On this Memorial Day edition of Washington Watch, we feature excerpts from FRC’s God and Government course taught by Tony Perkins, exploring the connection between biblical principles and American government. Today, with gratitude, we honor the
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from the heart of our nation’s capital in Washington, D.C., bringing compelling interviews, insightful analysis, taking you beyond the headlines and soundbites into conversations with our nation’s leaders and newsmakers, all from a biblical worldview. Sitting in for Tony is today’s host, Jody Heiss.
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Good afternoon. Welcome to this special Memorial Day edition of Washington Watch. I’m your host, Jody Heiss, Senior Fellow here at the Family Research Council. So glad to be with you and so glad to have you joining us today. Throughout the history of our nation, probably most especially during our battle for independence, American men and women have given their lives for a cause much greater than themselves. the cause of liberty. So today, as we remember those who gave the last full measure of devotion for the freedoms that you and I enjoy, we want to highlight those very freedoms which you and I can and we should continue to stand for and to fight for wherever we may be, whether that’s at a school board meeting or at the voting box, even in the pulpits across America. We all have a responsibility to stand for and to fight for our freedoms. Because the truth is, when free people don’t defend their rights, they lose them. So coming up on this special edition of Washington Watch today, we’ll be sharing some excerpts from FRC’s God and Government series, which we launched last year on our Stand Firm app, which by the way, if you don’t have, go get our Stand Firm app. We’ll share with you more about that later. Obviously, we’re not going to be able to share the entire six-week course today, but we will be able to hit on some of the highlights. So we’ve got a great program for you today. If you miss any portion of it, of course, you can find it at TonyPerkins.com. Speaking of Tony… For the last 30 years, he’s taught the course on God and government that drew from his personal journey in studying the scripture and the history of America, and then applying that knowledge in the public policy arena. And he’s had many participants go on to hold various offices from local school boards to city councils to state legislators, including the current Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson. Well, last year, Family Research Council took what Tony has been teaching and packaged it as a video course with a goal of equipping even more Christ followers with practical knowledge of biblical guidance for government combined with the Christian history of our nation and a practical application of both. for civil government. And we’d like to share with you right now some excerpts from the series as we observe Memorial Day and as we celebrate America’s 250th anniversary. So we’re gonna start with an excerpt from session four on the Christian heritage of the United States. In this part, Tony goes back to the American Revolutionary period and discusses the unique power that sermons had from church pulpits, how they yielded tremendous influence during that era. So here’s more of what Tony had to say about that.
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Now, these sermons not only taught us you know, the personal salvation through Jesus Christ, but they also taught how to address the temporal issues that would lead to national prosperity for God’s people. And all the events, no matter how mundane or how random they might be, were… patterned from scripture. They wanted to know how they fit into scripture. So the sermons were not just theological, far removed messages, but they were practical, how to, what does this mean? What do I do with it? How then shall we live? That was the messages that were being preached in that time. And so this is why the pulpit was considered the single most powerful element of the war for independence. It’s because people wanted to know. They wanted to know if God’s blessing was going to be on their activities. This was not a rebellion. This was not the French Revolution. This was totally different than the French Revolution. And those that would try to conflate the two are sadly mistaken if not intentionally being driven. Because ours was seeking out ordered liberty under the sovereignty of God. And that’s what the pastors were preaching and it had a profound impact on colonial America. Now let’s look just quickly at the signers of the Declaration. In 1776, there were 56 men. All of the delegates in 1787 were professing members of Trinitarian Christian denominations. And in fact, let me quote Ben Franklin when they were debating at the Constitutional Convention in 1787. He said, to that kind Providence, we owe this happy opportunity of consulting in peace on the means of establishing our future national felicity. And have we now forgotten that powerful friend or, and this was coming out of the war for independence, which they succeeded in. And they said, you know, have we forgotten that powerful friend or do we imagine we no longer need his assistance? because they certainly needed him when they were the underdog in their fight for freedom. I have lived, sir, a long time. And the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without his aid? We have been assured, sir, in the sacred writings that except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it. I firmly believe this, and I also believe that without his concurring aid, we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel. We shall be divided by our partial local interest, our projects will be confounded, and we ourselves shall