“Foundational Ideas of America”

Foundational Ideas of America 1


© 2022 Don Pinson | [Download]
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Four generations of Americans have now been taught that this nation was birthed out of ideas from many different cultures:  That America is the great ‘melting pot’ of ideas.  While it is true America has descendants from many nations which make up her citizenry, the men who birthed this nation were very much alike in their basic view of life and the world.  The effort to hide from us their beliefs is designed to destroy the very liberty we cherish.

In 1843, Emma Willard, educator and historian, identified both the characteristics of the young republic of the United States and the reason for its emerging greatness.  Her words give us insight, which, if taught to our children, will Continue reading

“The Birth that Affected Civil Law”

The Birth that Affected Civil Law 1


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This time of year there’s a lot of reference to the Baby Jesus in the manger.  That’s a good thing.  We think of the Christ Child and hope comes to us that God literally invaded history and brought hope that there could be “peace on earth toward men of good will” (Luke 2:14).

And yet, for all this good feeling surrounding the Baby Jesus, few ever think beyond the manger.  And even of those who do think of His important life, death, and resurrection, even fewer ever come to understand His impact on all civilization; and particularly here in the western hemisphere.  Jesus was the most important Law-Giver in world history.  His influence over moral and civil law in this world makes Him, without question, the most influential person in all of history.  Yet, few law schools in America ever acknowledge His powerful impact.

Jesus’ birth came at a time when Rome ruled the world with crushing dictatorial power.  No one criticized Roman authority without placing their lives at great risk.  Into this oppressive realm Jesus was born.  The very place of His birth was Continue reading

“The Pilgrims — Overcoming the Hard Times”


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The Pilgrims - Overcoming the Hard Times 1Forefathers Monument, in Plymouth, Massachusetts, is dedicated to the memory of the Pilgrims: Specifically to the memory of, “…their labors, sufferings, and sacrifices in the cause of civil and religious liberty.” One of the five statues which make up Forefathers Monument is Morality. This statue reveals the Pilgrims desire to live conforming their actions to the Bible. They demonstrated how Christ could live His life through us if we were surrendered to Him as a living Master. And that was true in hard times as well as good times. Their story shows us this reality—even in the most difficult circumstances.

When they came together in a church covenant in 1605 to: “…walk together in all His ways…whatsoever it should cost them…” (Bradford, William. Of Plimoth Plantation), it would cost them dearly. Several times over the next three years, English deputies would burst into their worship meetings, hauling the men off to jail; fining them and keeping them locked up for thirty days. This cost them financially because they were unable to work their farms during those times.

When they moved to Holland in order to have the religious freedom to teach their children the ways of Christ, they were Continue reading

“Thankful for Biblical Civil Systems”

Thankful for Biblical Civil Systems 1


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In 1623 the Pilgrims celebrated a time of Thanksgiving with their Indian friends, Chief Massasoit and his Wampanoag tribe. The Pilgrims were grateful to God for their Indian friends. The peace treaty into which they had entered helped both peoples to go on with their daily lives in an ordered manner. This is, of course, the purpose of civil law; to protect the God-given rights of life, liberty, and property. When this is done, the resulting order allows society’s institutions to function without the interruption of chaos. The Pilgrims’ Pastor, John Robinson, had taught them that this order flowed from Biblically based civil government, and thus, the first thing they did when they arrived was to write the Mayflower Compact; which instituted this type of government. I believe their new civil government was one of the things they were most thankful for on those first Thanksgiving Days.

And the Pilgrims’ new civil government was working. Their original economic system failed because it was Continue reading

“Interposition: The Basis of American Independence”

Interposition- The Basis of American Independence 1


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“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.  That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.  That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”

Note America’s Founders spoke without a stutter as to why they had the right to establish a new government among themselves:  The Declaration of Independence stated:

“That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government…” (emphasis added)

Why did they believe they had the right to “institute new government”?  Because they believed what the Bible taught about civil government.  The Bible identifies the Source of government when it says Continue reading

“What Is Interposition?”

What Is Interposition- 1


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Interposition; what on earth does that mean?  Noah Webster, in his original American dictionary defined it as, “being, placing or coming between; intervention.”  In geography, it is illustrated by the way Kentucky lies between (or you might say, is interposed between) Tennessee and Ohio.  In government it is one governmental power, such as Kentucky’s state government, intervening between the national government and the people, to keep the national government from forcing its will on Kentucky people.  You might ask, “Is this the right thing to do?”

