The Constitutional Convention started on May 25, 1787

The Constitutional Convention started on May 25th, 1787, four years after the Americans had won their independence. Gathered at the Pennsylvania State House (now known as Independence Hall) were 55 of the most admired and trusted men who have ever walked this soil. Included in that meeting were George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and James Madison.

For their first four years, the newly founded United States of America muddled along under the Articles of Confederation, which had been drafted shortly before the end of the war. Congress had authority over things like war, currency, and foreign affairs, but no way to garner funds for such endeavors from the individual states. This made the country's governing body almost useless.

The Constitutional Convention lasted for three months hashing out issues like balancing power between the more populated states and the more rural states. It finally ended on September 17, 1787, with 38 of the 41 delegates still present signing the document. But they weren't done. Under their carefully crafted system of checks and balances, the document had to be ratified by at least nine of the thirteen states.

Five states signed almost immediately, but others expressed their concerns that the document didn't address issues like freedom of speech, religion, and the press. Only after reassurances that amendments would be forthcoming did four more states sign on to make the Constitution the legal governing document of the country. It became the law of the land on March 4, 1789, with the first ten amendments - known as the Bill of Rights - to follow on September 25, 1789. Those were ratified by the states on May 29, 1790.

The United States Constitution is the oldest written national constitution in operation today. It was conceived and executed by an incredible assembly of men, quite likely the caliber of which we may never gather together in one place for one cause ever again.

(For the uber-history geeks, there were a total of 19 proposed amendments to the Constitution for Congress to consider. Congress passed 12 of them. The states only ratified 10 into the Bill of Rights. One dealt with how the House of Representatives was seated, the other stated that Congress could not vote itself a pay raise. In 1992, that amendment was finally ratified and became the 27th Amendment to the United States Constitution.)


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John Adams: A Moral and Religious People

"Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."

John Adams

"And the LORD commanded us to do all these statues, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as it is at this day. And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he hath commanded us."

Deuteronomy 6:24-25

If righteousness does not reign in the hearts of a country's citizens, justice will not be maintained. But man cannot be righteous of his own merit. Mankind cannot execute perfect justice because each individual is consumed with the needs and desires of his own flesh.

Ideologies rise up in opposition to each other, neither looking to the absolute truth found in God's Word, the Bible. Division follows leading to the abandonment of the remarkable fundamental principles upon which our Founding Fathers intended for us to govern. Reduced to mere words, the constitution becomes open to personal interpretation. Personal interpretation generally follows the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life.

"From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?
"Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
"Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts."

James 4:1-3

We cannot resolve our differences, because we examine our situations from our finite minds and our finite lives. In the end, our focus centers upon our own human comforts in this present time, and not to our children's and grandchildren's comfort, nor do we anticipate eternity. In essence, we can't see past the end of our noses.

The United States of America strayed away from God (God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit) by removing Him from its schools, its courts, its government, and its culture. We are no longer a moral and religious people in the sense meant by John Adams, and we are beginning to experience the consequences.

So where does this leave us?

Benjamin Franklin said:

"Any people that would give up liberty for a little temporary safety deserves neither liberty nor safety."

For those of us who are born again believers, our liberty is in Christ. Our faith is our righteousness and our actions are our religion, both of which reflect our morality. Have we given up our liberty in Christ for fear of persecution? For fear that someone (determined to be enslaved by the lusts of his own flesh and eyes and by his pride of life) might call us hateful bigots, religious zealots, and racists because we are standing on Biblical truths--not on man's interpretation of those truths but God's interpretation?

Have we given up our liberty because we are reluctant to suffer as Christ did for our faith? Or will we stand like Peter and John who stood before the religious leaders and said:

"...Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard." Acts 4:19-20

Or do we shrink away from the freedom of speech our ancestors fought for?

I put to you, our country will continue to shrink in power and greatness if we continue to shrink away from our Christian faith in the Almighty God, Lord and Saviour of our lives, and the precepts and principles taught from Scripture.

For those of you who know God's Word, let me ask you, where is North America mentioned in the prophecies of what is yet to come? I would much rather North America be diminished because so many are raptured by Christ than because we've experienced judgement for our sins.

What should we do? There is still hope. The people of Nineveh were told they would be destroyed by God. The people repented and pleaded for God's mercy. God saw that they turned from their evil way, and He turned from destroying them.

We may or may not be able to save our country, but we can bring God glory by proclaiming His good works, His Gospel to each person willing to listen. We can bring God glory by standing on God's Word and on the Blood of Jesus Christ shed for our sins, and when we no longer shrink from those who wish to malign us and tread upon our faith. We do not need to be antagonistic nor do we need to cower. We stand by peacefully proclaiming God's truth and not fearing what man will do to us.

I am thankful for those senators and congressmen who stand up for our faith at cost to themselves. And I will pray for them as I also pray for our country. I will pray that we will once again become a moral and religious people.

"And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart." 

Jeremiah 24:7

(Note, the above verse was written for Judah, but it shows the heart of God. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and calls for even the Gentiles to repent, call upon the name of Jesus, and follow Him)