become a reproach and a byword down to future generations. They understood the word of God. And the word of God, and probably Benjamin Franklin was probably one of the least religious of the group. But he understood it. He understood the language, the currency of the day. And it clearly was a biblical understanding of God. And God was not far removed. This is not the words of a deist who would say, God put this thing in order and left. He recognizes that God is the one who gave them favor to be established as a nation. Now, let me go to some of the state constitutions, okay? So we kind of get a sense of what those documents say. Again, these things are placed in writing, and they’re there for the historical record. And for those that would want to just kind of sweep them away, say, oh, well, that’s old. It’s a statement of principle, it’s a statement of focus, it’s a statement of priority. Various state constitutions, again, there’s many of the 13 you can look at. Pennsylvania, the frame of government, section 10, this is what it says, and each member of the legislature, before he takes his seat, shall make and subscribe the following declaration. Okay, before they could take their seat in the state legislature, this is what they had to say. I do believe in one God, the creator and the governor of the universe, the rewarder of the good and punisher of the wicked, and I do acknowledge the scripture of the Old and New Testament to be given by divine inspiration. I don’t think many churches would even do that for membership. But that was the oath of office that had to be taken. Delaware’s Constitution, which was framed in 1776, says, everyone appointed to public office must say, I do profess faith in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ, his only Son, and the Holy Ghost, on God and blessed forevermore, and I do acknowledge the holy scriptures of the Old and New Testaments be given by divine inspiration. That’s in the Constitution. South Carolina, the Christian Protestant religion shall be deemed and is hereby constituted and declared to be the established religion of the state. No person shall be eligible to a seat in the Senate unless he be of the Protestant religion. So the US Supreme Court, more evidence. In 1892, the US Supreme Court determined in the case the Church of the Holy Trinity versus the United States that America was a Christian nation from its earliest days. The court opinion delivered by Justice Josiah Brewer was an exhaustive study of the historical and legal evidence for America’s Christian heritage. So after examining hundreds of court cases, state constitutions, and other historical documents, the court came to the following conclusion. This is it. Quote, our laws and our institutions must necessarily be based upon and embody the teachings of the redeemer of mankind. It is impossible that it should be otherwise. And in this sense, and to this extent, our civilization and our institutions are emphatically Christian. This is a religious people. This is historically true. From the discovery of the continent to the present hour, there is a single voice making this affirmation. We find everywhere a clear recognition of the same truth. These and many other matters which might be noticed add a volume of unofficial declarations to the mass of organic utterances that this is a Christian nation. That was the Supreme Court of the United States. There’s other evidence. Let me give you, I’ve got 10 of them, and I’m sure there’s more. This is not exhaustive. Number one, the Ten Commandments hang over the head of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. If Christianity played no role in our government or in our justice, then why would we have the Ten Commandments hanging over the head of the Chief Justice? Second, In the House and Senate chambers appear the words in God we trust. Third, in the rotundas, the figure of the crucified Christ. Fourth, on the walls of the Capitol Dome, these words appear, the New Testament according to the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Fifth, on the great seal of the United States is inscribed the phrase God, it’s in Latin, it means God has smiled on our undertaking. And six, under the seal and the phrase of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, this nation under God. Seventh, President Elliot of Harvard chose Micah 6-8 for the walls of the nation’s library. Quote, he has showed thee, O man, what is good and what did God require thee but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God. The eighth, the Lawmaker’s Library quotes the Psalmist acknowledgement of the beauty and order of creation. Psalm 19.1, the heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament showeth his handiwork. Ninth, engraved on the metal cap atop of Washington Monument are the words, praise be to God. In fact, when the sun comes up in the east, the first place that the sun shines on the District of Columbia is that metal, that aluminum cap with the words Praise Be to God. That’s by design. That can only be the highest building in the District of Columbia. Lining the walls of the stairwell are numerous Bible verses. search the scriptures, holiness to the Lord, train up a child in the way that they should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it. And then 10th, the Liberty Bell, which is in Philadelphia, is inscribed with Leviticus 25 10, proclaim liberty throughout all the land and to all the inhabitants thereof. The history is very clear. that this nation was not founded to be an agnostic nation. It was not founded to be a Muslim nation. It was not founded to be anything other than a nation built upon the truths and principles of God’s word as a nation that would honor him and be the recipient of his blessing. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.
