:02:14,669 --> 00:02:29,430 And that has catalogued many of our radio messages, recent as well as going back almost three years, and you can access those and be apprised of what we do here on this radio spot. 12 00:02:29,430 --> 00:02:36,590 That's omnispotestas, O-M-N-I-S-P-O-T-E-S-T-A-S.org. 13 00:02:36,689 --> 00:02:53,810 That is Latin for all authority, because Christ said, all authority has been given to me and done this to proclaim the gospel and see the gospel then overwhelm the world, even as it has been doing over these millennia. 14 00:02:53,810 --> 00:03:00,830 In any case, what I'd like to treat today is the Christian background of the American Constitution during the colonial period. 15 00:03:01,689 --> 00:03:13,430 Now, prior to the convening of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, our founding fathers studied and absorbed the constitutions of the respective colonies of the new nation. 16 00:03:13,909 --> 00:03:14,990 This was part of their homework. 17 00:03:14,990 --> 00:03:20,289 These 13 colonies had each been founded upon unique individual charters and principles. 18 00:03:21,090 --> 00:03:24,689 Massachusetts and Connecticut were their Puritan and Yankee ingenuity. 19 00:03:24,830 --> 00:03:28,409 Maryland, established by the Calvars as a haven for Roman Catholics. 20 00:03:29,030 --> 00:03:37,030 Pennsylvania, chartered to William Penn, a Quaker who wished to see the Christian religion flourish in openness and toleration. 21 00:03:37,650 --> 00:03:41,370 Rhode Island, of course, which became a haven for heretic and outcast alike. 22 00:03:41,370 --> 00:03:48,229 In short, while each was founded upon unique individual charters and principles, they all had this one thing in common. 23 00:03:48,770 --> 00:03:58,349 They expressly, overtly acknowledged the Christian religion and the Christian God of the Bible as the source and goal of their respective colonies, principles, and structure. 24 00:03:59,050 --> 00:04:06,930 This is part of the historical blackout that public schools perform upon the memories of their young charters. 25 00:04:07,509 --> 00:04:11,090 For example, the first charter of Virginia puts it this way. 26 00:04:11,370 --> 00:04:16,889 We, greatly commending and graciously accepting of their desires for the furtherance of so noble a work, 27 00:04:17,029 --> 00:04:22,709 which may, by the providence of Almighty God, hereafter tend to the glory of His divine majesty 28 00:04:22,709 --> 00:04:30,509 in propagating the Christian religion to such people as yet live in darkness and miserable ignorance of the true knowledge and worship of God. 29 00:04:30,509 --> 00:04:37,009 This was the impulse for the first charter of Virginia and the Constitution of Connecticut as well, 30 00:04:37,370 --> 00:04:42,949 held forth several articles which would be controversial in today's political climate, especially in Connecticut. 31 00:04:43,110 --> 00:04:43,949 For example, they said, 32 00:04:43,949 --> 00:04:52,550 In part, that the scriptures hold forth a perfect rule for the direction and government of all men in all duties which they are to perform to God and men, 33 00:04:52,709 --> 00:04:56,949 as well as in families and commonwealth, as in matters of the church. 34 00:04:57,250 --> 00:04:58,730 The scriptures, yes. 35 00:04:58,730 --> 00:05:05,129 And this point as well, this article from the Constitution of Connecticut, and it reads, 36 00:05:05,129 --> 00:05:08,850 That is, in matters which concerning the gathering and ordering of a church. 37 00:05:09,370 --> 00:05:12,850 So likewise, in all public offices which concern civil order, 38 00:05:13,410 --> 00:05:16,870 as the choice of magistrates and officers making and repealing laws, 39 00:05:17,250 --> 00:05:20,129 dividing allotments of inheritance, and all things of like nature, 40 00:05:20,670 --> 00:05:26,430 they would all be governed by those rules which the scriptures held forth in them. 41 00:05:26,610 --> 00:05:27,089 Unquote. 42 00:05:27,089 --> 00:05:30,550 How important the Bible was to our early forefathers. 43 00:05:31,930 --> 00:05:36,189 And I would just say it must be questioned whether the courts of modern Connecticut itself 44 00:05:36,189 --> 00:05:42,850 would put up with what colonial Connecticut incorporated into the orders of the general court of the commonwealth of Connecticut. 45 00:05:42,850 --> 00:05:44,230 And it reads, it says, 46 00:05:44,610 --> 00:05:50,089 That God's word should be the only rule for ordering the matters of government in this commonwealth. 47 00:05:50,209 --> 00:05:50,569 Unquote. 48 00:05:51,430 --> 00:05:55,029 Would any court, federal or state, order such a thing today? 49 00:05:55,149 --> 00:05:55,889 No, of course not. 50 00:05:55,889 --> 00:05:59,750 Instead of genuine humility and gratitude before Almighty God 51 00:05:59,750 --> 00:06:04,649 for having given such a rich resource for self-governance and republican principles 52 00:06:04,649 --> 00:06:07,709 as found in the Bible in the centuries of Christian tradition, 53 00:06:08,410 --> 00:06:12,389 modern socialist courts are filled with shame and arrogance towards the Bible 54 00:06:12,389 --> 00:06:13,930 and our rich heritage in Christianity. 