The Americans combine the notions of Christianity and of Liberty so intimately in their minds that it is impossible to make them conceive the one without the other. 
-Alexis de Tocqueville, 1835

It is remarkable the number of writings during the Revolutionary War era that are relevant to our times. A few of these articles could be inserted into today’s newspapers and magazines and fully engage twenty-first century readers. Take for example “The Crisis” written in December 1776, by Thomas Paine:

These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated. Britain, with an army to enforce her tyranny, has declared that she has a right (not only to tax) but “to BIND us in ALL CASES WHATSOEVER” and if being bound in that manner, is not slavery, then is there not such a thing as slavery upon earth. Even the expression is impious; for so unlimited a power can belong only to God. 

As in the Founding Era, America today and much of the world is in a crisis beyond human remedy. There not only is a health crisis; there is an economic crisis; a crisis of morality and a lack of integrity where “good is called evil and evil is called good” (see Isaiah 5:20). Our U.S. Constitution is threatened, yet judges, senators, representatives, and all executive officers are bound by oath to support the Constitution. “This Constitution and all the laws of the United States . . . shall be the supreme law of the land.” – Article 6, U.S. Constitution

During the eighteenth century, ministers were often the most educated of the community. Some were comparable to the statesmen of their day. These ministers preached on political issues and theological truths, natural rights and civil rights. No issue was off limits, and a sermon that had high demand from those who heard it was very likely to be published and circulated. These sermons were life-changing to those who read and heard the spoken word. Today via the Internet, we can read sermons preached by the Reverends Jonathan Mayhew, George Whitefield, John Wesley, John Witherspoon, and others.

Three centuries ago, the pulpit was the most effective way to reach the people. “In every quiet little valley and sequestered nook in New England, the pastor had taught the doctrines of freedom, and preached the duty of resistance to oppression” (Headley, Joel Tyler, The Chaplains and Clergy of the Revolution, New York: Scribner, 1854, pg.17). 

For more than two hundred years, these early American ministers preached against immorality and corruption in the political and moral realms. From their pulpits, they spoke freely about a candidate’s campaign and where he stood in relation to The Bible. The preachers also gave recommendations as to whether the candidate should receive a vote from the people. These sermons were called Election Sermons and were commonly preached each year, in some cases with the newly elected officials in attendance.

The political sermons preached during the early years of our nation’s founding united the colonists in the fight for independence. Here is a small sampling:

Rev. Samuel Langdon – president of Harvard College Preached in Watertown, CT, May 31, 1775 (one month after the Battles of Lexington and Concord):

We have lived to see the time when British liberty is just ready to expire—when the constitution of government which has so long been the glory and strength of the English nation is deeply undermined and ready to tumble into ruins—when America is threatened with cruel oppression and the arm of power is stretched out against New England, especially this colony, to compel us to submit to the arbitrary acts of legislators who are not our representatives, and who will not bear the least part of the burdens which, without mercy, they are laying upon us (Thornton, John Wingate. The Pulpit of the American Revolution: or the Political Sermons of the Period of 1776, Boston: Gould and Lincoln, 1860, pg. 235).

Rev. Jonas Clarke—Lexington 1768—Jonas Clarke’s men were assembled on the green in the Battle of Lexington. Eight were killed and ten injured, all from his congregation:
 

Early did the first settlers of this country discover a due concern, a provident care for themselves and posterity, in making the best provisions in their power for safety and defense. No sooner was society formed and civil government established, but, even in their infant state, they made it their care to put the militia of the country upon a respectable footing (Kennedy, Dr. James, They Preached Liberty, FL: Coral Ridge Ministries, pg. 60).

Rev. Samuel Cooke—Cambridge, MA—Election Sermon 1770:

The best constitution, separately considered, is only as a line that marks out the enclosure, or as a fitly organized body without spirit or animal life. 

The advantages of civil government, even under the British form, greatly depend upon the character and the conduct of those to whom the administration is committed. When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn (Thornton, John Wingate. The Pulpit of the American Revolution: or the Political Sermons of the Period of 1776. Boston: Gould and Lincoln. 1860 pg. 161).

Rev. Moses Mather –Middlesex, CT – Election Sermon 1781:

If laws, when made, exist only on paper and ink, what benefit can a people derive from them? The divine law is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two–edged sword; and surely his ministers ought to make the laws, which they execute, bear some resemblance to his (Sandoz, Ellis, Political Sermons of the American Founding Era. Vol. 1, (1730-1788), Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 1998 No. 15). 

Rev. Gad Hitchcock—Boston, MA—Election Sermon 1774:

Our danger is not visionary, but real. Our contention is not about trifles, but about liberty and property. And not ours only, but those of posterity to the latest generations. And every lover of mankind will allow that these are important objects, too inestimably precious and valuable enjoyments to be treated with neglect and tamely surrendered (American Political Writing During the Founding Era: 1760-1805, ed. Charles S. Hyneman and Donald Lutz, Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 1983, Two Volumes. Volume 1. No 24).

Rev. Samuel Stillman—Boston, MA—Election Sermon 1779:

We are engaged in a most important contest; not for power but freedom. We mean not to change our masters, but to secure to ourselves, and to generations, yet unborn, the perpetual enjoyment of civil and religious liberty, in their fullest extent (Kennedy, Dr. James, They Preached Liberty, FL: Coral Ridge Ministries, pg. 116).

American preachers were every bit a part of what shaped American culture. They were essential to the great moral and spiritual framework which built our nation. Historian Charles Galloway wrote, “Christian teachings were the seed thoughts of our political constitutions . . . Climatic, economic, racial, and purely political forces are analyzed and properly classified, but the religious factor, which more than either or all of them, determined the character of our civilization and our form of government” (Galloway, Charles P. Christianity and the American Commonwealth, Powder Springs, GA: American Vision, Inc. 2005 pg. 6).

We cannot underestimate the influence these godly men had upon the American people. Many of them risked their lives to speak against the king when they preached against tyranny and injustice. These excerpts are both a challenge and an exhortation to preachers today to stand boldly and proclaim truth no matter what the cost. Church leaders need to be awakened to the challenges we face in America, which are not unlike the Revolutionary Era. A famous preacher once said, “It will take as much courage to save this nation as it did to birth it.”

But if the watchman sees the enemy coming to attack and does not blow the trumpet, the people will not be warned (see Ezekiel 33:6 NCV).
 

[Article originally published in July/August 2013 for The MorningStar Journal Volume 23 No. 7]