Welcome to a firm foundation presented by Princeton ministries with Dr. Ken Smith. This is Carol Smith, Ken’s wife. Please enjoy.

As the story goes, he fell asleep in the Catskill mountains 20 years later, awoke to find that his rifle had become rusty, that his dog had left him, that his hometown had completely changed. And the legend of Rip Van Winkle is the story of a man who slept through the American Revolution. In the Book of Ephesians, chapter five, Paul gives these words not to pagans, but to Christians, and he says, awake, o sleeper. I believe that the Christian church has been asleep for at least 20 years, and we are awaking now to what we thought was merely a nightmare. But we have awakened to a reality. In 1980, Mayor Tom Bradley of Los Angeles stated a Bible study would not be a permissible use of a single family residential home in a town near Boston.

The building commissioner notified a clergyman that inviting more than four people to his house was breaking the zoning laws and that a prayer meeting could no longer be held in his home. In Atlanta, a zoning official stated that any kind of regular home Bible study, which includes non residents, is, and I quote, illegal, unquote. In Maryland, there have been two cases along the same line. In Michigan, the same thing has happened. And in New Jersey, within this year, home Bible studies have been turned away by the police because of what has been called the separation between church and state. Christians have woken up, and in our waking, we have become aware of a very fuzzy subject, and that is the relationship of the church to the state.

And I have, in conversation, talking with many Christians, seen that there is a great question as to what is the relationship between the church and the state. What can the church rightfully do without the direction of the state, and what can the state do in regulating the church? And this idea of a wall between the church and the state has become something that is just second nature to most of us as far as why, of course, that’s the way it is supposed to be. There is supposed to be a separation between the church and the state. I would like to look at the question of the church and the state from two perspectives. One, what was the intention originally in the formation of this country about that relationship?

And number two, how have we come to the point this day where it is possible that it would even be decreed to this church that it would be illegal to meet in a home for bible study? What were the intentions in the establishment of this country? I have spent a great deal of time reading on the subject of the establishment of this country and have been amazed at the voluminous amount of material that talks about this subject. And what were the intentions of the founding fathers as far as the foundation of this country? Now, the first colonial grant that was established in the United States was to Sir Walter Raleigh in the year 1584, and he was authorized to establish a colony. And the purpose was that it would not be against the true Christian faith. Unquote.

Now, the first charter which was established in the United States was the charter of Virginia. And that charter in 16 six said this we greatly commending and graciously accepting of their desires for the furtherance of so noble a work, which may, by the providence of Almighty God hereafter, tend to the glory of his divine majesty. And what was the purpose of that first charter of Virginia in propagating of the christian religion to such people as yet who live in darkness? The first settlers to come to this continent found themselves at Jamestown and getting off the boat. The first act that was performed by those colonists was to call a prayer meeting.

Chronologically, the charter of Massachusetts, established in 1629, said that we may win and incite the natives of the country to their knowledge and obedience of the only true God and savior of mankind and the Christian faith, which is our royal intention. We find the same words repeated over and over again in the establishment of the colonies of the United States of America. We find that was the case in Rhode Island. We find that was the case all throughout New England. The propagation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ was the intent for the coming, the settling, and the establishment of towns and villages and farms. In 1643, we find the first organization of the colonies. They formed themselves in what was called the New England Confederation.

And this document begins, and I quote, whereas we all came into these parts of America with one and the same aim, and you may wonder what was the aim? What was the one thing that all of these colonists would sign in agreement was their one purpose. They say that aim was namely, to advance the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ and to enjoy the liberties of the gospel in purity and peace. We’re all familiar with the Declaration of Independence, which tells us that we have been endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights. And even in 1777, by decree of the Congress of the United States, 20,000 bibles were purchased. And what was the order that came from the Congress as to the purpose of these Bibles?

That they would be distributed to the people so that they would have knowledge of the things of God. Then we come to the inauguration of the first president of the United States, George Washington. In that first statement of purpose for the establishment of the presidency, said it would be peculiarly improper to omit in this first official act my fervent supplications to that almighty being who rules over the universe, who presides in the councils of nations. And it was George Washington who decreed a day of thanksgiving which we continue to celebrate to this day. And the purpose, by congressional decree, was that we would give thanks to Almighty God for what he had done in the founding and the establishment of this nation.

If you were to go through all of the presidential inaugural speeches, you will find that every one of them calls upon the blessing of God Almighty for their administration and their term in office. If you were to go to the constitutions of all of the United States, you will find that each of the 50 states makes reference to the blessing of God Almighty on the administration of the responsibilities of the states. Time forbids a complete recitation of all of the mountain of evidence that has been carved in marble, that has been written on the constitutions of the United States, that has been decreed from the beginning as the reason for the establishment of this nation.

And yet, up until the drafting of the Constitution of the United States, the laws of this land forbid anyone from holding a public office who was not a Christian. In most states, there were requirements for citizenship. And the oath that was declared by a person who had come to become a citizen of this country was, in many states, laws requiring a trinitarian faith, laws requiring a belief in the infallibility of the Bible. That was tied to being a citizen of the United States. As a matter of fact, of the population at the time of the American Revolution, which was about 3 million, the records say that at least 2 million of those people were confirmed Christians involved in the life of a church. That brings us to the formation of the Constitution of the United States.

Now, the Constitution works on what is called enumerated powers, which simply means that if it is declared as a power of a particular branch of the government and has been enumerated, then that is the responsibility of that branch of government. Now, Madison, who is involved in the construction of the Constitution, said this, the powers that are delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few, and they are defined. Those which remain are given to the states. What he was saying was, we are forming now a nation. We are constructing a federal government, and we will define precisely what the powers of that federal government shall be. And if those areas are not clearly defined for the federal government, then it is the responsibility of the state to minister and create those laws.