55 00:06:14,850 --> 00:06:18,209 There is no conscious effort to expunge as swiftly as possible. 56 00:06:18,529 --> 00:06:21,490 I'm sorry, there is a conscious effort to expunge as swiftly as possible 57 00:06:21,490 --> 00:06:25,730 all references to and reliance upon that text and tradition. 58 00:06:25,730 --> 00:06:27,730 That is the tradition and text of the Bible. 59 00:06:28,589 --> 00:06:33,129 So, dear listener, do not be distracted from the real issue in this struggle. 60 00:06:33,790 --> 00:06:37,949 The Ten Commandments will begin to reappear in our courthouses 61 00:06:37,949 --> 00:06:42,689 when the law of God is written upon the hearts of the men and women who serve there. 62 00:06:42,829 --> 00:06:46,629 Yes, the Ten Commandments will begin to reappear in our courthouses 63 00:06:46,629 --> 00:06:51,089 when the law of God is written on the hearts of the men and women who serve there. 64 00:06:51,089 --> 00:06:54,149 So, don't despair because of a few symbols. 65 00:06:54,430 --> 00:06:57,550 Granite monuments, pledges, and mottos are being challenged, aren't they? 66 00:06:58,329 --> 00:07:02,990 These are all faith symbols, however, which every culture fashions to express the source 67 00:07:02,990 --> 00:07:06,490 and foundation upon which rests the law which governs them. 68 00:07:06,829 --> 00:07:09,550 And the more pagan and degenerate our land becomes, 69 00:07:09,730 --> 00:07:12,709 the more pagan and degenerate will become our symbols. 70 00:07:12,709 --> 00:07:17,310 Our culture is in the process of cleansing the land of her Christian symbols 71 00:07:17,310 --> 00:07:22,250 precisely because she has already substantially cleansed her soul of her Christian principles. 72 00:07:23,029 --> 00:07:26,750 First comes the reality in the soul, and the symbol follows. 73 00:07:27,430 --> 00:07:29,629 The symbols are seen as a threat and embarrassment 74 00:07:29,629 --> 00:07:33,730 because they no longer represent what we are in our national soul. 75 00:07:33,730 --> 00:07:38,949 To the majority of those who rule us today, the cross, the creche, the scriptures, 76 00:07:39,470 --> 00:07:42,329 they are all a shame and a threat to a secular culture 77 00:07:42,329 --> 00:07:46,550 because they are a visible reminder of the biblical Christian values and principles 78 00:07:46,550 --> 00:07:52,110 that they have abandoned in a mad pursuit of an ugly, death-dealing secularism. 79 00:07:52,810 --> 00:07:54,910 But it was not so with our founding fathers. 80 00:07:54,910 --> 00:07:58,089 In the colonial period, we see the substantial effects 81 00:07:58,089 --> 00:08:00,750 of the first great awakening upon the 13 colonies. 82 00:08:00,750 --> 00:08:03,910 For example, as the gospel swept through the young nation 83 00:08:03,910 --> 00:08:08,009 during that first great awakening, late 18th century, 84 00:08:08,129 --> 00:08:11,930 she experienced the truth that in Christ all men are brothers. 85 00:08:12,870 --> 00:08:16,430 As Peter Marshall puts it in his book, The Light and the Glory, 86 00:08:16,949 --> 00:08:21,189 highborn or commoner, great merchant or poor farmer, magistrate or soldier, 87 00:08:21,430 --> 00:08:23,529 all were equal at the foot of the cross. 88 00:08:24,110 --> 00:08:27,949 Eternal heaven was open to all who accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior, 89 00:08:27,949 --> 00:08:32,450 and it mattered not what their station in life was or how wealthy they were 90 00:08:32,450 --> 00:08:34,769 or who their parents were, unquote. 91 00:08:35,450 --> 00:08:39,610 Well, this message of the gospel, this great egalitarian message, 92 00:08:39,710 --> 00:08:42,409 found its way into the fabric of the church's makeup, too. 93 00:08:43,009 --> 00:08:45,230 It was adopted and practiced there. 94 00:08:45,649 --> 00:08:47,690 And once again, as Peter Marshall puts it, 95 00:08:48,070 --> 00:08:51,750 it was only natural that it would extend into civil government as well. 96 00:08:51,889 --> 00:08:54,110 Here, then, was the seed of democracy, 97 00:08:54,110 --> 00:08:56,409 which would extend into civil government as well. 98 00:08:56,409 --> 00:08:58,889 Here, then, was the seed of democracy, 99 00:08:59,090 --> 00:09:02,889 which would be embedded and embodied in the Constitution of the United States, 100 00:09:03,429 --> 00:09:07,210 of the political understanding that all men were equally entitled to vote, 101 00:09:07,590 --> 00:09:11,250 and that, in the sight of God, a farmer was as good as King George, 102 00:09:11,549 --> 00:09:13,450 for God was no respecter of persons. 103 00:09:13,870 --> 00:09:17,129 His laws applied equally to all men, unquote. 104 00:09:18,149 --> 00:09:22,830 From the book by Manuel N. Marshall, The Light and the Glory. 105 00:09:22,830 --> 00:09:28,309 So, here, we begin to see a profound distinction beginning to emerge 106 00:09:28,309 --> 00:09:30,750 on the distant shores of the American continent. 107 00:09:31,570 --> 00:09:33,669 Despite the long tradition of English rights, 108 00:09:34,110 --> 00:09:38,090 there was still an entrenched class system of royalty nobles, commoner. 