An Inspired Constitution

The Bible teaches that our lives can bear fruit for the glory of God as we allow the life of Christ to be manifested through us. James 2 states:
17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
18 But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works." Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.

The practice of our Christian faith has internal and external aspects - internal, in the sense that the love of God has entered our hearts through Jesus and brought us new life, and He continues to do His work in us. But, because of that work, there is an external aspect as well; our faith can actually be seen as it is demonstrated by faithful believers.  We are not called to keep it to ourselves but to live in a vibrant way so that our relationship with Christ might be noted.

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The presence of Christ in us can produce a powerful witness as we practice our faith, which, thankfully, we have the freedom to do in our nation. The Bible tells us in 1st Peter chapter 1 that we...

... (5) are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials,
7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ...

Is the U.S. Constitution a document that should be exalted to a similar level as the Holy Bible?  Absolutely not, although I think you could find plenty of people in our culture today who think that many patriotic Christians hold to that belief.

Is the U.S. Constitution an inspired document?  I believe so, and I shared some quotes from some of our Founding Fathers to back that up.  John Adams said that it was made for a "moral and religious people;" it was brought forth from a meeting that was heading nowhere until the delegates decided, at Ben Franklin's urging, to seek God's face.

Yet, in the face of the advance of Marxist ideas that threaten to tear the fabric of our great nation, we should revisit the principles in this inspired document.  A recent Washington Times article published in advance of last Friday's Constitution Day related that, "A 2017 poll conducted by the Annenberg Public Policy Center revealed the American people know precious little about even the most essential elements of our government and the Constitution that formed it."

The authors, John G. Malcolm and Angela Sailor, who are Vice-Presidents of the Heritage Foundation, also noted:

In modern America, more people know more about the Kardashians than they do about those who govern them or would seek to govern them. Imagine going to the polls with only the faintest of ideas about the powers exercised by those we are voting for and the control they have over our lives. Ignorance and complacency foster a feeling of powerlessness. Over time, this can lead to acquiescence to an expanded role for government — and an undue reliance upon government — at the expense of our freedom and individual liberties.

But there seems to improvement as far as the knowledge of the Constitution, according to this year's annual Annenberg survey.  A summary says:

• U.S. adults who correctly named all three branches of government increased to 56%, the highest since the survey began in 2006;
• More respondents named most of the freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment – and three-quarters (74%) cited freedom of speech;
• More than half of Americans (61%) incorrectly said Facebook is required to permit all Americans to express themselves freely on Facebook under the First Amendment.

Regarding the First Amendment, here is how the percentages broke down: 

74% of respondents referenced freedom of speech - a one-point rise since 2020.  But, that's up from 48% in 2017, the year referenced by the Washington Times piece. Then, in 2021, there was:

• freedom of religion, at 56%,
• freedom of the press - 50% 
• right to peaceably assemble - 30%, and 
• the right to petition the government, at 20%.

Only 17% could not name any of the guaranteed First Amendment rights. That was at 37% just four years ago, with the other rights garnering 15% or less.

Well, we recognize that a knowledge of history can be helpful in living in the present and charting a course for the future. And, in a age when our constitutionally-guaranteed freedoms are coming under assault, we can continue to exercise the rights that we have been given and select leaders who are dedicated to upholding them.  Of course, certainly we don't put country above Christianity, but we should not be ignorant of our country's history - good and bad - and founding principles.

It is important to know and exercise freedom of religion.  It has been brought out that some political leaders over the last few years have changed the wording to "freedom of worship," which implies that people can exercise that freedom within the walls of their houses of worship.  Freedom of religion is more robust, for it reminds us that our practice of our faith is a public one.  For the Christian, our love for Jesus should ideally motivate us to live out, in a way that can be viewed, that love for and devotion to Him.  Thankfully, that is a founding principle of our nation.