You may have heard the well-known
story I’m about to tell you, but nonetheless its bears repeating because of the
high stakes this election year. The deliberations of the Constitutional
Convention of 1787 were held in strict secrecy. Consequently, anxious citizens
gathered outside Independence Hall in Philadelphia, PA when the proceedings
ended in order to learn what kind of government had been produced behind closed
doors. The answer was provided immediately when a Mrs. Powel asked Benjamin
Franklin, “Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?” With no
hesitation, Franklin famously responded, “A republic, if you can keep it.” This
exchange was recorded by Constitution signer James McHenry in a diary entry
that was later reproduced in the 1906 American
Historical Review.[1]
What Franklin meant by
that response is that a republic is a fragile political creature and if it’s
not carefully guarded it can mutate into tyranny. The Founding Fathers had
studied the republics of antiquity—like Greece and Rome—they knew the risks
they were taking when they framed our Constitution. Democratic republics, like
the United States, are not merely founded upon the consent of the people; they
are also absolutely dependent upon the active and informed involvement of the
people for their continued good health. Moreover, our Founders knew that the
people involved in the political process had to be guided by an absolute
standard of morality or else the governing body will become corrupt and oppressive.
George Washington said, “Religion
and morality are the essential pillars of civil society.” John Adams, our
second president, remarked, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and
religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” Noah
Webster wrote, “The moral principles and precepts contained in the Scriptures
ought to form the basis of all our civil constitutions and laws.”
These men were not
beholden to the “political correctness” agenda of our age which foolishly
argues, “You can’t legislate morality.” All legislation is someone’s definition
of right and wrong, therefore the question is not if we can or can’t legislate
morality, but the issue is whose morality will be legislated?
Where do you think our
Founding Fathers came by these ideas? The Bible, of course and in particular a
verse from Proverbs 14:34, “Righteousness exalts a nation: but sin is a
reproach to any people.” You cannot have true liberty without true
righteousness, men and women living responsibly under God as citizens of both
His kingdom and this great country.
Righteousness and liberty
are inextricably interwoven. We will have more liberty—or less—in direct
proportion to our character. When we lose character—righteousness—then we will
lose liberty. People who cannot live responsibly from within must be governed
from without.
Our Founding Fathers knew
the best government was the least government, and the more character the
citizens have, the more responsibility they will assume, and the less
government you’ll need. Real liberty always comes from within. Without
righteousness, our republic cannot work.
James Madison, fourth
President of the United States, said, “We have staked the whole future of
American civilization not upon the power of government. Far from it. We have
staked the future upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves
and to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God.”
Remember that the
Constitution was written by people with character for people of character. The
blessings we enjoy are the residual blessings our forefathers left us. We’re living
in the shadows of an age and our liberties are fast receding over the horizon.
We as the church must continue to be “salt and light,” preserving and
illuminating a decaying and darkening world.
As Ronald Reagan so eloquently
explained, “If we ever forget that we are ‘One Nation Under God,’ then we will
be a nation gone under.”
[1]
John F. McManus, “A Republic If You Can Keep It,” The New American, 6 November 2000 <http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/constitution/item/7631-a-republic-if-you-can-keep-it>
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