Pastor Larry Sundin
Our country is celebrating its 250th birthday this month. Most of us have been around to celebrate 50 or more of those birthdays. But what is rarely mentioned about our nation’s birth is the role Christianity played in the founding of our nation. For one, the understanding that people are flawed by what is called “our sin nature,” led our founders to create a Constitution that instituted a system of checks and balances in government so that no single branch of government could accumulate absolute power.
Then when the Constitution was written, the Constitution was based on government by law and not by men—on the idea that both the citizens and public officials who represent them must be governed by a fundamental law in keeping with the law of God. James Madison, one of the chief framers of the Constitution said, “We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government, but on the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves according to the Ten Commandments.”
So, God’s Word not only influenced the framing of our Constitution, but the Declaration of Independence. Understanding that all people are created in the image of God; our founders wrote this famous line in the Declaration that states, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, 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.” With this understanding of unalienable rights, the first amendment was added to the Constitution, guaranteeing our freedom to practice our faith, to assemble for worship, and to share the good news of Jesus Christ. So, these freedoms not only enable Rock Springs Church to gather weekly for worship, but they also guarantee your right to freely worship wherever you desire and allow me to preach the truth of God’s grace to us in Jesus without the interference of the government.
And yet, as I reflect upon our precious freedoms, I’m reminded that the freedom of religion and freedom of speech are blessings we should never take for granted. For today there are many in our country who seek to challenge our freedoms to practice our faith, share the good news, and gather to worship—or take these freedoms away altogether. So, as you take time to celebrate the 250th Birthday of these United States, let me encourage you to be thankful and prayerful. For almost all the liberties we enjoy today have their foundation in the belief that all our rights and privileges have come to us from God. As the Pledge of Allegiance declares, we are “one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
So, on this Independence Day may each of us take a moment to be thankful that we live in a nation that protects our rights and champions our freedoms. And if you are so inclined to use your freedom of worship to celebrate with us, we invite you to join us on Sunday, July 5 or any Sunday this summer. Come celebrate the true freedom God gives us in Jesus. We’d love to have you join us at 9 a.m. in the Hermosa Ballroom as Rock Springs Church celebrates the One who gives liberty and justice to all.