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That was an excerpt from FRC’s God and Government series, and you’re tuning in to a special edition of Washington Watch on this Memorial Day time. We’re viewing a six-session video series that is available on FRC’s Stand Firm app, so I encourage you, if you do not have that app, this would be a great, great time to get it. After the break, we’re going to share with you some more of this great series. We’ll be turning to the idea of separation of church and state. You know as well as I do, this is a huge issue and one of great confusion for a lot of people. So we’ll bring it your way right after the break.
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Join us for a time of prayer, inspiration, and action at this year’s Pray, Vote, Stand Summit at Cornerstone Chapel in Leesburg, Virginia. Hear from Christian leaders, issue experts, and government officials as we work together to build a foundation based on biblical truth. Early Bird special tickets are on sale for $69 when you register by June 15th. To register, visit PrayVoteStand.org. That’s PrayVoteStand.org.
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Exodus 9, verse 1 says, Thus says the Lord God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me. You see, America has freedom for a purpose. The question is, are we living by that purpose today? In Scripture, deliverance and freedom is never an end in itself. It is a liberation unto obedience, to worship, and to a covenantal relationship. God’s demand to Pharaoh was not freedom for freedom’s sake. but freedom so his people could identify with and belong to and serve him. Freedom that is not used to serve God will not endure. One of the founders actually echoed a similar warning. Thomas Jefferson wrote, Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just and his justice cannot sleep forever. See, the founders understood freedom We as a nation would be accountable to God for what He had granted to us. They sought freedom for a purpose. And that freedom was given to us as a nation for that same purpose, to serve God, to honor Him, and to live as a people under His authority. In this 250th anniversary year, we must ask the question, are we living by that purpose today as a nation. Lord, we thank you for the godly foundation and heritage of our states. Lord, we would return to an understanding of the freedom that you’ve granted to us, that freedom has a name. His name is Jesus. And freedom has a purpose. It is to honor and glorify you. And I pray that our nation would return to that understanding of the purpose of the freedom that you have granted to us. We thank you, Father. By faith, we pray that we would return to that purpose. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
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welcome back to washington watch i’m jody heist filling in today for tony our website we want you to keep in mind is tonyperkins.com today we’re broadcasting content from frc’s six session god and government series a powerful series now in this next part tony is going to be going into the relationship between church and state And when it comes to religious freedom, why was it so important to our founders to include in our Constitution’s First Amendment both the Free Exercise Clause and the Establishment Clause? Well, we’ll begin with a little historical background on why the issue of conscience and religious freedom rights were top of mind for our founders.
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because at the time, there were a number of state churches that had already been established, and there were nine of the 13 colonies had state churches. And so there was just, the idea was they didn’t want a national church, a federal church, that all the colonies would then have to support. So that was really the issue there was a national church. It was not the influence of Christianity in government. Now, he provided clarification later in his second inaugural address. He said this in 1805. He said, in matters of religion, I have considered that it is free exercise, that the free exercise is placed by the Constitution independent of the powers of the general public. the federal or national government, I have therefore undertaken on no occasion to prescribe the religious exercise suited to it, but have left them as the Constitution found them under the direction and discipline of the church or state authorities acknowledged by the several religious societies. And so he said that in his second inaugural address. So what does the First Amendment actually say? Well, this is what it says. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of a religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press or the right of the peaceful people peacefully to assemble and to petition the government for redress of grievances. So what does it prohibit? Well, it prohibits a state-sponsored church. That’s an establishment clause. That means the federal government cannot establish a church, a national denomination, a national church. It also prohibits, so there’s two parts to the First Amendment as it pertains to religion. There is the establishment, which is for the government. And then there’s the free exercise clause. That means that the government cannot restrict religious liberties. Now, what were the historical purposes behind this? Well, as I said, it was a desire to establish a church free of government interference and no state church. So, really the reason, part of the reason for the pilgrims and others coming over, as we talked about religious freedom, but it was also to, they wanted separation of church and state, okay? They didn’t want the, the state and the church to be merged. Just like in England, and we’re watching it today, where the church becomes a useful tool of the government. And so what happens is you have a church that becomes corrupt, and then