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In the hot summer of 1776, a group of 56 delegates gathered in Philadelphia to discuss their differences with the British Crown and Parliament.  The most important question to be decided was:  Who was the source of their rights of life, liberty, and property?  Was the source God or government?  England thought the colonies existed for the good of the Mother country.  Thus, they thought the rights of the colonists were “government granted”.  The people in America thought they existed for the “glory of God and the advancement of the Christian faith”, as the Pilgrims had stated.  Thus, Americans believed that their rights were “God given”.  What had to be decided was:  Is Parliament and the English King the highest authority, or is there a higher law in place?  If there was a higher law, did the colonists have to submit to laws that disagreed with that higher law?

The Americans did believe there was a higher law, which was the Law of God written in the Bible.  The ministers of this time period in America were remarkably agreed on this position.  They quoted over and over the passage in Romans 13:1-2 that states:

“Let every soul be subject to the higher powers.  For there is no power but of God; the powers that be are ordained of God…”

The people of the American colonies believed the English King had violated their original Charters which guaranteed their right of self-government.  They believed self-government was a Biblical right.  Thus, no tax or regulation could be put on them without violating the British Constitution.  But now the English government was trying to change the original agreement within those charters without the approval of the colonists’ representatives.  And, in August of 1775, the King had even removed their right to make their own laws by canceling their colonial legislatures!  At the same time, he and the English Parliament were forcing laws on the colonies without any approval from the colonies.

The American colonists had always viewed themselves as citizens of Great Britain, having the same rights as any Englishman who lived within the British Isles.  But now their rights were being denied.  If they submitted to this violation of their Charters they would be violating their own conscience, as well as ignoring the sacrifice of their forefathers in planting liberty on these shores.  And, in addition to this, because the English king and Parliament were making laws without the authority of the people who were affected by those laws, the British officials had actually moved out from under the lawful flow of God’s authority.  This meant that if the Americans were to obey the law of Parliament, they would be disobeying the law of God.  They, themselves, would then be out of God’s order, and thus the flow of His blessing.  This they could never do!  Colonial Pastors had, for many years, taught their congregations that resistance to tyranny is obedience to God.  This was echoed in the Massachusetts Provincial Congress in 1774, which stated:

“Resistance to tyranny becomes the Christian and social duty of each individual….Continue steadfast and, with a proper sense of your dependence on God, nobly defend those rights which heaven gave, and no man ought to take from us.”

(Hancock, John. 1774. George Bancroft, History of the United States of America, 6 vols. (Boston: Little and Brown, Third Edition, 1838), Vol. II, p. 229. P. Marshall and David Manuel, The Light and the Glory (Old Tappan, New Jersey: Revell Co., 1977), p. 269.)

In April of 1775, Americans had already spilled their blood at Lexington and Concord resisting the tyrannical actions of the British government.  Now they were forced to consider if a final break with the Mother country was necessary in order to re-establish God-given governmental authority.

Are we willing to resist tyrannical government actions like forcing bathroom policy onto our local schools?  Christian, do you know it’s your duty to resist?!

Think about it; because if you don’t, someone else will do your thinking for you—and for your children!  And you won’t like what that brings to you.  I’m Don Pinson; this has been Think About It.

(This message has been taken from our book Why God Birthed America.  You can order a copy of Why God Birthed America at heritageministriesky.com)