Date posted: 07-27-2026
Estimated Reading Time : 7 Minutes
This July, America celebrates 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence. That is a major milestone, and I believe it is worth celebrating.
But we need to do more than wave flags, watch fireworks, and sing patriotic songs. Those things are good, but they are not enough. We need to remember where our freedom came from.
The Bible says:
Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations: ask thy father, and he will shew thee; thy elders, and they will tell thee. Deuteronomy 32:7
There is power in remembering. When you remember what God has done in your life, it builds your faith for the future. The same thing is true for a nation.
America is not perfect. No nation is. But God has used this country in a powerful way. America has sent missionaries around the world, defended liberty, protected religious freedom, and given millions of people the opportunity to build a better life.
That did not happen by accident.
Our nation was built on the recognition that our rights come from God—not from government.
The Declaration of Independence makes that clear. It says that all men are created equal and “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,” including “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
Those words matter.
If the government gives you your rights, the government can take them away. But if God gives you your rights, no president, governor, court, or legislature has the authority to remove them.
That understanding shaped America from the beginning.
A Foundation of Faith
Long before the Declaration of Independence was signed, settlers came to these shores seeking the freedom to worship God.
When English settlers arrived at Cape Henry, Virginia, in 1607, they raised a cross and dedicated the land to the Lord. They prayed that the Gospel would go forth from these shores to the entire world.
When the Pilgrims arrived in 1620, the Mayflower Compact began with the words, “In the name of God, Amen.” They stated that they had undertaken their journey “for the Glory of God, and Advancement of the Christian Faith.”
These people were not trying to create a nation free from God. They understood that true liberty comes from God.
The same biblical principles shaped the ideas that led to the American Revolution.
Pastors preached about God-given rights, personal responsibility, and self-government. They taught people that liberty required character. They understood that a free society cannot survive without a moral foundation.
This is still true today.
You cannot separate freedom from responsibility. You cannot reject biblical truth and expect liberty to continue indefinitely. If people refuse to govern themselves according to God’s Word, the government will step in and try to control them.
Second Corinthians 3:17 says: Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
That does not mean that every person in America has always followed God. They have not. It means that the principles that made this nation free came from a biblical worldview.
We Must Not Forget
Psalm 78 describes how the children of Israel forgot what God had done for them:
Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel. They remembered not his hand, nor the day when he delivered them from the enemy. Psalm 78:41–42
Israel forgot God’s goodness, and that forgetfulness led to unbelief and defeat.
I believe America faces the same danger today.
For decades, people have tried to erase God from our history. Children are taught that America’s founders wanted to remove Christianity from public life. Many believers have been told that faith should remain private and that Christians should stay out of government, education, business, and culture.
That is not true.
The First Amendment does not prohibit Christians from influencing the nation. It protects our right to live out our faith. It says that government cannot establish a religion, but it also says government cannot prohibit the free exercise of religion.
There is a big difference between freedom of religion and freedom from religion.
Our founders understood that difference. They appealed to God in prayer. They acknowledged His providence. They spoke openly about faith, morality, and virtue.
When the delegates of the First Continental Congress gathered in 1774, they opened their proceedings with prayer and Scripture. When the signers of the Declaration of Independence pledged their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor, they did so with “a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence.”
They understood that they needed God’s help.
We still need His help today.
Liberty Requires Action
Some Christians look at the condition of our nation and feel discouraged. They see the attacks on the family, the confusion being promoted in schools, the loss of respect for life, and the efforts to silence biblical truth.
But discouragement is not the answer.
God did not call us to retreat. He called us to stand.
Jesus said in Matthew 5:13: Ye are the salt of the earth.
Salt does not do any good if it stays in the saltshaker.
Christians must be willing to speak the truth in love. We must vote. We must pray. We must train our children. We must support leaders who respect the Constitution and the God-given rights it protects. We must bring a biblical worldview into every area of society.
This is not about trying to force people to become Christians. God does not force anyone to follow Him. It is about refusing to surrender the nation to people who want to remove God from public life and redefine truth according to their own opinions.
Proverbs 14:34 says: Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.
That is still true.
The Best Is Yet to Come
As we celebrate America’s 250th anniversary, we should thank God for the blessings He has given us. We should honor the men and women who sacrificed to preserve our freedom. And we should teach the next generation the truth about our nation’s history.
But we cannot live in the past.
The same God who moved in previous generations is moving today. I believe we are seeing the beginnings of another Great Awakening. People are hungry for truth. Believers are waking up. Churches are beginning to understand that they cannot remain silent while the culture moves further away from God.
We have an opportunity to lay a strong foundation for future generations.
The answer for America is not found in politics alone. It is found in turning back to God and allowing His Word to shape every area of our lives.
America must remember God.
And as we put our trust in Him, I believe the best is yet to come.
Discover the Biblical Foundations of American Liberty
To help you understand and share the truth about America’s heritage, I encourage you to get a copy of In God We Trust: The Voices of Our Founding Fathers.
This book brings together key documents, speeches, prayers, and historical moments from America’s founding through the present day. It includes the Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, George Washington’s prayer for the nation, and many other important resources.
As America celebrates 250 years of independence, this is a timely resource to read, share with your family, and use to teach the next generation.
Order your copy of In God We Trust: The Voices of Our Founding Fathers today.
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