The Kissing of Independence With Dependence

It is good for us – now and then – to go back to the beginning and remind ourselves of the past and the foundation we ought to be standing on. This way, when the winds of opposition blow – and blow it will – we have a firm and solid footing on the right foundation.

On July 4th, 1776, there was signed in the city of Philadelphia the Declaration of Independence. It marked the birthday of this nation which under God, was destined for world leadership. But, what Americans have forgotten on that day when we talk about our independence was, the same document that declared our independence from Great Britain, at the same time, that same document declared, with no equivocation, our great dependence upon Almighty God. The same document: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are…endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.”

The Declaration of Independence closes with these solemn words—it was a declaration of independence from Great Britain, but listen to the close; listen for the dependence upon Almighty God— “With a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.”   What did it say? “With a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence”—what is a “firm reliance”? It is dependence. The founders, speaking on behalf of what is to come, said, “We place our dependence upon Almighty God, when we assert our independence from Great Britain.”

And so, at that time, when they signed this declaration, the cannons fired, and the fireworks filled the sky, and the bells chimed, and in Independence Hall, there in the steeple of the Old State House, the Liberty Bell rang. On that Liberty Bell, you could read the verse from Leviticus 25:10: “Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto…the inhabitants thereof.”

Therefore, in this Declaration of Independence, we said that Sovereign God is man’s Creator. Today, in many schools throughout this land, you can’t even teach creationism; but the Creator gave us those unalienable rights—the government doesn’t give them to us, the government should not take them from us; and, that government is only ordained to protect those right. 

Remember, government does not give people rights; only God gives rights. But government is to recognize the rights given from God to others and protect those rights. When government begins to see itself as the “giver of rights,” it has overstepped its bounds and is functioning independent of the fear of God.