Actually the idea of interposition comes from the Bible.  Jesus stepped in between God and sinful man, to pay our debt to God of one perfect life we had stolen in the Garden of Eden and used for ourselves.  Jesus, by offering up His perfect life to pay the debt we owed, interposed His life between us and God.  He stepped in between God and man to turn away the judgment of God on man.  As the Bible says,

“For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God…” (1st Peter 3:18)

Jesus did this because it’s a law with God that every debt must be Continue reading

“The Hope of Biblical Government”

The Hope of Biblical Government 1


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Hope came to the world 700 years before the birth of Christ, as Isaiah, the Hebrew prophet foretold of a Child who would come into the world and change the world for the better.  Isaiah prophesied:

“For a Child will be born to us, a Son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders…There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over His kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore.  The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.” (Isaiah 9:6-7)

The Child Isaiah talked about would be named Jesus.  And the kingdom Jesus would build would be built on “justice and righteousness”.  Jesus would start by stepping into the lives of those who would believe in Him as their Master and Deliverer.  He would rule them from the inside out, so that their actions would express His own attitudes and actions.  He would literally be living His life though those who believed in Him (Galatians 2:20).  And if Christ could live His life through an individual in a family, why couldn’t He live His life through that whole family?  And if He could live through a family of believers, why couldn’t He live His life through a church of believers?  And if He could live His life through an individual church of believers, why couldn’t he live His life through a community made up of several churches filled with believers?  And if that could be done, why couldn’t an entire state, or even a nation be an expression of His life?

In fact, America’s Founders believed they were Continue reading

“Revival and Reformation Can Spread”

Revival and Reformation Spread 1


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God so used one man, Patrick of Ireland, in the 400s to so change Ireland that it would be a base from which the Gospel would be carried to the ends of the earth in that day! Patrick led thousands to Christ in Ireland. He started over 700 churches in twenty-eight years! He trained and set apart 700 bishops and 3000 ministers to further disciple the people who had come to Christ. He started training centers to equip believers to carry the Gospel to their own—and to the world. And Patrick understood something we’ve lost: That is, the institution of civil government was God’s institution and must operate by His truth, the Bible, if it is to fulfill its purpose of protecting God-given rights of life, liberty, and property. He reformed (reshaped) Ireland’s governments to agree with Biblical principles. This is exactly what we need in America today!

Patrick’s disciples would carry to the world this Biblical message of reshaping cultures through Christ. They confronted the Barbarians, who were over-running Europe at the time, and neutralized with the Gospel of Christ their savage destruction. Indeed one historian believed Continue reading

“The Danger of the ‘Party’ Spirit”

The Danger of the Party Spirit 1


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As some of you know, I spend quite a bit of time in Frankfort during the General Assembly talking with legislators in an effort to get them to stand where the Bible stands on legislation.  While I’m grateful for the call from the Lord to do it, it can often be one of the most frustrating experiences I’ve ever had.  Here’s why.

Aside from dealing with the few arch liberals who are there, we face two other basic problems with legislators.  One is that most of those who are there for the right reason, simply do not know that the Bible has a method of government.  Thus, though they are very sincere, they often get manipulated into doing what the liberals want.  The Bible analysis in Hosea 4:6 is applicable to them:  “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”  This is why people in their district get so frustrated with their representation in Frankfort not being able to work lasting change for the better.  Ignorance of the Biblical form and method of government steal from their children’s future.

The second problem is worse.  It stems from the sin principle at work in those who don’t know Christ as Lord.  Selfishness is the power that rules this group of government servants, and its affects are Continue reading

“The Most Important Government”

The Most Important Government 1


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Recently there’s been a lot of talk about government and the money it takes to operate it.  And all this has produced is just more debt, more tax, and more destruction of our nation—While the government gets larger and larger.  And if we don’t quickly return to the Founding principle of America we will shortly live under a dictator.

Our Founders taught a principle to their children which summed up all the Biblical teaching about government.  It was this:

“The more internal self-government you have, the less external civil government you need.  But the less internal self-government you have, the more external civil government you need.”

America was built on this principle.  The Pilgrims learned to walk in the internal self-government which the Holy Spirit produces when a life is surrendered to Christ.  This started when they received Christ as their Lord and Deliverer and thus, were born again.  But the earliest among them had Continue reading