government becomes corrupt because the church has lost its prophetic voice. So we want separation. We want separation. We do not want a state church. We need the church to be a prophetic voice. In 2 Chronicles 26, we read the account of Uzziah. Verse 16, but when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction, for he transgressed against the Lord his God by entering the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. So Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him were 80 priests of the Lord, valiant men, and they withstood King Uzziah and said to him, it is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron, who are concentrated consecrated to burn incense get out of the sanctuary for you have trespassed you shall have no honor from the lord god things were really going well for uzziah during his time he was a very sharp leader a good leader but pride came in and so he goes into the temple and he’s going to burn incense which was reserved for the priest And so there was a line of separation, there was a wall of separation and he breached it. And he paid a price, he had leprosy for the rest of his life. There is a violation of the separation of church and state that’s taking place, but it’s not the church that’s violating, it is the state. The state is coming in and saying that abortion is a political issue and therefore churches should stay out of the issue. Marriage is a political issue when it is in fact an issue that God created and they’re telling churches to stay out of it. It is the state that is breaching the line of separation, getting into the business of the church. It is time that the valiant men of God tell government it is not your business. Now will there be a price to pay? Maybe there will. But we also have to trust that God will honor his word. When we look at these fundamental non-negotiables, there have been those that have gone before us that have stood on those principles, and we’re here today with a nation that continues long beyond what many nations have survived. All government, self, family, church, and state are under the authority of God. We need to recognize that. God is sovereign, and there can be no neutrality. The state and the church are separate, just like the family and the church are separate. However, all operate under the authority of God and are accountable to his laws. We just need to once again recognize that what is really meant by the separation of church and state is the borrowing of God from government and all who accept this separation myth declare that God has no place in our government just like Congressman Nadler said at the beginning of our session. God’s design for government is that all government is under his authority and the church has its lane And it should be a prophetic voice as the families do their part to raise and disciple and train their children. And as each exercises that self-government, then we will have the balance. But it only happens when we abide by and follow the word of God. And that is God’s design for government.
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That was an excerpt from FRC’s God and Government series, and you’re tuning in to Washington Watch on this Memorial Day. Today, we’re broadcasting content from the six-session video course, which is available on FRC’s Stand Firm app. Now, after the break, we’ll share with you some more. This time, we’re going to be turning to some action items, which all of us need to participate in. So stick with us. We’ll be back again right after this break.
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Join Family Research Council for a journey through the book of 1 Samuel. Come witness the rise of Samuel, the fall of Saul, and the calling of David, and how each person’s heart posture before God shaped their path and legacy. Order Tony Perkins’ study guide, 1 Samuel, Longing for a King, to help you respond faithfully to God’s voice in every season of life. Get it now at frc.org or text SAMUEL to 67742.
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One Nation Under God, America’s undeniable foundation of faith.
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The United States Capitol, an iconic symbol of the American Republic. But few know that this building at the heart of our nation’s government was once something more, the largest church building in America. Since its inception and for decades following, several rooms throughout the Capitol, including the House and Senate chambers, were used to host church services weekly. These services were filled with individuals from all levels of government. The attendance was so pervasive that often it was standing room only. Quote, going to the Capitol on Sundays was then one of the most common things in Washington. Margaret Bayard Smith. This practice was not merely accepted, but encouraged. Quote, I consider it as one of my public duties as a representative of the people to give my attendance every Sunday morning when divine service is performed in the hall. President John Quincy Adams. Housing worship at the center of our capital was a living representation of the role that biblical principles played as a cornerstone of our nation’s foundation of faith.
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Thank you for joining us today on Washington Watch. I’m Jody Heiss filling in today for Tony on this special Memorial Day. Our website is TonyPerkins.com, so keep that handy. Today we’re broadcasting content from FRC’s Sixth Session God and Government Series. There is actually a lot, obviously, that we could cover. And unfortunately, we can’t share all of it on today’s program. In fact, we’re going to have to jump to the last session right now to give you the action items in this last half of the program today. And to set the stage for the first action item, Tony shares a story from his time as a state legislator back in 1997. Here’s what he had to share.
