One Nation Under God?

Fourth of July

Psalm 33:12 (ESV)

“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!”

“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

Is it still true?

Are we still one nation under God?

1. We Were Founded on Faith

“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!”

(Psalm 33:12, ESV)

Our founders conceived of a nation built on a foundation of Christian faith.

George Washington

“Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports… And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion… Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.”

John Adams

“We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion… Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

Thomas Jefferson

“Can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis – a conviction in the minds of the people 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.”

Benjamin Franklin

“God governs in the affairs of men.”

The biblical worldview of our founders shaped their understanding that rights and laws come from God rather than government.

The Founders’ Framework

God over Man

Man over Government

Contrast That with Other World Systems:

  • 1700s England – God and King stood side by side and ruled over man.
  • Communism – Government is god and rules over man.
  • Islamic Theocracies – The law of their god is enforced by government.
  • Secular Governments – God is removed entirely from the equation.

If liberty and justice are the vision, only one framework has proven itself:

“Righteousness exalts a nation” (Proverbs 14:34, ESV)

“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord” (Psalm 33:12, ESV)

That’s why we must hold fast to the truth: liberty only lasts when God is first, man walks in accountability, and government remembers its place. This isn’t just politics—it’s discipleship. If we want to see revival in our land, it starts with putting things back in divine order.

2. We’ve been Misled by a Myth

“There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.”

(Proverbs 16:25, ESV)

What about the separation of church and state?

It’s a myth, misunderstood and misapplied.

A) The First Amendment states:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…”

It was never about banning religion from public life—it was about protecting religious liberty, not silencing it.

B) Jefferson’s “wall of separation” is taken out of context.

He used the phrase in a private letter to the Danbury Baptists. He stressed the “wall” as a safeguard against a national church or government favoritism of religion. In Jefferson’s view, the First Amendment built a wall to protect the church from the state, not to remove religion from society.

C) Jefferson actively supported the church in the public square.

  • He used federal funds to sponsor a missionary and church as part of a treaty in 1803.
  • He sponsored and attended church gatherings in the Capitol building.

The founders never envisioned a system without the church.

The Shift: Engel v. Vitale (1962)

Relying on this separationist logic, the Supreme Court ruled that official prayer in public schools (even non-denominational and voluntary) violated the Establishment Clause.

Justice Potter Stewart (dissent):

“Uncritical invocation of metaphors like the ‘wall of separation’ was distorting constitutional practice.”

When we remove God from the equation, we remove the foundation that supports the entire system.

Even atheists recognize the impact:

Richard Dawkins (The Times, April 2010):

“I’m sort of glad that [religion] exists in a way, because I think it does provide a kind of moral backbone to society… I do think that we are culturally a Christian country, and I think that’s a good thing.”

3. We Are Restored Through Repentance

“If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?”

(Psalm 11:3, ESV)

We remember the promise of 2 Chronicles 7:14:

“If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

(2 Chronicles 7:14, ESV)

The Road Back:

  • Repentant Hearts
  • Rebuilt Homes
  • Revived Communities
  • Restored Country

“America, America, God shed His grace on thee, and crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea.”

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