And so the Constitution was written to limit the power of the federal government. And we read the first amendment of the United States in the Bill of Rights. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. And as you go through the first ten bill of rights, it is very clear that what is occurring there is a definition of what the federal government can do and what it cannot do. And one of the things that it cannot do, according to the establishment of those who wrote the Constitution, that Congress shall make no laws respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. Now, for nearly 100 years, religion was free to do as it saw fit in its exercise of its responsibility as the carriers of the Gospel of Christ.

It was in the year 1866 that the first change occurred in the major understanding of the Constitution of the United States. And it was with the formation of the 14th Amendment. The 14th amendment was written right after the civil war to declare what the responsibilities of the state would be. And the 14th amendment reads, no state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States. This was the first time that the federal government stepped in and told the states what they must do. Now, it was at a time in an historical setting that had wisdom. But since the writing of the 14th Amendment, the federal government has begun to systematically and regularly increase its power. Until today, the states are no longer exercising the constitutional responsibilities that are theirs.

And the federal government now declares to the local state how they are to perform in relation to their responsibilities as a state. Now, how did the question of the separation of church and state come into being? Well, we find that an exhaustive study was done for a doctoral paper, and it was found that the first reference in the history of the United States to this separation of church and state was to be found in a letter written by Chief Justice John Marshall of the Supreme Court. And in it, he makes reference to the fact that there shall be a wall of separation between the church and the state. Now, this letter, which was a private letter written by Jefferson and sent to a Baptist church to help clarify his understanding of the concept of the First Amendment, it was a private letter.

It was not a confirmed decision of any body of politic in the United States. It was a private opinion by Jefferson. In 1947, Hugo Black of the Supreme Court was confronted with the question of the reading of the Bible and prayers in the school. And he began to study the question, and he came across this letter, written by Jefferson, where he talked about a separation, a wall of separation between the church and the state. Black used that in his decision in the Supreme Court as the base for this concept, which now has become very common in the United States, that there is a wall of separation between the church and the state. The precedent that black was using was a private letter written by Jefferson in the year 18 three.

Two years after writing that letter, Jefferson in public declared that the intent of the First Amendment was not to restrict the church. In other words, in 18 three, he had one idea about a separation between the church and the state. Two years later, having been in the midst of his term in office, he began to see that was an erroneous position, and in his second inaugural speech declared, know that it is the responsibility of the federal government only to exercise those responsibilities that have been given to it by the constitution. And the free exercise of religion is not to be infringed on by the federal government. What we have in the first amendment of the Bill of Rights is a one way road.

It is a one way road for the church to exercise its responsibilities in promoting and teaching the word of God and sharing the gospel of Christ. And by declaration of the Constitution. The federal government or Congress should do nothing that will limit that freedom. But what we’ve seen in the last 70 years is as the church had a one way road, suddenly there was a halt, and the one way road was now given to the federal government. The federal government, which today declares to the church the conditions under which they can meet, the conditions under which they can use a home. And even as any institution would receive federal money, they would find themselves then under the laws of this country, constitutional law authority. Edward Corwin, in looking on the whole question of the relationship between the church and the state, said this.

The First Amendment provides for freedom of religion, not from religion, that the government should do all that it can to allow the free exercise of religion in this country, and that there is no constitutional base for the government to restrict the movement of the church. I think in the christian church, we have come to the conclusion that as christians, we are a subculture, and that what is defined to us is what we do. And yet the intention of the founding fathers was that true religion would be promoted and blossom under the responsibilities of a federal government that exercised proper control in the areas that were exercised to it. Theologian Rushduni, in an interesting book, put it this way. He said, christians have retreated for over a century into their isolated churches, their holiness meetings, and their endless conferences.

They have learned as a successful Volkswagen commercial once put it, to think small, and to put it bluntly, as the scripture says, as a man thinks in his heart, so is he. And the church, unfortunately, has seen itself caught in a corner, believing that, in fact, there is supposed to be a separation between the church and the state, that the two are never touch, when in reality, the basis for the state and the functioning of the state was based on the assumption that there would be a christian culture that was sharing the gospel, that was worshipping, that was having its influence in government, that was speaking with the light of Christ, that was speaking with concern about the gospel. And now today, we’re on the run.

And it is certainly possible that it would even be declared to this church that it is now against the law for you to meet in a private home, for you to pray, for you to have more than four people coming to your residence to study the Bible. We have awakened and we’ve been asleep, and now we are seeing the laws systematically being changed until we wonder, where are we going to meet? The police have said, you can’t meet in that home. And yet, from the beginning, John Wesley’s ministry was based on home meetings. George Whitfield came to the United States preaching the word of God in homes. My friends, there is a revolution that is taking place quietly in the courts of this country, one that we as christians not only should be aware of, but greatly concerned about.

For the freedom to worship, the freedom to assemble, the freedom to pray, the freedom to study God’s word are the very targets that these shots are aimed at. Pray that they will seek to bring about a change in this nation. For if it does not occur, we will be told, no prayer in your home, no reading of the scripture. And we will quietly go back to our homes and say, I remember when we used to assemble for prayer and Bible reading. It is already happening in the state of New Jersey, and in the past 18 months, it is happening all across this nation. And christians slumber. Paul tells us, awake, o sleeper.

Thank you for listening to a firm foundation presented by Princeton ministries. This programming is supported by you, the listener. You may go to our website, princetonministries.org, or send your donation to Princeton Ministries post office Box 2171, Princeton, New Jersey 8543. That’s Princeton Ministries post office Box 2171 Princeton, New Jersey 8543. The lord bless you, and Smith looks forward to hearing from you. We would like to thank Rones web development company for making this webcast possible. You can find their link at the bottom of our website, princetonministries.org