109 00:09:38,649 --> 00:09:39,629 That was centuries old. 110 00:09:39,769 --> 00:09:43,070 And although the commoner had his rights, he knew his place and station, 111 00:09:43,350 --> 00:09:47,129 and only rarely did he have opportunity to improve that station. 112 00:09:47,129 --> 00:09:50,730 In America, however, due to the power of Christianity, 113 00:09:51,250 --> 00:09:52,750 this is important to understand, 114 00:09:53,330 --> 00:09:55,750 in America, due to the power of Christianity 115 00:09:55,750 --> 00:09:58,129 and leveling the playing field for all men, 116 00:09:58,710 --> 00:10:02,809 that same commoner had every chance to succeed as the noble, 117 00:10:02,950 --> 00:10:05,909 only limited by his skills, intelligence, and energy. 118 00:10:06,090 --> 00:10:08,350 Additionally, his vote in the meeting house 119 00:10:08,350 --> 00:10:11,830 counted every bit as much as the highborn or the Richmonds. 120 00:10:11,830 --> 00:10:14,409 He could stand in that same meeting house, 121 00:10:14,529 --> 00:10:16,809 and as long as he did it decently and in order, 122 00:10:17,330 --> 00:10:22,129 he could voice his opinion, express himself freely on any subject at hand. 123 00:10:23,110 --> 00:10:26,750 Thus, not only did a great ocean and time and distance 124 00:10:26,750 --> 00:10:28,409 separate England from her child, 125 00:10:28,730 --> 00:10:31,009 but increasingly, so did that child's institutions 126 00:10:31,009 --> 00:10:32,929 and colonial constitutions. 127 00:10:34,169 --> 00:10:38,169 Every colonial considers himself a good English subject, 128 00:10:38,169 --> 00:10:41,029 but slowly, almost imperceptibly at first, 129 00:10:41,029 --> 00:10:46,350 that colony, that colonial became conscious of the fact 130 00:10:46,350 --> 00:10:48,710 that he was far more independent of England 131 00:10:48,710 --> 00:10:52,070 than England had ever suspected she was of him. 132 00:10:52,710 --> 00:10:56,129 This intuitive, implicit liberty was strengthened 133 00:10:56,129 --> 00:10:58,129 in the first generation born in the colonies, 134 00:10:58,230 --> 00:11:00,970 most of whom had never known anything but Republican democracy 135 00:11:00,970 --> 00:11:03,370 in its purest town-meeting form. 136 00:11:04,389 --> 00:11:06,590 The American colonists knew several liberties 137 00:11:06,590 --> 00:11:11,909 of which his continental counterpart was unaware. 138 00:11:11,909 --> 00:11:18,710 For example, the colonial had complete freedom of movement in America. 139 00:11:18,909 --> 00:11:20,629 He could pick up and go whenever he wanted. 140 00:11:21,309 --> 00:11:25,389 There was no class system, which chained, if you will, 141 00:11:25,769 --> 00:11:28,409 the lower class and upper classes, for that matter, 142 00:11:28,409 --> 00:11:34,990 to their traditional squaredom, to their traditional system of land holdings, 143 00:11:35,230 --> 00:11:39,389 and the class of serfs in comparison to the class of nobles, 144 00:11:39,529 --> 00:11:44,169 which chained the serf especially to his master 145 00:11:44,169 --> 00:11:47,009 and to his particular square plot of land. 146 00:11:47,190 --> 00:11:49,350 In America, there was complete freedom of movement. 147 00:11:49,450 --> 00:11:53,230 You could pick up and move west if you wanted to find new circumstances. 148 00:11:53,230 --> 00:11:57,610 There was also, in colonial America, freedom of expression 149 00:11:57,610 --> 00:12:00,269 that was unheard of and unseen. 150 00:12:00,750 --> 00:12:05,250 In England, a man could express his opinion, whatever it was, 151 00:12:05,490 --> 00:12:08,470 on whatever occasion he found to be necessary, 152 00:12:08,870 --> 00:12:14,409 most notably at the town hall, where local issues were decided by locals. 153 00:12:15,190 --> 00:12:18,190 There was also, in America, amongst the colonials, 154 00:12:18,409 --> 00:12:21,350 direct representation in colonial legislatures. 155 00:12:21,350 --> 00:12:24,330 Yes, one vote, one man, right? 156 00:12:24,409 --> 00:12:25,429 One man, one vote. 157 00:12:25,870 --> 00:12:29,870 And you could elect a representative to your colonial legislatures. 158 00:12:30,009 --> 00:12:33,629 Those were organized, established, and set up in a variety of ways. 159 00:12:33,710 --> 00:12:37,590 But one thing they all shared in common was that every man had direct representation 160 00:12:37,590 --> 00:12:40,490 in these colonial legislatures as they voted. 161 00:12:41,330 --> 00:12:44,850 There was also, in colonial America, in contrast to England, 162 00:12:45,269 --> 00:12:48,649 a freedom of religion with no established religion. 163 00:12:48,649 --> 00:12:51,730 This was unknown in England, of course. 164 00:12:52,450 --> 00:12:55,769 Many Christians and sects had been persecuted. 165 00:12:55,929 --> 00:12:58,289 That's why many of the colonies were established 166 00:12:58,289 --> 00:13:02,990 and why many Englishmen fled England to the colonies 167 00:13:02,990 --> 00:13:07,889 was to establish and express their own religious freedom. 168 00:13:08,850 --> 00:13:10,269 And there was no established religion either, 169 00:13:10,629 --> 00:13:15,389 no tax-supported state and colonial religion, 170 00:13:15,389 --> 00:13:19,190 except for Virginia, which, of course, did this for the longest time. 171 00:13:20,190 --> 00:13:22,590 The Church of England was established in Virginia, 172 00:13:22,590 --> 00:13:28,309 but all the other colonies had, indeed, a freedom of religion unknown, unseen in England. 