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Now, having been a police officer and understanding the consequences of the breakdown of the family, I worked with a law professor at LSU to craft what became known as the covenant marriage law. It was designed to strengthen by option. People could choose it. They would get premarital counseling and then they would be held to a stronger covenant relationship in marriage. They wouldn’t be able to easily walk away from it. And so I went to a number of pastors and said, would you come and testify on behalf of this bill in the legislature? Well, almost all of them waved me off and I said, we don’t get involved in politics. So I countered and said, will you come pray? They did. And they came and they sat in the back of the committee rooms when the bill was heard. And I could tell you story after story, miraculous moves of people’s hearts being changed, people being out of the room, and the bill actually passing from one chamber to the next. And that takes me to the final story. Final day of the legislature. We were working late into the night. It was about 1 a.m. in the morning. And if the bill didn’t pass, this time it was dead. It wasn’t going anywhere. The opposition got up and they railed against the bill. And there was debate back and forth. People were praying. I was speaking on behalf of it. And someone called the question for a vote to be taken. And I was anticipating a lot of opposition as I looked at the vote tally behind the speaker’s dais where all of the record, the votes were recorded. And all of a sudden, all the lights turned green. Even the gentleman who had argued so viciously against the bill And after the vote was taken, it passed 105 to 0. I was amazed. And I went down to the man’s desk to see what had happened, why he changed his mind, and the coalition that he was leading. Well, he wasn’t there. I talked to his seatmate, who sat next to him at the desk. They said, oh, he went to get a Coke, and so I just voted his machine for him. Well, they thought all of the opposition had been resolved, and so everyone voted for the bill. That was the power of prayer. And it went on to be the first law that had been passed by a state in over 200 years that strengthened the institution of marriage. Arizona, Arkansas went on to follow Louisiana’s lead with that law. There are a number of incidents I could share with you about the power of prayer. And so as we conclude this time together, there are a number of takeaways, action steps that I could encourage you to take. But let me narrow it down to three simple things. but powerfully proven things that you can do that I promise you will make an incredible difference. Pray, vote, and stand. And to talk more about prayer, let’s go back to a very special room in Washington, DC. The first action step is to pray. And we’re privileged to be in the Congressional Prayer Room in the U.S. Capitol with this beautiful stained glass. And it’s a portrait of George Washington kneeling in prayer. In the snow of Valley Forge, when the American cause was hanging by a thread, eyewitnesses saw George Washington cry out to God. The words of Psalm 16.1 are enshrined in this stained glass, and it is the basis of our declaration of faith expressed in the national motto, Preserve me, O God, for in thee do I put my trust. What Washington understood then is what we need to rediscover today. we desperately need the lord to intervene so we must humbly cry out to god we need to pray for a nation that is fractured that’s splintered and divided the worst i’ve seen in my entire life we need to pray that god in his mercy would unite us once again as a people one nation under god indivisible as we declare in our pledge to With all the challenges and the threats that we’re experiencing as a nation, we need to pray in alignment with 2 Chronicles 7, verse 14. If my people who were called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and heal their land. For the sake of America, we need to pray. certainly we need to pray for those who serve in government as paul says in first timothy chapter 2 that first of all we are to pray for all people but particularly for kings and all those in authority pray for your leaders pray that they would live in awe and reverence of god that God would give them wisdom to lead and that they would be ethical and just in all of their dealings. And then God would bless and protect their families as they serve us. And we certainly need to pray for the election of godly leaders, whether at the federal, state, or local level. Prayer is vitally important. Without God providentially guiding and intervening, all is in vain. But with God, there is no challenge that we cannot meet and no problem that we cannot solve.
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That was an excerpt from FRC’s God and Government series. You’re tuned in to a special Memorial Day edition of Washington Watch. All right. Now, after the break, Tony will go over the remaining two action steps and he’s going to share with us a dramatic story of Patriot Pastor Peter Muhlenberg. If you haven’t heard this, you don’t want to miss it. It is indeed powerful. So stick around. We’ll be right back in a moment.
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I think all people really need to have this type of education.
