Sermon Tone Analysis

Happy 4th of July

Happy Independence Day.

Yet, I must say that with all the technology that we have, and the amazing things that have happened through the history of our nation, I believe that we are less freer now in America than we’ve ever been.

And I mean spiritually.

But how many know, the spiritual affects the physical

So if we are less freer spiritually in America, than we are less freer physically.

I want to continue a series that has been ongoing for the last 5 or 6 years during the summer holidays.

A series that I have entitled, The Spirit of America

And I take these three dates and speak about the history, current events and future of our country as the Bible speaks about it.

Today, I am going to start a two part message (I’ll finish up with it around Labor Day) on the Separation of Church and State.

turn with me over to

I want to speak to you today about a term that you hear all the time.

It’s in our courts, Its in our newspapers, it runs rampant in our schools and in any other situation where the Christian tries to do the business of the Kingdom.

The phrase is “Separation of Church and State”

In the not too far history of our nation, this phrase, Separation of Church and State, has been invoked in over four thousand court cases.

It is blamed for the removal of nativity scenes from public places, the ten commandments from our court rooms.

It is cited as the reason why some cities have removed religious symbols from their city seals, and why there are some religious expressions that cannot be used in other public places.

But to better understand this phrase, let us look at

The History of “Separation of Church and State”

God’s View: Since all history is HIS STORY

God promises Abraham that he will create a mighty nation of his posterity

He leads and guides these people until they become a nation.

He sends Moses to free them from Pharaohs hand and lead them into the land that will be theirs.

And God establishes a civil government for his people Israel

Now think about what he did and how he did this.

He puts Moses over the civil affairs - gives them their laws, and presides over how the law effects their relationships and life

And He puts Moses’ Brother, Aaron (the priest) over the spiritual affairs.

- He guides them on how to live and worship God with their lives.

The nation of Israel was one, but the jurisdictions were two with a different leader presiding over both.

Here in , we see that God had planned it to stay that way.

Uzziah was King of Israel for a remarkable 52 years.

That just didn’t happen in those times.

Most of the kings just didn’t live that long.

Those 52 years are marked by properity and stability.

They were the character of his 52 year civil leadership.

He rule was legendary for his agricultural and animal husbandry programs.

His national defense program were unrivaled, during which he oversaw the invention of catapults as well as complex but advanced machines that would powerfully propel arrows at the enemy garrisons.

He was famous.

His reign was also known for his love and worship toward God.

He openly and boldly honored God throughout his rule and kingdom.

Something else that most kings didn’t do.

But then something changed.

As the ruler over the civil affairs of the people, he allowed pride to get the best of him and one day decided that he would also function as the priest and offer incense on the altar

But remember, God had sternly placed a priest there to do that.

King to be civil

Priest to be spiritual

When Uzziah tried to perform the responsibilities of both church and state and act as the head of each, he crossed that line set up by God himself.

And he paid with his life for it.

The priests courageously and forcfully tried to withstand him, but Uzziah, continued and just became more angry at them.

He took their holy utensils and use them.

Utensils which were created only for their hands.

So God instantly strikes him with leprosy.

What had happened?

Uzziah was allowed to and supposed to honor God in his kingdom.

Uzziah was allowed to and did enter the temple to worship God.

But when Uzziah attempted to violate the jurisdictional separation between church and state, when he sought to be in charge both the civil and religious arenas at the same time, God provided a dramatic precedent as a message of warning to all future generations.

Man’s View

For the first 300 years of church history, there had never been a thought of merging these two separate and distinct, God-ordained (say that with me.

NOT MAN MADE) institutions of church and state.

This changed when Roman Emperor Theodosius I assumed control of the church and assimilated it into the state.

He decreed Christianity to be the official religion of his massive empire and that all other religions were illegal.

Cool, right?

Not so much.

At that moment, the state had crossed the boundary setup by God himself.

And secondly, at that time Christianity became coercive.

You have to join us.

That is so far against the teaching of Christ, that it’s rediculous.

Nobody has to join us, We are commissioned to make disciples, but Christ wanted their participation to be voluntary.

We serve God because we love him.

This made every emperor after him to be a King Uzziah.

They made themselves officers of the church.

It became a time of secularization of the church

Christianity became a depraved religious belief.

and the church leaders, (who voiced their opinions to the opposite) became state officials and answered to state authorities about what could or couldn’t happen in the church.

They were also required to to enforce any religious doctrines that the state decreed as such.

This marked a period of untold atrocities in the church.

Civil and religious leaders inventing sadistic ways of torture and inflicting death.

Foxes Book of Martyrs counts the slaughter of countless thousands of Christians by these so called religious leaders.

This continued for far too long, and carried into future cultures as well.

It would not be until the early 1500’s that an English minister, named Richard Hooker, would use the words and demand the phrase, Separation of church and state before King Henry VIII.

These Bible based ministers stood up and demanded, (listen clearly here) that the state separate from the church.

Richard Hooker used the word divorce.

He wanted a divorce from the state, or course, the church was a lucrative business and a way to control the people involved in it so the state (King) said no.

The state even determined who could take communion, who could be a minister and such

But Reverend Hooker was persistant.

He started his own national church, “The Anglican Church”, decreeing new state-established doctrines and gave himself a divorce.

Remember, we are in England now, so his phrase would have been separation between the church and commonwealth.

Rev. John Greenwood also joined the Bible-Centered pastors who were speaking out against the intrusion of the State into the jurisdiction of the church and he would go and start a congregation that would be attended by many of the pilgrims while they lived in England.

He spoke out against Queen Elizabeth I, who was recognized as the head of both, the state and the church and he told her that there could only be one head over the church and that was Jesus Christ.

She had him beheaded.

“For denying Her Majesty’s ecclesiastical supremacy and attacking the ecclesiastical order.

Parliament passed a law requiring that if “any of Her Majesty’s subjects deny the Queen’s ecclesiastical supremacy that they shall be committed to prison without bail.

That was the last straw for the pilgrims and they left England for holland.

As we know they would leave Holland to go to America, where they would boldly avocate separation of Church and state, asserting that government had no right to compel religion, to plan churches by power, and to force a submission to ecclesiastical government by laws and penalties.

The Truth of Separation of Church and State

That is important my brothers and sisters.

Let me make that a little clearer.

The Pilgrims came to America to get away from the Monarchy who ruled the church.

They came to America to follow God’s views about the church, not man’s views.

They believed what God had said, and what we saw in - That the King had no right being in the church as far as being over it.