173 00:13:29,070 --> 00:13:33,070 There was also a trial by jury that you had, a jury of your peers. 174 00:13:33,330 --> 00:13:38,049 This was part of the great leveling, part of the great egalitarian strain in America, 175 00:13:38,049 --> 00:13:42,370 was that come to trial, in an issue of justice, 176 00:13:42,970 --> 00:13:48,870 you had a right to a trial by jury, not a judge, like Judge Jeffries, for example, 177 00:13:49,350 --> 00:13:56,149 notorious in the greatest sizes when he persecuted many commoners in England at that time. 178 00:13:56,250 --> 00:14:01,389 No, in America, trial by jury, and that jury was composed of peers, 179 00:14:01,389 --> 00:14:04,250 that is, farmers and locals and merchants and so forth, 180 00:14:04,250 --> 00:14:07,129 that you saw every day, and you were judged by them. 181 00:14:07,750 --> 00:14:10,750 So, all of these things, and more, really, we can say, 182 00:14:11,649 --> 00:14:16,490 were enjoyed by colonials here in the colonies in America, 183 00:14:16,970 --> 00:14:20,909 and this became part of the warp and woof of America. 184 00:14:21,110 --> 00:14:23,809 This became what was expected of America, 185 00:14:23,809 --> 00:14:26,610 and when England began to transgress those rights, 186 00:14:26,990 --> 00:14:28,350 oh, the fury, yes. 187 00:14:28,350 --> 00:14:34,269 Imagine, then, all of these things being the given in America. 188 00:14:34,529 --> 00:14:39,169 Imagine the colonist consternation when British policy began to shift 189 00:14:39,169 --> 00:14:44,809 towards laying an increasing burden on this prosperous offspring of Mother England. 190 00:14:45,250 --> 00:14:45,889 Oh, boy. 191 00:14:46,529 --> 00:14:49,370 A man could make his own way, he could make his own wealth, 192 00:14:49,370 --> 00:14:53,549 and suddenly Britain started to intervene and to curb these liberties. 193 00:14:54,309 --> 00:14:55,049 Began to happen. 194 00:14:55,490 --> 00:14:57,470 Began to happen in the mid-18th century, 195 00:14:57,470 --> 00:15:01,529 when the tyrant King George III asserted his authority 196 00:15:01,529 --> 00:15:04,470 over what he saw as a cow ready for the milking. 197 00:15:04,789 --> 00:15:09,809 That is the American colonies, excuse me. 198 00:15:10,490 --> 00:15:14,970 And so, the outrage of the Townsend Acts of 1767, for example, 199 00:15:15,350 --> 00:15:18,409 which imposed duties on glass and tea and paper and so on, 200 00:15:18,529 --> 00:15:21,789 this passed without the consent or vote of a single colonist. 201 00:15:21,929 --> 00:15:23,029 Oh, they weren't used to this. 202 00:15:23,529 --> 00:15:26,830 And so, the outrage of the Stamp Act, as well, of 1765. 203 00:15:27,470 --> 00:15:32,809 It required a stamp of the British Crown on every legal document produced in America, 204 00:15:33,029 --> 00:15:38,269 despite the fact that the British Crown had little or nothing to do with the day-to-day life of the colonists, 205 00:15:38,789 --> 00:15:41,029 this local legislature, and who, in turn, 206 00:15:41,529 --> 00:15:45,350 had no representative across the wide sea to speak for him in Parliament, 207 00:15:45,529 --> 00:15:48,450 where all of these tyrannies were being manufactured. 208 00:15:48,450 --> 00:15:55,529 And so, the outrage of the rough and arrogant British troopers regularly quartered in colonial homes, 209 00:15:56,029 --> 00:15:58,590 this too, they were given to taking whatever they wanted, 210 00:15:58,710 --> 00:16:00,990 whether colonial horse or silver or maiden. 211 00:16:01,950 --> 00:16:06,710 And so, the outrage of redress for these and other monstrous grievances 212 00:16:06,710 --> 00:16:11,049 were routinely ignored and scoffed at by the ministers and judges of the Crown. 213 00:16:11,049 --> 00:16:15,049 Justice became as much an orphan as many of the children of the colonies 214 00:16:15,049 --> 00:16:20,049 whose fathers were in jail, impressed into the British Navy, far at sea maybe, 215 00:16:20,570 --> 00:16:23,730 or who were just in their graves because of peremptory sentences 216 00:16:23,730 --> 00:16:27,429 passed down by judges accountable only to the King. 217 00:16:29,129 --> 00:16:31,490 Dear listener, what were the colonists to do? 218 00:16:32,070 --> 00:16:34,690 Was not a Christian to be obedient to proper authority? 219 00:16:34,690 --> 00:16:38,330 This rang from many of the Tory pulpits of the day. 220 00:16:38,470 --> 00:16:41,269 They read Romans chapter 13, verses 1 and 2, 221 00:16:41,330 --> 00:16:45,009 just like we have many Tory preachers all across America, too, 222 00:16:45,470 --> 00:16:49,190 who say there's nothing for it but to submit and to obey. 223 00:16:49,830 --> 00:16:51,350 Paul says this in Romans 13, 224 00:16:51,809 --> 00:16:54,169 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities, 225 00:16:54,690 --> 00:16:56,669 for there is no authority except from God, 226 00:16:56,909 --> 00:16:59,490 and those that exist have been instituted by God. 227 00:17:00,070 --> 00:17:02,110 Therefore, he who resists the authorities, 228 00:17:02,470 --> 00:17:03,909 resists what God has appointed, 229 00:17:03,909 --> 00:17:06,890 and those who resist will incur judgment, unquote. 