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Well, I can tell you that it’s been an amazing course period. I think this course is a reminder that a biblical worldview should really impact everything. It impacts our government from the federal to the state to the local. It should impact what we’re doing with our families and with our work.
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God and Government is a video driven Bible based training course from Family Research Council that explores the connection between biblical principles and American government. In this six-session video series, FRC President Tony Perkins equips participants with a practical understanding of civil government from a biblical worldview.
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I would encourage all people to take it. I almost wish I would have took it earlier that I could have taught my kids this. I wish I had known these things when we were homeschooling because I think children and my adults now would just greatly be influenced by that information.
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So I’m an attorney, and for me, it gives me some direct practical knowledge of what I can do to try to impact my legal community to make better legislation, to try to encourage legislators to make choices that have a biblical worldview, which is what we really want.
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Any pastor would benefit from taking this course. Because we are dual citizens, right? We are citizens of the kingdom of God, but we’re also citizens of this great land, and that comes with responsibility.
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Even as someone who has been involved in these types of issues for a while, you’re learning little bits and pieces of new stuff all the time. But it’s also approachable enough that newer people, younger people, high school, college students, they can really glean something from this. I would encourage everybody to take this course, whether it’s the videos, whether it’s doing it in person, bring your Bible study group through it, bring your homeschool group through it and equip yourself for these challenging days ahead.
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View the course at frc.org slash God and government or on the Stand Firm app.
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When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature’s God entitle them.
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A decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be self-evident. That all men are created equal That they’re endowed by their Creator.
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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. Happy 250th. Happy 250th. Happy 250th. Happy 250th birthday, America. May God bless America.
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Welcome back to this special edition of Washington Watch. You’re tuned in to a special Memorial Day edition of the program. I’m Jody Heiss, an honor to be filling in today for Tony, and thank you so much for joining us. Now, to close out today’s special edition, we’re going to finish up with the last two action steps from FRC’s God and Government series. The second of these action steps has to do with voting. There’s going to be some people out there who try to convince you that your vote does not really make a difference. But it does. In fact, every vote matters. And to illustrate this truth, Tony is going to now share some examples in this last excerpt that we have for you. So we’ll pick it up right here.
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Now, some of you may remember back to the 2000 presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore. That was so close that people are still debating who won 547 votes in Florida out of more than one hundred and five million cast nationwide determined the outcome of that election. That’s significant. That election determined the president who would respond to the terrorist attacks on 9-11 and who would eventually choose two Supreme Court justices. Elections matter, and your vote, it counts. Senator Bernie Sanders won his first race in the little town of Burlington, Vermont. and he won by only 10 votes. Yet that win launched his political career. Not to be outdone, U.S. Congresswoman Miller Meeks won by six votes in 2020. Yet Virginia has one of the most compelling stories. Back in 2017, in their elections for their state assembly, Republicans had won 50 seats and the Democrats had won 49 seats out of 100. Control of the Virginia House of Commons came down to one race. When the votes were tallied out of the over 20,000 cast, guess what? It was exactly tied. So they determined the winner by drawing one of the two candidates’ names out of a bowl. Republican David Yancey won the draw, and the control of the legislature went to the Republicans. Wow. When I think of voting and the commitment to vote, I think of Founding Father Cesar Rodney from Delaware. He was the grandson of a minister. And Rodney was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. In fact, when they made states with their coins, his likeness can be found on the Delaware Quarter. It’s a rider on full gallop. You know what kind of horse it was? It was a quarter horse. Save that for