What Can We Expect From An Empire Of Liberty?

 

“An empire of liberty” was a phrase used by American founding father, drafter and signer of our Declaration of Independence, and third President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson, on at least two documented occasions [1-2] but what sets an empire of liberty apart from all other empires? Most known empires in history from that of Egypt to Rome and later, Arabia in the name of Islam, have conquered by way of force while others while others such as China and Russia have expanded their empires more often by way of subtlety rather than with force all the while the inhabitants of those nations that they have infiltrated remain unaware of their actual intentions which is to eventually subjugate them to their rule and likewise the globalist powers are no different as they too have infiltrated nations with subtlety, including those nations whom they may consider to be rival powers and especially those nations whom they consider to be obstacles and hinderances to the formation of their foretold One World Order, waiting for the right moment and the right crisis that will drive the entire world under their control which once they have fully acquired, will have no intention of ever willingly relinquishing it nor restoring self-governing powers to those nations that they have taken full control of.
 
But an empire of liberty does not seek to conquer by force but rather instead it extends an invitation to as many as are willing to receive the liberty that it offers; it seeks nothing more except to be a light in a world of darkness and to demonstrate by example what this liberty is.
 
But what liberty did Jefferson and other founders of America have in mind? What was the liberty that they wanted to see spread throughout the world? Upon reading the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution the things that might come to mind are a representative government accountable to the populace which grants and is dedicated to the preservation of freedoms such as the free speech, a free press, the freedom of religion and to live one’s life in accordance to their respective faith and conscience, the right to self-defense and to possess the means to do so, to be safe from unreasonable and warrantless searches and seizures, to receive the benefit of a fair and speedy trial when accused of a crime, and the protection of the rights and liberties of all law-abiding citizens regardless of gender, skin-color, nationality, ethnicity, lineage, social or economic status, occupational status, age, religion, political or philosophical leanings.
 
And those who live in a nation in which such freedoms abound may want nothing more than to see an entire world governed by such liberty but it is not so simple of a thing to see it so as the culture of every nation would have to be conditioned to adopt the liberties that America was built upon and that cannot happen by way of simply overthrowing an oppressive and brutal dictatorship or regime; it takes much more and it cannot happen by simply replacing a tyrannical power with a power that is not tyrannical.
 
It is a process that has to take place from the ground up; one person at a time, one household at a time, one neighborhood at a time, one village at a time, one town at a time, once city at a time, one region at a time and one state, territory, or province at a time. It not only requires a change in the political structure and system of that nation in which philosophy of liberty is introduced, it also requires a change in the culture of the people its self which requires in the change of traditions, customs, norms, virtues, philosophy, and even the religion and theology that has shaped and influenced the course of that nation and that is not something that just happens overnight.  It is often a slow and gradual process that can take several generations and such an endeavor is bound to meet fierce resistance and can even be dangerous to those who undertake it as those who do so will inevitably be met with hostility by either the ruling powers or even the people themselves because the establishment of liberty takes more than just a change in governance, or a change in the economic system, or how children are educated, how the media reports its news, or what is affirmed and celebrated in their entertainment.
 
It requires a spiritual change because what a people and nation adopt for their religion, doctrine, theology, and moral values will determine whether they be a free and prosperous people or whether they be a nation and people subjugated to misery and oppression and to what degree.
 
The empire of liberty does not begin with armies or politicians nor with any crafted legislation.  It begins from within each and every one of us for this empire of liberty does not come from man but from a power greater than man.  And it is that power to whom we owe our existence and by which all things were made that were made from whom the liberty sought after and yearned for comes though many seem blind to it as they seek after an external liberty not knowing that the liberties external come forth from that liberty which begins from within for it is from that power that created the heavens and the earth who is the source of liberty and it is He with whom liberty begins.
 
