America, The Beautiful
In building a life, a business, a home, a family, or a nation, there are two foundations on which you may build. Jesus counsels us to build upon the rock of His Word and not the sand of sinful, human ideology. He said, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts upon them, may be compared to a wise man, who built his house upon the rock. “And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against that house; and [yet] it did not fall, for it had been founded upon the rock. “And everyone who hears these words of Mine, and does not act upon them, will be like a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand. “And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against that house; and it fell, and great was its fall” (Matthew 7:24-27 NASB). Since fifty-three of the fifty-five Framers of America's Constitutional Republic were devout Christians and attended a Christian church while they framed this nation, they were very familiar with the Lord's Word. Consequently, this great nation in which we live was built upon the ordinances and precepts of God's Word, the Bible.
Noah Webster teaches us that every precept of our Constitution came from God's Word, the Bible, "The brief exposition of the Constitution of the United States, will unfold to young persons the principles of republican government; and it is the sincere desire of the writer that our citizens early understand that the genuine source of correct republican principles is the Bible, particularly the New Testament or the Christian Religion." [1] In using the word "republican" he was not speaking of a political party, but of a form of government known as a constitutional republic.
The centerpiece of our republic is the separation of powers which consists in the three branches of government. Seeking to protect us from the corruption in men's hearts that produces an innate tendency toward governmental tyranny, which they were all too familiar with, the Framers sought a form of government that gave the people the power and controlled the tyrannical urges of men in government. Tapping the wisdom of God who affirms the wicked tendencies of men's heart, saying, "The heart is deceitful above all else, and desperately sick, who can understand it" (Jeremiah 17:9), they came to a verse that says, "For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king, He will save us" (Isaiah 33:22). The Framers understood that God specified the safest form of government as a separation of powers across the judicial, legislative, and executive functions. [2]
Charles de Montesquieu (1689-1755), the most frequently cited individual of the Founding era (1760-1805) [3] made it clear that the Bible must be the basis of any enduring government: “The Christian religion, which ordains that men should love each other, would without doubt have every nation blest with the best civil, the best political laws; because these, next to this religion, are the greatest good that men can give and receive.” [4] And he explained, “When the legislative and executive powers are united in the same person … there can be no liberty; because apprehensions may arise lest the same monarch or senate should enact tyrannical laws to execute them in a tyrannical manner: Again, there is no liberty if the power of judging be not separated from the legislative and executive powers. Were it joined with the legislative, the life and liberty of the subject would be exposed to arbitrary control; for the judge would then be the legislator.” [5]
Because American principles of government and free market enterprise are built on the rock of God's Word, we are the most blessed nation in history. We are the longest ongoing constitutional republic in history. And as my friend, former U.S. Congressman Bob McEwen is fond of pointing out, we have more innovations, more inventions, more patents, more musical compositions, more copyrights, more books, more manufacturing increases, and more medical advances than any other nation in history. The GDP [sum of all goods and services produced] of China with a population of 1.4 billion people was 14.2 trillion dollars in 2019, while the GDP of America with a population of only 329 million was 21.4 trillion dollars.
The American, George Crum, invented the potato chip in 1853. The American, Gail Borden, invented condensed milk in 1856. The American, Thomas Edison, invented the light bulb in 1879. The American, George Eastman, invented the photographic film in 1885. The Americans, Orville and Wilbur Wright invented the airplane in 1903. The American company, General Motors, invented the fully automatic transmission which was brought forth by Oldsmobile and Cadillac in 1939. And you can navigate your way across this great nation by automobile using your Google Maps or Waze because the U.S. Air Force created the GPS System in 1994. [6]
America is a gift from God and what a wonderful land this is. While attending the Council for National Policy meeting in Frisco, Texas, recently, my wife and I walked around the Dallas Cowboys’ Ford Center where the team practices. To the South of the indoor practice facility is a football field where people just walk on and play. And just South of the field is the Cowboys’ Ring of Honor Walk where Roger Staubach and other Cowboys players are remembered for their great play on the field.
While walking on the field with the big, silver, and blue Cowboys star in the middle, my wife and I were taking pictures of one another to preserve the memory. A nice young mom with two small children, sensing the need of the moment and without our asking her, suddenly walked on the field offering to take a picture of us together. It was a gesture of American virtue and love for one’s neighbor. America works because America is built on the solid rock of God’s Word.
Pastor Bill Ledbetter
Lighthouse America
September 20, 2022
1. Noah Webster, History of the United States, A Brief Historical Account of Our (English) Ancestors, from The Dispersion at Babel, To Their Migration To America and The Conquest of South America, By The Spaniards (New Haven: S. Babcock, 1837), Preface, pg. 1.
2. John Adams, A Defense of The Constitutions of Government of The United States of America (London: John Stockdale, 1794), Vol. III, p. 289, “Letter VI: The Right Constitution of a Commonwealth, examined.” [David Barton: The Founders Bible – The Origin of The Dream of Freedom (Newbury Park: Shiloh Road Publisher, LLC, 2012) pp. 1137, 1138, “The Revelatory Source for The Constitutional Separation of Powers.”]
3. Donald S. Lutz, The Origins of American Constitutionalism (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1988), p. 143, chart titled “Most-Cited Secular Thinkers.” [David Barton: The Founders Bible – The Origin of The Dream of Freedom (Newbury Park: Shiloh Road Publisher, LLC, 2012) p. 1067, “Isaiah 33:22: Our Judge, Our Lawgiver, Our King.”]
4. Baron Charles Secondat de Montesquieu, Spirit of Laws (Philadelphia: Isaiah Thomas, 1802), Vol. II, pp. 125-126. [David Barton: The Founders Bible – The Origin of The Dream of Freedom (Newbury Park: Shiloh Road Publisher, LLC, 2012) p. 1067, “Isaiah 33:22: Our Judge, Our Lawgiver, Our King.”]
5. Montesquieu, Spirit of Laws, Vol. p. 181. Ibid.
6. [ 70 Inventions Made in America - Great US Inventions - InventGEN (inventiongen.com) ]