230 00:17:07,390 --> 00:17:15,150 So, all of these points we give a hearty amen to with the Apostle Paul 231 00:17:15,150 --> 00:17:19,789 because, indeed, legitimate government is to be obeyed. 232 00:17:20,549 --> 00:17:24,410 And if this were the only scripture that spoke to proper rule and authority, 233 00:17:24,869 --> 00:17:27,170 well, then we would be consigned to bear tyranny 234 00:17:27,170 --> 00:17:29,710 no matter what our circumstances and opportunities. 235 00:17:30,509 --> 00:17:33,529 It would be fallen, sinful man who would dictate government. 236 00:17:33,910 --> 00:17:35,309 Which is the case often, anyway. 237 00:17:35,690 --> 00:17:37,630 It's becoming increasingly so in America. 238 00:17:38,430 --> 00:17:39,970 And, under these circumstances, 239 00:17:40,109 --> 00:17:44,029 the Christian would never be able to speak to issues like justice and mercy, 240 00:17:44,150 --> 00:17:45,329 the proper limits of power, 241 00:17:45,589 --> 00:17:48,369 and the duties and qualities of both prince and subject. 242 00:17:48,509 --> 00:17:48,809 Instead, 243 00:17:49,750 --> 00:17:53,690 our founding fathers were completely familiar with the body of material, 244 00:17:53,690 --> 00:17:54,289 the scope, 245 00:17:54,289 --> 00:17:54,809 the scope, 246 00:17:54,809 --> 00:18:03,390 the wide range of material that bore upon these and other topics developed over centuries of thought and practice. 247 00:18:03,890 --> 00:18:14,130 Yes, unlike the unthinking Christian pastors and congregations today who just shake their heads and say, 248 00:18:14,130 --> 00:18:16,150 all authority is given by God, 249 00:18:16,230 --> 00:18:17,490 all authority is given by God, 250 00:18:17,569 --> 00:18:18,589 we've got to obey and submit. 251 00:18:19,029 --> 00:18:22,910 No, our founding fathers were intimately familiar not only with their Bibles, 252 00:18:22,910 --> 00:18:29,710 but also other deeply Christian men and philosophers who had bent their talents to reflecting on these subjects. 253 00:18:29,710 --> 00:18:35,789 They called the study of government the divine science because, indeed, 254 00:18:35,930 --> 00:18:38,269 it was something close to the heart of God. 255 00:18:38,769 --> 00:18:40,130 And men like Montesquieu, 256 00:18:40,730 --> 00:18:41,890 Samuel Rutherford, 257 00:18:42,690 --> 00:18:43,630 Algernon Sidney, 258 00:18:44,150 --> 00:18:44,690 and, of course, 259 00:18:44,789 --> 00:18:45,690 Mr. John Locke, 260 00:18:45,910 --> 00:18:47,190 philosopher of the revolution. 261 00:18:48,170 --> 00:18:53,289 These men developed the idea that not only was there explicit obedience expected of the subject, 262 00:18:53,410 --> 00:18:55,650 but also an implied contract 263 00:18:55,650 --> 00:18:58,670 that Locke called the social contract. 264 00:18:58,950 --> 00:19:07,329 And he said this social contract existed between the commoner, 265 00:19:07,650 --> 00:19:10,509 the man who is under the magistrate, 266 00:19:10,710 --> 00:19:12,809 and those who exercise rule. 267 00:19:13,009 --> 00:19:14,950 This social contract existed, 268 00:19:15,289 --> 00:19:17,329 and it was scripturally drawn out 269 00:19:17,329 --> 00:19:22,410 because king and legislature and judge must follow the commandments of the scriptures, 270 00:19:22,990 --> 00:19:23,890 one of which stated, 271 00:19:23,890 --> 00:19:26,349 he that ruleth over men must be just, 272 00:19:26,630 --> 00:19:27,930 ruling in the fear of God, 273 00:19:28,029 --> 00:19:29,930 as 2 Samuel 23, 3 says. 274 00:19:30,009 --> 00:19:31,509 This was one of the guiding scriptures 275 00:19:31,509 --> 00:19:34,109 then of our founding fathers 276 00:19:34,109 --> 00:19:37,829 and those who developed a Christian philosophy of government. 277 00:19:38,009 --> 00:19:40,390 He that ruleth over men must be just, 278 00:19:40,869 --> 00:19:42,210 ruling in the fear of God. 279 00:19:42,549 --> 00:19:43,529 Those two things. 280 00:19:44,170 --> 00:19:46,170 Mighty important for the magistrate. 281 00:19:46,549 --> 00:19:49,150 If we had magistrates today who followed those two rules, 282 00:19:49,329 --> 00:19:50,589 that is fearing God 283 00:19:50,589 --> 00:19:52,750 and being just to their core. 284 00:19:52,750 --> 00:19:54,589 And a just core, 285 00:19:54,910 --> 00:19:55,910 a just character, 286 00:19:56,269 --> 00:19:59,150 a just practice based on biblical principles too, 287 00:19:59,210 --> 00:20:00,230 that is also assumed. 288 00:20:01,529 --> 00:20:04,450 We would have a different kind of government indeed today, 289 00:20:04,509 --> 00:20:05,009 wouldn't we? 290 00:20:05,130 --> 00:20:06,430 If we had men and women 291 00:20:06,430 --> 00:20:08,269 who followed these two rules 292 00:20:08,269 --> 00:20:09,609 from 2 Samuel 23, 293 00:20:10,210 --> 00:20:11,349 he that ruleth over men 294 00:20:11,349 --> 00:20:12,130 must be just, 295 00:20:12,329 --> 00:20:13,490 ruling in the fear of God. 296 00:20:13,549 --> 00:20:14,230 So this is a given. 