later. There’s a statue which proudly resides at the state capitol in Wilmington. There is a story behind that iconic image. The Delaware delegation was deadlocked, one in favor and the other opposed to independence. Now, word by express writer Reach Rodney, and even though he was suffering from asthma and skin cancer that was eating away at his face, He famously rode his horse all night through a driving rain and thunderstorms, an 80-mile journey from Dover to Philadelphia. Caesar Rodney arrived just in time, dramatically entering the room in muddy boots and spurs, a scarf partially covering his face, to cast the deciding vote for independence. If Caesar Rodney went to all of that trouble, the least we can do is vote. We’re here in the House chamber of the Louisiana Capitol where I served as a state legislator. And you know, in the most recent presidential election, more than four out of 10 self-identified Christians did not vote. Now just imagine the difference those who sat on the sidelines could have made in some of the elections where the candidate who more closely aligned with biblical values lost for a lack of support while the other candidate prevailed. Now, there’s an old saying that bad politicians are elected by good people who don’t vote. Can you imagine the difference just 10, 15 or even 20 percent more Christian voters could make in any given election? Now, each and every vote can and does make a tremendous difference. However, our voting needs to line up with biblical truth. Followers of the Lord Jesus Christ should take our values from the Word of God. Consequently, we should vote for candidates whose policies and positions best align with biblical principles. Unfortunately, many professing Christians don’t consider their own biblical beliefs and convictions when voting, often choosing candidates whose policies and positions are actually at odds with biblical truth. A study by Barna Research found that religious beliefs were the top influence for only 33% of Americans. Now, according to Gallup, two thirds of Americans claim to be Christian. So that means only about half of us put our faith first when it comes to voting decisions. Well, that should not be. Founding Father Samuel Adams said this, he said, quote, let each citizen remember at the moment he is offering his vote that he is executing one of the most solemn trust in human society for which he is accountable to God and his country, end quote. We’re accountable to God for how we vote. Again, we should vote for candidates whose policies and positions best line up with biblical values. Another of our founding fathers, John Jay, who served as our nation’s first chief justice of the Supreme Court, chosen by George Washington, had this to say about voting. Quote, he said, “…providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers.” And it is the duty as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers.” But not Christians in name only. We need to ensure those we support have positions that actually line up with Scripture. Fortunately, scripture spells out some of the fundamental values that we should look for in the first 12 chapters of the book of Genesis. Number one, acknowledging God as the creator in Genesis 1.1. Protecting human life in Genesis 1.26. promoting man-woman marriage in Genesis 2.22, and preserving human sexuality as created male and female in Genesis 1.26, and defending and blessing Israel, Genesis 12.3. Those are the biblical values that I use to measure whether or not a candidate deserves my support. So for the sake of America, we need to vote biblical values. Again, we offer help with all of that at FRCaction.org. Again, look past the crafty commercials, the pie in the sky promises and the flowery rhetoric and see the record of how they voted and where they stand on the values we care about as believers. Do your homework. then prayerfully vote for the candidate who best lines up with biblical truth. So now we come to the third and final action step. First, pray, then vote. And finally, for the sake of America, we must stand. My favorite scripture is from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians in chapter six, verse 10 and following where he says, finally, my brother, be strong in the Lord and the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual host of wickedness in heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand. Again, we need to pray, we need to vote, and then finally, we need to take our stand. Like these pilgrims who took their stand against the hostile king of England, who insisted that they conform to his brand of religion or be fined and jailed, lose their jobs and have their property confiscated, and threatened with expulsion from their nation. These principled pilgrims refused to cow down to the king and chose instead to conform only… to biblical truth, and it led them here to America, where they helped lay the foundation for our freedom. The centrality of the scriptures is portrayed in this painting. If we hope to see a return to our godly foundations, We need to get back to the Bible. And I invite you to join me in reading through the Bible chronologically in our Stand on the Word Bible reading plan. Just text the word Bible to 67742. That’s 67742, the word Bible. Or visit frc.org slash Bible. Like these brave pilgrims, we need to take our stand on the Word of God.
