July 4th commemorated the day in 1776 when the Second Continental Congress adopted Thomas Jefferson’s “The Unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America,” better known as the Declaration of Independence. That day started our journey as a free, self-governing country, upholding individual liberty and equality that the God of the Universe provided to every soul.

Principles of God

Most Americans are familiar with the Declaration’s words, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” But there are more references of God in the Declaration of Independence, including, “the laws of nature’s God,” “the Supreme Judge of the World,” and “firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence.” Even today, these words still ring true and provide a firm foundation for governing both as a nation and as individuals; this is because divine truth was woven into the very fabric of our nation’s founding.

Many of our founding fathers were Christians, some were deists, and others agreed with Christian principles of equality. This mindset was popularized during the First Great Awakening, a religious revival that spread throughout the Colonies during the early to mid-1700s. As a result, religious beliefs and political beliefs of natural equality became widely accepted and grew from the concept that all people are created equal under God.

Jefferson’s original draft condemned slavery, but the clause was removed from the final draft as there was much debate over emancipation. The delegates believed it was better to remove that clause to pass the Declaration and stand united against England than to force a long debate and leave the separate colonies vulnerable to British attack and victory. But Jefferson retained the principle of “all men are created equal” in the Declaration, leaving the door open for future Americans to pursue their inalienable rights of freedom and equality.

Faith of Our Fathers

“God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that His justice cannot sleep forever.”

Thomas Jefferson
Author of America’s Declaration of Independence
America’s Third President

“Resistance to tyranny becomes the Christian and social duty of each individual. … Continue steadfast and, with a proper sense of your dependence on God, nobly defend those rights which heaven gave, and no man ought to take from us.”

John Hancock
First Signer of the Declaration of Independence

“As the safety and prosperity of nations ultimately and essentially depend on the protection and the blessing of Almighty God, and the national acknowledgment of this truth is not only an indispensable duty which the people owe to Him.”

John Adams
America’s Second President

“While we are zealously performing the duties of good citizens and soldiers, we certainly ought not to be inattentive to the higher duties of religion. To the distinguished character of Patriot, it should be our highest glory to add the more distinguished character of Christian.”

General George Washington
America’s First President

“We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it. We have staked the future of all our political institutions upon the capacity of mankind for self-government; upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God.”

James Madison
Primary Author of the U.S. Constitution
America’s Fourth President

“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?”

Benjamin Franklin
A signer of both America’s Declaration of Independence and the Constitution
Founder of the University of Pennsylvania
A leading theorist of the American Revolution

“It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ. For this very reason peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here.”

Patrick Henry
Ratifier of the U.S. Constitution

We celebrate July 4th as America’s Independence Day. Make it a time to reflect on the freedom that is God’s gift to us. Thank Him for His gift, and may God bless America!

==> Also read Ancient Christian Hymns.

==> And read “Called to Serve God and Country.”