297 00:20:14,869 --> 00:20:16,029 And it was widely acknowledged 298 00:20:16,029 --> 00:20:18,690 that the ruler who violated this contract, 299 00:20:18,690 --> 00:20:20,150 this social contract, 300 00:20:20,809 --> 00:20:22,650 then as John Locke puts it, 301 00:20:23,029 --> 00:20:25,470 the ruler who violated this contract 302 00:20:25,470 --> 00:20:27,250 forfeited his right to the obedience 303 00:20:27,250 --> 00:20:28,549 and loyalty of his subjects. 304 00:20:29,329 --> 00:20:31,130 It was not a low bar, 305 00:20:31,210 --> 00:20:32,269 but a very high bar. 306 00:20:32,269 --> 00:20:37,349 When we come to resisting then magistrates, 307 00:20:38,269 --> 00:20:39,809 it had to be that the ruler 308 00:20:39,809 --> 00:20:42,210 who violates this social contract 309 00:20:42,210 --> 00:20:43,390 of being unjust 310 00:20:43,390 --> 00:20:45,390 and no longer fearing God, 311 00:20:45,490 --> 00:20:45,769 indeed, 312 00:20:45,869 --> 00:20:46,769 if this was the man, 313 00:20:47,329 --> 00:20:48,569 then he forfeited his right 314 00:20:48,569 --> 00:20:49,589 to the obedience 315 00:20:49,589 --> 00:20:51,130 and loyalty of his subjects. 316 00:20:51,269 --> 00:20:52,569 Even good King James I, 317 00:20:52,809 --> 00:20:54,589 who was really no friend to democracy, 318 00:20:54,910 --> 00:20:55,750 he put it this way, 319 00:20:56,269 --> 00:20:57,869 a king ceases to be a king 320 00:20:57,869 --> 00:20:59,990 and degenerates into a tyrant 321 00:20:59,990 --> 00:21:01,490 as soon as he leaves off 322 00:21:01,490 --> 00:21:03,829 to rule according to his laws. 323 00:21:04,809 --> 00:21:06,069 Yes, lawless kings, 324 00:21:06,269 --> 00:21:07,230 lawless magistrates 325 00:21:07,230 --> 00:21:09,450 do not deserve obedience and loyalty 326 00:21:09,450 --> 00:21:12,289 because a magistrate ceases 327 00:21:12,289 --> 00:21:13,190 to be a magistrate 328 00:21:13,190 --> 00:21:14,690 and degenerates to a tyrant 329 00:21:14,690 --> 00:21:16,009 when he leaves off 330 00:21:16,009 --> 00:21:17,769 ruling according to law. 331 00:21:18,349 --> 00:21:19,309 Yes, and we find that 332 00:21:19,309 --> 00:21:20,289 in our government today, 333 00:21:20,369 --> 00:21:20,869 do we not? 334 00:21:20,970 --> 00:21:22,269 We have a government of men 335 00:21:22,269 --> 00:21:23,190 rather than laws. 336 00:21:23,190 --> 00:21:25,049 We see that whether it's the bushes 337 00:21:25,049 --> 00:21:26,329 or the Clintons 338 00:21:26,329 --> 00:21:28,390 or those in the FBI 339 00:21:28,390 --> 00:21:29,150 and the CIA 340 00:21:29,150 --> 00:21:31,230 who indeed are tyrannizing 341 00:21:31,230 --> 00:21:32,410 over us in the deep state, 342 00:21:32,730 --> 00:21:34,190 they rule according to men, 343 00:21:34,289 --> 00:21:35,190 not according to law. 344 00:21:36,450 --> 00:21:40,990 Now, for the colonists, 345 00:21:42,069 --> 00:21:43,589 if only King George III 346 00:21:43,589 --> 00:21:45,329 had listened to his predecessor, 347 00:21:45,549 --> 00:21:46,609 that is James I, 348 00:21:47,170 --> 00:21:47,789 but instead, 349 00:21:48,369 --> 00:21:49,369 George III added, 350 00:21:49,589 --> 00:21:51,009 as Thomas Jefferson articulated 351 00:21:51,009 --> 00:21:52,549 in the Declaration of Independence, 352 00:21:53,390 --> 00:21:54,369 George III added 353 00:21:54,369 --> 00:21:55,930 a long train of abuses 354 00:21:55,930 --> 00:21:56,930 and usurpations, 355 00:21:57,210 --> 00:21:58,390 pursuing invariably 356 00:21:58,390 --> 00:21:59,289 the same object, 357 00:21:59,890 --> 00:22:00,789 evincing a design 358 00:22:00,789 --> 00:22:02,150 to reduce them, 359 00:22:02,349 --> 00:22:03,369 that is the colonists, 360 00:22:03,750 --> 00:22:05,329 under absolute despotism. 361 00:22:06,069 --> 00:22:06,910 It is their right, 362 00:22:07,049 --> 00:22:07,809 it is their duty 363 00:22:07,809 --> 00:22:09,329 to throw off such government 364 00:22:09,329 --> 00:22:10,849 and to provide new guards 365 00:22:10,849 --> 00:22:12,210 for their future security, 366 00:22:12,509 --> 00:22:12,890 unquote. 367 00:22:13,390 --> 00:22:14,630 So these are the conditions 368 00:22:14,630 --> 00:22:16,730 that must be balanced then, 369 00:22:16,730 --> 00:22:25,359 must be balanced then, 370 00:22:26,359 --> 00:22:28,660 along with Romans chapter 13. 371 00:22:30,119 --> 00:22:31,559 Jefferson did not pen 372 00:22:31,559 --> 00:22:32,099 the Declaration 373 00:22:32,099 --> 00:22:33,480 in an intellectual 374 00:22:33,480 --> 00:22:34,819 and biblical vacuum. 375 00:22:35,380 --> 00:22:36,039 No, he did not. 376 00:22:36,460 --> 00:22:37,299 His readers knew 377 00:22:37,299 --> 00:22:39,039 precisely whence his thought. 378 00:22:39,759 --> 00:22:40,980 Resistance to tyrants 379 00:22:40,980 --> 00:22:43,059 as a well-established doctrine 380 00:22:43,059 --> 00:22:44,220 in civil philosophy. 381 00:22:44,480 --> 00:22:44,640 Yes, 382 00:22:45,059 --> 00:22:46,039 Samuel Rutherford, 383 00:22:46,140 --> 00:22:46,599 for example, 384 00:22:47,039 --> 00:22:47,660 in his book, 385 00:22:47,819 --> 00:22:48,319 Lex Rex, 386 00:22:48,319 --> 00:22:49,279 he says, 387 00:22:49,660 --> 00:22:50,539 he who resisteth 388 00:22:50,539 --> 00:22:51,660 the man who is the king, 389 00:22:52,299 --> 00:22:53,059 commanding that 390 00:22:53,059 --> 00:22:53,980 which is against God, 391 00:22:54,119 --> 00:22:54,859 killing the innocent, 392 00:22:55,119 --> 00:22:56,299 resisteth no ordinance 393 00:22:56,299 --> 00:22:56,819 of God, 394 00:22:56,880 --> 00:22:57,559 but an ordinance 395 00:22:57,559 --> 00:22:58,359 of Satan. 