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Speaking of taking a stand, there are few more dramatic stories from the American Revolution than that of Patriot Pastor Peter Muhlenberg, captured here in marble. Muhlenberg was an American-born son of a German immigrant who was the founder of the Lutheran Church in America. Peter became a circuit-riding minister to several German Lutheran churches and one English-speaking Episcopal congregation in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. Pastor Muhlenberg served alongside George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Patrick Henry as a member of the Virginia Colonial Legislature, where he heard Henry’s famous Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death speech in the St. John’s Church in Richmond, where the legislature met to evade the British. A few weeks later, Peter Muhlenberg was shocked to learn that the Royal Governor of Virginia sent British Royal Marines under the cover of darkness to the Powder Magazine in the capital of Williamsburg to seize the town’s military arsenal for defense, disarming them. Their own government had turned against them and was using the military to try and make them knuckle under and give up their call for liberty. Well, about the same time, word came of the battles in Lexington and Concord. where again the British’s goal, it was to disarm the Patriots. In December of 1775, there was armed conflict between British and Patriot militia forces at the Battle of the Great Bridge. America was at war and it had come to Virginia. Pastor Muhlenberg thought first about signing up as a military chaplain, but George Washington and Patrick Henry convinced him to recruit and lead a regiment of German settlers in the fight for freedom. He mounted his pulpit in Woodstock, Virginia in early 1776. Dressed in his black clerical robe, he recounted the clear and the present dangers of British tyranny and the need to stand up for their liberty. His scripture reading for that morning was from Ecclesiastes chapter 3, verses 1 through 8. To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven, a time to be born and a time to die, a time to sow and a time to reap, a time to kill and a time to heal. And then he went on and got all the way down to verse 8, where he said, there’s a time for war and a time for peace. And according to tradition, handed down by family, his message reached a climax with this. In the language of the Holy Writ, there is a time for all things, a time to preach and a time to pray. But those times have passed away. There is a time to fight, and that time has now come. Then Pastor Muhlenberg dramatically took off his black clerical robe in the pulpit, and in the shock of his congregation, there he stood in the military uniform of a colonel for the Virginia militia. The pastor, now clad as a soldier, stepped down from the pulpit, strode through the log church building to the front, calling on the men and the congregation to join the fight for freedom. He had a young man drum for recruits at the door. And by March, when they mustered for their first mission, Muhlenberg led 300 men. They became the 8th Virginia or the German Regiment. And Muhlenberg became one of George Washington’s most trusted generals and one of only 17 major generals in the Revolutionary War. If you ever go to Valley Forge, the first group of barracks you come to on the hill are those of the Muhlenberg Brigade, built by members of his churches who fought side by side with him all the way to Yorktown, the final battle of the Revolution. Well, Patriot Pastor Peter Muhlenberg not only served as a soldier, but also as a congressman in the first federal Congress that gave us our First Amendment. And ultimately, the good people of Pennsylvania commissioned this marble statue of Muhlenberg to be placed right here in the U.S. Capitol, recalling the iconic moment when that pastor took off his minister’s robe to reveal his military uniform before going out to lead in the fight for liberty. That is our heritage. That is our calling, to fight for our faith, our families, and our freedom. Well, as we come to the conclusion of this God and government course, it should be obvious by now. that we’re in the spiritual battle. We don’t use swords and muskets, cannons and cavalry like they did in the American Revolution. You know, Paul declared that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal or fleshly, but they are mighty through God for the pulling down of strongholds, casting down imaginations and every proud thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. Consequently, as Paul put it, we must put on the full armor of God and take our stand in this evil day. As we conclude our course of God and government. I want to commission you, and I want to charge you. If we hope to see this nation return to its biblical foundations that were laid by the founders, which resulted in America enjoying the special favor and the blessing of God, well, now is the time for us to pray. Now is the time for us to vote. Now is the time for us to stand.
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Thanks so much for tuning in to this special Memorial Day edition of Washington Watch. Hope you’ve been extremely edified and inspired by the excerpts that we’ve been able to bring your way from FRC’s God and Government course. As I mentioned earlier, you and I can. In fact, we should. continue to fight for the freedoms that so many of others have sacrificed their lives for, literally given their lives so that we can enjoy freedoms. And now all of us have a responsibility to continue to fight for, to continue to stand for those freedoms. So we hope on this Memorial Day, as we remember those who gave their last full measure of devotion for our freedoms, that you’ll both exercise those freedoms and defend them. wherever you go. Exercise them and defend them. So again, we hope that you’ve enjoyed the program today. And as always, we look forward to being with you again tomorrow right here on Washington Watch as we keep you informed with the news from a biblical perspective.
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Washington Watch with Tony Perkins is brought to you by Family Research Council. To support our efforts to advance faith, family and freedom, please text GIVE to 67742. That’s GIVE to 67742. Portions of the show discussing candidates are brought to you by Family Research Council Action. For more information, please visit TonyPerkins.com.
