Part of me now wishes I’d titled this sermon differently as you’ll know one of the answers to my question – they were all Presbyterian. The question I want to ask, though, is what do the following people all have in common besides being Presbyterian?
Thomas McKean – Delaware, Matthew Thornton - New Hampshire, Abraham Clark - New Jersey, John Hart - New Jersey, Richard Stockton - New Jersey, William Floyd - New York, Philip Livingston - New York, James Smith – Pennsylvania, George Taylor – Pennsylvania, Benjamin Rush – Pennsylvania, James Wilson – Pennsylvania, and the Rev. John Witherspoon - New Jersey…
Every one of these Presbyterian men signed the Declaration of Independence. While different websites give different numbers of Presbyterian signers – anywhere from 10 to 16 - the 12 Presbyterians listed are the ones listed on the Office of the General Assembly of the PC(USA) website in our denomination’s historic documents. So by our official documents, that’s 12 signers out of a total of 56. 21.4 percent for you math types out there. And that’s the Declaration of Independence we all know about. As noted on one extremely interesting website, Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence
…came along a full year after Scots-Irish Presbyterians in Charlotte, North Carolina, wrote their own declaration of independence. The Mecklenburg Declaration, written on May 20, 1775, "by unanimous resolution declared the people free and independent, and that all laws and commissions from the king were henceforth null and void," as Lorraine Boettner writes. Jefferson’s biographer notes: "Everyone must be persuaded that one of these papers must have been borrowed from the other." George Bancroft observes that the Mecklenburg assembly consisted of "twenty-seven staunch Calvinists, one-third of whom were ruling elders in the Presbyterian church, including the President and Secretary, and one was a Presbyterian minister.[1]
So even before the Declaration of Independence we know and love was written, those rabble-rousing Presbyterians were stirring up trouble. Many of the Founding Fathers of the country were, in fact, Presbyterian. Not only those I’ve already listed who signed the famous Declaration of Independence, but many more from signers of the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution to non-signing delegates and members of the very first Congress. Presbyterians have always been a large voice in the leadership of our country.
No less than 9 presidents (out of 44) have been Presbyterian – at least for a good portion of their lives - and there have been 12 Presbyterian Vice Presidents. Plus assorted senators, congressmen and women, and other high-ranking officials and the tradition continues to this day. I have met Presbyterian pastors who serve in the DC area and they have commented on some amusing aspects of Presbyterian politicians. One pastor told me the Democrats and Republicans sit on separate sides on the aisle in church and wear red or blue ties, depending on party. Another pastor told me that Condoleezza Rice took time from her busy schedule to help out with the Christmas Pageant at her Presbyterian Church. And, of course, Peter Marshall, perhaps the most famous chaplain in the history of the Senate, was Presbyterian.
Not everyone has always been so pleased that so many of the Founding Fathers were Presbyterian. Apparently the Presbyterians had quite a reputation with leaders in some places. King James I once said: "Presbytery agreeth with monarchy like God with the Devil."[2] In England, our First War for Independence was referred to as the "Presbyterian Rebellion."[3] And “In a letter from New York dated November 1776, the Earl of Dartmouth was informed by one of his representatives: "Presbyterianism is really at the bottom of this whole conspiracy, has supplied it with Vigour, and will never rest, till something is decided on it."”[4]
Large numbers of Presbyterians fought in the Revolutionary War. Every colonel at Yorktown (on the American side!) was a Presbyterian elder except for one, and more than half of the soldiers and officers who fought in the war were Presbyterians.[5] Even the system of government of the United States of America is based on the Presbyterian Church’s system of government – we didn’t get it from them, we gave it to them. So if you’re unhappy with how the government works, blame it on the Presbyterians – we started it!
Presbyterians have been a pretty patriotic lot and we have much to celebrate this holiday weekend. But lest we forget what is even more important to celebrate than the birthday of our nation, we need to remember what all those influential Presbyterians held fast to – the Word of God. From John Calvin (who was taught by Martin Luther) and going through the John Knox’s branch of the Presbyterian Church coming all the way down to us, the cry of the Reformed Church has always been sola fide, sola gratia, sola Scriptura: faith alone, grace alone, Scripture alone. We are meant to base our faith and our life on these three things – our faith which is meant to be the basis for our lives, the grace of God which is the only thing that saves us, and the wisdom of Scripture which is our guidebook – not everything else. These principles are the foundation of our Presbyterian heritage. They are the principles the Presbyterian Founding Fathers (and several other Founding Fathers) held dear. They lived by their faith, trusted in God’s grace, and looked to the Scriptures for guidance and answers.