396 00:22:59,160 --> 00:23:00,339 For a man commanding 397 00:23:00,339 --> 00:23:00,980 unjustly 398 00:23:00,980 --> 00:23:02,059 and ruling tyrannically 399 00:23:02,059 --> 00:23:03,440 hath in that 400 00:23:03,440 --> 00:23:05,220 no power from God. 401 00:23:05,880 --> 00:23:06,240 Yes, 402 00:23:06,339 --> 00:23:07,259 you obey Satan 403 00:23:07,259 --> 00:23:08,160 rather than God 404 00:23:08,160 --> 00:23:09,259 when you obey 405 00:23:09,259 --> 00:23:09,940 a tyrant 406 00:23:09,940 --> 00:23:10,920 who kills the innocent 407 00:23:10,920 --> 00:23:12,440 and who is godless. 408 00:23:13,400 --> 00:23:13,880 Now, 409 00:23:14,039 --> 00:23:17,500 King George III 410 00:23:17,500 --> 00:23:19,420 amply fit this description 411 00:23:19,420 --> 00:23:20,599 and Jefferson 412 00:23:20,599 --> 00:23:21,359 made this clear 413 00:23:21,359 --> 00:23:22,660 in his Bill of Particulars 414 00:23:22,660 --> 00:23:23,460 in the Declaration. 415 00:23:24,339 --> 00:23:26,079 The catalog of wrongs 416 00:23:26,079 --> 00:23:26,640 is daunting 417 00:23:26,640 --> 00:23:27,960 and takes up 418 00:23:27,960 --> 00:23:29,019 the large bulk 419 00:23:29,019 --> 00:23:29,720 of the Declaration, 420 00:23:29,900 --> 00:23:30,299 doesn't it, 421 00:23:30,319 --> 00:23:31,640 even though the opening paragraphs 422 00:23:31,640 --> 00:23:33,059 are usually quoted 423 00:23:33,059 --> 00:23:33,900 and not much else. 424 00:23:34,000 --> 00:23:34,119 Well, 425 00:23:34,480 --> 00:23:35,339 Jefferson does this 426 00:23:35,339 --> 00:23:36,440 because the candid world 427 00:23:36,440 --> 00:23:37,160 to which he addressed 428 00:23:37,160 --> 00:23:37,859 the Declaration 429 00:23:37,859 --> 00:23:39,200 would have expected 430 00:23:39,200 --> 00:23:39,740 a biblical 431 00:23:39,740 --> 00:23:41,299 and philosophical rationale 432 00:23:41,299 --> 00:23:42,940 for the serious matter 433 00:23:42,940 --> 00:23:43,500 of rebellion. 434 00:23:44,259 --> 00:23:45,220 If it could be demonstrated 435 00:23:45,220 --> 00:23:45,920 that George III 436 00:23:45,920 --> 00:23:46,680 was not ruling 437 00:23:46,680 --> 00:23:47,460 over men justly, 438 00:23:47,759 --> 00:23:48,779 ruling in the fear of God, 439 00:23:49,140 --> 00:23:49,920 then America's case 440 00:23:49,920 --> 00:23:50,380 was made. 441 00:23:51,200 --> 00:23:52,920 Besides providing posterity 442 00:23:52,920 --> 00:23:53,440 with a set 443 00:23:53,440 --> 00:23:54,660 of inspirational prose, 444 00:23:54,799 --> 00:23:55,339 the Declaration 445 00:23:55,339 --> 00:23:56,480 of Independence 446 00:23:56,480 --> 00:23:57,859 thus accomplished 447 00:23:57,859 --> 00:23:58,480 its goal 448 00:23:58,480 --> 00:23:59,539 of making the argument 449 00:23:59,539 --> 00:24:00,420 for separation 450 00:24:00,420 --> 00:24:01,420 from the mother country. 451 00:24:03,519 --> 00:24:03,839 So, 452 00:24:04,220 --> 00:24:05,259 Jefferson could look 453 00:24:05,259 --> 00:24:05,779 to God 454 00:24:05,779 --> 00:24:06,440 for justification 455 00:24:06,440 --> 00:24:07,559 of America's cause. 456 00:24:08,039 --> 00:24:08,720 As he puts it, 457 00:24:08,779 --> 00:24:09,579 appealing to the 458 00:24:09,579 --> 00:24:10,180 Supreme Judge 459 00:24:10,180 --> 00:24:10,779 of the world 460 00:24:10,779 --> 00:24:11,700 for the rectitude 461 00:24:11,700 --> 00:24:12,500 of our intentions 462 00:24:12,500 --> 00:24:13,779 do in the name 463 00:24:13,779 --> 00:24:14,579 and by the authority 464 00:24:14,579 --> 00:24:15,200 of the good people 465 00:24:15,200 --> 00:24:15,960 of these colonies 466 00:24:15,960 --> 00:24:17,000 solemnly publish 467 00:24:17,000 --> 00:24:17,619 and declare 468 00:24:17,619 --> 00:24:19,619 that these united colonies 469 00:24:19,619 --> 00:24:20,779 are and of right 470 00:24:20,779 --> 00:24:21,500 ought to be 471 00:24:21,500 --> 00:24:23,380 free and independent states. 472 00:24:23,480 --> 00:24:23,799 Unquote. 473 00:24:24,460 --> 00:24:25,019 And so, 474 00:24:25,119 --> 00:24:25,779 we discover that 475 00:24:25,779 --> 00:24:26,220 in everything 476 00:24:26,220 --> 00:24:27,519 from the colonial charters 477 00:24:27,519 --> 00:24:28,380 and constitutions 478 00:24:28,380 --> 00:24:29,240 to the Declaration 479 00:24:29,240 --> 00:24:30,059 of Independence 480 00:24:30,059 --> 00:24:31,440 penned on the eve 481 00:24:31,440 --> 00:24:32,059 of the revolution, 482 00:24:32,539 --> 00:24:33,680 the Christian religion 483 00:24:33,680 --> 00:24:34,720 and the Bible 484 00:24:34,720 --> 00:24:36,460 suffused the thought 485 00:24:36,460 --> 00:24:37,119 and souls 486 00:24:37,119 --> 00:24:37,619 of the men 487 00:24:37,619 --> 00:24:38,220 who made them 488 00:24:38,220 --> 00:24:39,720 to divorce God 489 00:24:39,720 --> 00:24:40,539 from our institutions 490 00:24:40,539 --> 00:24:41,660 today expunge 491 00:24:41,660 --> 00:24:42,059 the memory 492 00:24:42,059 --> 00:24:42,380 of him 493 00:24:42,380 --> 00:24:42,940 and his book 494 00:24:42,940 --> 00:24:44,140 is only to pull 495 00:24:44,140 --> 00:24:45,079 out from underneath 496 00:24:45,079 --> 00:24:46,079 our collective feet 497 00:24:46,079 --> 00:24:47,160 the very foundation 498 00:24:47,160 --> 00:24:48,059 that causes us 499 00:24:48,059 --> 00:24:48,700 to stand 500 00:24:48,700 --> 00:24:49,339 as a country. 501 00:24:50,420 --> 00:24:50,720 In fact, 502 00:24:50,779 --> 00:24:51,140 we hope 503 00:24:51,140 --> 00:24:52,000 to demonstrate 504 00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:53,180 in our next lecture 505 00:24:53,180 --> 00:24:55,440 that this is 506 00:24:55,440 --> 00:24:56,339 the close connection 507 00:24:56,339 --> 00:24:57,599 between biblical principles 508 00:24:57,599 --> 00:24:59,500 and preceding charters 509 00:24:59,500 --> 00:25:01,039 with the Constitution. 510 00:25:01,700 --> 00:25:02,319 To say God 511 00:25:02,319 --> 00:25:03,299 is nowhere mentioned 512 00:25:03,299 --> 00:25:03,859 in the text 513 00:25:03,859 --> 00:25:04,559 of the Constitution 514 00:25:04,559 --> 00:25:05,319 that the basis 515 00:25:05,319 --> 00:25:05,799 for government 516 00:25:05,799 --> 00:25:07,079 is really only a canard. 517 00:25:07,079 --> 00:25:08,140 The Constitution 518 00:25:08,140 --> 00:25:08,819 itself 519 00:25:08,819 --> 00:25:10,279 is intimately connected 520 00:25:10,279 --> 00:25:11,160 with the atmosphere 521 00:25:11,160 --> 00:25:12,220 in which it was created 522 00:25:12,220 --> 00:25:13,480 and it wasn't made 523 00:25:13,480 --> 00:25:14,000 in a vacuum. 524 00:25:14,339 --> 00:25:14,619 No, 525 00:25:14,740 --> 00:25:15,180 it was made 526 00:25:15,180 --> 00:25:15,839 in a context 527 00:25:15,839 --> 00:25:16,680 and that context 528 00:25:16,680 --> 00:25:17,079 was that 529 00:25:17,079 --> 00:25:18,079 of the Christian religion 530 00:25:18,079 --> 00:25:19,319 and the Bible. 531 00:25:20,400 --> 00:25:21,160 This has been 532 00:25:21,160 --> 00:25:22,359 Pastor David Bass 533 00:25:22,359 --> 00:25:23,759 and I minister 534 00:25:23,759 --> 00:25:24,779 at New Geneva 535 00:25:24,779 --> 00:25:26,920 Orthodox Presbyterian Church. 536 00:25:27,640 --> 00:25:28,079 Now, 537 00:25:28,240 --> 00:25:29,299 we meet for holy worship. 538 00:25:29,460 --> 00:25:30,220 I encourage you 539 00:25:30,220 --> 00:25:30,839 to join us. 540 00:25:31,339 --> 00:25:32,640 Come out of the woodwork, 541 00:25:32,880 --> 00:25:33,599 out of the shadows 542 00:25:33,599 --> 00:25:34,279 as they say, 543 00:25:34,359 --> 00:25:34,900 those of you 544 00:25:34,900 --> 00:25:35,640 that have been listening 545 00:25:35,640 --> 00:25:36,099 for a while. 546 00:25:36,099 --> 00:25:37,839 Come and visit us. 547 00:25:37,900 --> 00:25:38,799 We meet for holy worship 548 00:25:38,799 --> 00:25:39,380 on Sunday 549 00:25:39,380 --> 00:25:40,599 at 10 a.m. 550 00:25:40,799 --> 00:25:42,279 at 101 4th Street 551 00:25:42,279 --> 00:25:43,359 on the corner 552 00:25:43,359 --> 00:25:44,380 of 4th and Boulevard 553 00:25:44,380 --> 00:25:46,900 and you can call us 554 00:25:46,900 --> 00:25:47,740 for more information 555 00:25:47,740 --> 00:25:49,259 at area code 556 00:25:49,259 --> 00:25:52,920 208-528-7948 557 00:25:52,920 --> 00:25:54,880 and you can check out 558 00:25:54,880 --> 00:25:55,619 our websites too. 559 00:25:56,440 --> 00:25:57,359 We have two of them. 560 00:25:57,700 --> 00:25:58,700 Our church website, 561 00:25:59,519 --> 00:26:01,660 newgenevaopc.org. 562 00:26:01,839 --> 00:26:02,359 One word, 563 00:26:02,819 --> 00:26:05,319 newgenevaopc.org. 564 00:26:05,319 --> 00:26:06,380 There you'll find 565 00:26:06,380 --> 00:26:07,339 much information 566 00:26:07,339 --> 00:26:08,019 on our church, 567 00:26:08,720 --> 00:26:09,559 many articles 568 00:26:09,559 --> 00:26:12,059 and many records 569 00:26:12,059 --> 00:26:12,839 of sermons 570 00:26:12,839 --> 00:26:14,140 that we have preached 571 00:26:14,140 --> 00:26:14,819 at New Geneva 572 00:26:14,819 --> 00:26:15,440 in the past 573 00:26:15,440 --> 00:26:17,240 and you can also check out 574 00:26:17,240 --> 00:26:18,220 our second website 575 00:26:18,220 --> 00:26:19,460 which is 576 00:26:19,460 --> 00:26:21,140 omnispotestas.org 577 00:26:21,140 --> 00:26:22,960 O-M-N-I-S 578 00:26:22,960 --> 00:26:23,599 dash 579 00:26:23,599 --> 00:26:25,099 P-O-T-E-S 580 00:26:25,099 --> 00:26:26,019 T-A-S 581 00:26:26,019 --> 00:26:26,900 dot org 582 00:26:26,900 --> 00:26:28,079 and there you'll find 583 00:26:28,079 --> 00:26:28,519 a catalog 584 00:26:28,519 --> 00:26:29,900 of these radio messages 585 00:26:29,900 --> 00:26:31,240 and you can peruse 586 00:26:31,240 --> 00:26:32,099 those at your leisure. 587 00:26:32,720 --> 00:26:33,140 Once again, 588 00:26:33,220 --> 00:26:33,500 this has been 589 00:26:33,500 --> 00:26:34,400 Pastor David Bass 590 00:26:34,400 --> 00:26:35,099 at New Geneva 591 00:26:35,099 --> 00:26:36,720 Orthodox Presbyterian Church 592 00:26:36,720 --> 00:26:38,279 in Idaho Falls, Idaho 593 00:26:38,279 --> 00:26:39,940 and you can call me 594 00:26:39,940 --> 00:26:40,740 for more information 595 00:26:40,740 --> 00:26:45,140 at 208-523-0196. 596 00:26:45,140 --> 00:26:46,299 That's area code 597 00:26:46,299 --> 00:26:49,859 208-523-0196.