This country was founded by people who sought the right to practice their faith, putting no idol or ruler above the Lord. The countries from which our Founding Fathers came all had established national religions, and they weren’t too tolerant of the Pilgrims and Puritans who tended to regard Kings (and Popes) as idols. They held to what our passage from Isaiah this morning says about princes and rulers of this world, “No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner do they take root in the ground, than he blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.” The Founding Fathers believed that certain rights were unalienable – given to us by God Himself and that any power or ruler who tried to take those freedoms from us was going against the Lord. In fact, there’s a new book out, Forged In Faith by Rod Gragg that I just saw on the news this morning that tells of how the revolution was perceived by the American side as being a holy war—a war against those who would oppose God.
This country was founded by folks who believed that we are not saved by what we do, but by what has been done for us and that our grateful response to that gift of salvation is supposed to be the sharing of the Gospel and doing good works in the name of the Lord. The founders were charitable people, living in true community. They were evangelistic people, seeking to spread the Gospel, frequently in unfortunate manners, with the people who were here when they arrived. They did good because it was what they were supposed to do in thanks for what had been done for them. It wasn’t a question of reward – they knew they’d already received that. When they set up the government, service was really that – service – and was a bit of a sacrifice as they had to leave field and business and family to serve their fellow man.
The founders also had a strong focus on the wisdom of Scripture and studied it intensely. Presbyterians have always had a keen focus on studying and preaching the Word of God in its plain meaning. We have always sought to understand God primarily though His own self-revelation through His word (small w, meaning the Bible) and His Word (big W, meaning the Lord Jesus Christ.) Scripture is the only offensive item in the arsenal of the armor of God and we must make sure we are sufficiently familiar with it to use it effectively. It is like any modern day military weapon – if we don’t know how to use it we are more likely to injure ourselves and those close to us than to put down the enemy.
Yet we also need to familiarize ourselves with all the defensive weapons in God’s armor, for the best offense remains a good defense. We need to make sure that belt of Truth and breastplate of righteousness not only fit but also are well-maintained. If we lose sight of Truth – God’s perfect Truth – or fail to regularly put on the breastplate of righteousness, we may well find the belt is too tight and the breastplate is rusty when we find ourselves under attack and need them the most.
We need to keep our shoes of readiness polished and not lose them under the bed or in the bottom of the closet. To be ready to go wherever God leads at a moment’s notice is key to being able to fight off the enemy. As Captain Dan pointed out in Forrest Gump, “There is one item of G.I. gear that can be the difference between a live grunt and a dead grunt. Socks, cushion, sole, O.D. green. Try and keep your feet dry when we’re out humpin’. I want you boys to remember to change your socks wherever we stop.”[6] He was talking about socks, but the concept is the same – good feet are vital to a soldier’s service, whether that soldier is in a human army or God’s army.
We need to make sure we are doing the spiritual exercises needed not only to be ready to run the race set before us, but to do so carrying the shield of our faith which protects us from the direct attacks of the enemy. Salvation is ours as a gift from God, but we need to remember to wear it proudly, never ashamed to proclaim our beliefs, even as the Founding Fathers were unafraid to proclaim theirs.
Only after we have suited up in defensive armor each day are we ready to take up the Word as a sword against the enemy and gear up for a full-fledged battle of prayer. For that is how we battle the enemy – not with our own power, but by calling on God’s power, as did the Founding Fathers who created one nation under God.
Prayer is a strong weapon, and the only one we need to battle evil where ever it is found. So pray even as you celebrate. Pray like the Founding Fathers did. Pray that God will guide not only the Presbyterians who lead our country, but all our leaders. Pray that God will guide the leaders of other nations, as well, that all human wars may cease.
And celebrate. Celebrate God’s enduring faithfulness and His own power to determine earthly rulers, sweeping away those who are not faithful or just. Celebrate our nation’s birthday. Celebrate the founding of this nation by men and women of faith, not only Presbyterians, but believers from several other denominations as well. Celebrate your link to so many who have influenced this nation – the link you have simply from attending this little Presbyterian church, which is but one small part of the larger congregation of Presbyterians in our denomination and other Presbyterian denominations. And if you need someone to blame when the fireworks keep you awake or the parades reroute your traffic or the bank is closed on Monday – blame it on the Presbyterians. We’re largely responsible for this whole beautiful mess we call America.