But this empire liberty is not an empire of liberty that takes over what did not possess before, but rather, it is an empire that is taking back what rightfully belongs to it for in the beginning when God, who is the source and provider of our liberty, created the heavens and the earth, all of creation enjoyed a liberty more perfect than any liberty that we have ever experienced since that day before that liberty was taken from us.  For in that day there was perfect uninterrupted fellowship between God and man and perfect peace and harmony between man and nature, but there was one thing forbidden to man and that was a certain fruit from a certain tree called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, being warned that in the day that they should eat of it, they would surely die (Gen. 2:16-17, 3:3) but then a lying spirit, coming in the form of a serpent led mankind to believe that by disobeying that one command of God, that they could obtain an even greater liberty than they had and not only that, that they would be even become like gods. (Gen. 3:4-5) but instead of becoming like gods and more enlightened as the serpent had promised them, they were relegated to a status inferior than the one in which they were first created, and contrary to the serpent’s assurance that they would not die, (Gen. 3:4) the sentence of death was placed upon them as they were warned (Gen. 3:19) for it was in that day that when the first man Adam and the first woman, Eve being the wife of Adam, ate of that forbidden fruit that sin entered into them and from them, the sin which entered into them and brought about their eventual deaths, was also passed down to all of mankind for all of us are descendants of that first man and that first woman and because we are their descendants, we have also inherited the sin that entered into them (Rom. 5:12) and because of that sin which we have inherited, we all sin in some form or fashion and as a consequence we all die for as it is written, the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23) but sin is not merely confined to outward behavior or performance or even the words we speak, but it is rather the inherent inward corruption of our very nature defiling our thoughts, hardening and darkening our hearts, and corrupting our very motives which is why it is written that we are not defiled from that which comes from without, but that which comes from within (Mt. 15:11, 18-20) and which is why it is written that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23) which demands of us nothing less than moral perfection and not just in our outward acts but also in our inward as well which is why it is impossible by our own efforts and our own goodness to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, for sin taints, corrupts, defiles, twists, and distorts more than we can comprehend and the effects of sin are not merely confined to mankind, but all of creation is subjected to a curse because of sin which is why it is written that the entire creation groans and travails in pain to this day (Rom. 8:19-22) but not only that, that wicked and evil spirit who deceived man into eating that forbidden fruit by which sin and death entered into the world, presently claims lordship over all the nations, kingdoms, and empires of the earth, (Mt. 4:8-9, Lk. 4:6-7) which is why he is called the prince of this world (Jn. 12:31, 16:11) and worst of all, because we are born into sin, we are also born estranged from our Creator for that which is in sin cannot be allowed into His presence or into His Kingdom that which is sinful lest Heaven itself be defiled just as the earth has been defiled and a day is coming when sin will reach its full measure and will have to face eventual judgment and that includes all who remain in their sin and they who remain in their sins have nothing to look forward to but a terrifying and everlasting punishment in the never-ending torments and darkness of Hell but there is good news.  And the good news is, is that though the Lord God Almighty be holy and perfect and though He be a God who must, in His holiness, goodness, and righteousness, eventually punish all evil and all wickedness, He is also a God of unmeasurable love and mercy who is not willing that any should perish in their sins and face eternal damnation, but that all would come to repentance, and therefore has done for us what we could never do for ourselves in that He, in His graciousness has purchased redemption on our behalf in Christ Jesus, His only begotten Son, (Jn. 3:16) who came to us in the flesh, (Jn. 1:14) and being without any sin (2 Cor. 5:21) was made that perfect sacrifice (Heb. 7:26-27) that was needed to take away the sins of the world and because of His perfect goodness, He was able to offer Himself up on our behalf to satisfy the demanded penalty for all sin and granting mercy and grace through the shedding of His blood on the cross and after having died, rose again from the dead three days later that we might be justified in Him (Rom. 4:25) if we will but call upon His name so that we might be saved from what would otherwise be a terrifying everlasting punishment if we will but call upon His name (Rom. 10:9, 13) and believe in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead (Rom. 10:9) for it is by calling upon His name in sincere repentance that salvation is granted and our souls made clean from sin thereby liberating us from the threat of eternal damnation and with that cleansing comes a new spiritual transformation (2 Cor. 5:17) that causes us to no longer desire to follow after selfish and worldly pursuits but after those things that pertain to the Kingdom of Heaven,
to no longer take pleasure in those things that are evil and displeasing in the sight of the Lord, but in that which is good, right, and pleasing in His sight,
to no longer desire to walk in the lies of this present world, but only in the truth that comes from Christ Almighty, no longer placing our hopes in the things of this present world, but looking forward to that new and better world to come, (Rev. 21-22)
to no longer rely on worldly resources, men, or even our own power, abilities, skills, and wisdom for our needs and provision but upon God who is able to meet all of our needs, recognizing that the resources of this world and even the people He brings into our lives are but instruments and vessels through which God meets our needs and that the skills, power, knowledge, and wisdom by which we might acquire our provision are provided and instilled in us by God,
to no longer fear what men can do to us, but rather fearing the God before whom we will have to one day give an account for how we lived our lives, (Mt. 10:28)
to no longer look to corruptible institutions within our society for direction and order in our lives but to God who, by His written Word has given us laws and precepts to be applied to our lives and which serve to produce and maintain an ordered life, and who, by His Holy Spirit which comes to dwell within us upon repentance, establishes in our lives a course and direction in our lives to pursue for His glory,
to no longer seek our own glory but the glory of God,
to no longer rally behind corruptible men, but instead behind the incorruptible God in Heaven bearing in mind that those men and women God raises up for our edification are but instruments and servants of His for that respective purpose to which He has called them,
to no longer seek to align ourselves with the things of darkness but only with the things of the light,
to no longer trust in the wisdom of the world but only on the wisdom and knowledge that comes from above, nor depend on corruptible earthly authorities to swiftly administer justice, but only in the power of God to deliver us from evil.
 
And it is this new inward transformation that reconciles us to our Creator (2 Cor. 5:18) from whom we had once been estranged and just as our souls are cleansed from sin and our spirits regenerated in Christ Jesus thereby liberating us from the eternal tormenting punishment that must come upon all who remain in their sins, so one day we look forward to the liberation of our bodies from death itself when our mortal and corruptible forms are transformed into that which is immortal and incorruptible and from that which is imperfect to that which is perfect (1 Cor. 15:51-55, 1 Thess. 4:13-18) and lastly, creation itself will be delivered from the curse placed upon it because of sin when it is made into a new and better world (Rev. 21-22) and liberated from the hand of our adversary Satan, who presently claims dominion, when he is given his final sentence and cast into an everlasting tormenting fire prepared for him and his followers (Mt. 25:41, Rev. 20:10-15) and in that new world which will be made, there will be no sin, no death, no decay, nor any curse, nor any evil, or violence, suffering, misery, grief, sorrow, mourning, pain, or hardship of any sort for all of these will pass away with this present world.  Instead, there will only be light, life, happiness, joy, contentment, peace, and rest before the Lord God Almighty which is that perfect liberty to which we must look and place our hope in because it will be an everlasting liberty never to be stolen from us again like it had been stolen from us in the garden where that first act of disobedience took place which had cost man that perfect liberty for by subtlety and deceit did that spirit and source of tyranny and oppression beguiled mankind out of his perfect liberty through granting the illusion of a greater freedom, a counterfeit freedom which only estranged man from God, subjected him to a corrupted nature, sentenced him to death, placed him under the threat of eternal damnation, brought the entire creation under a curse, and empowered the source of all tyranny, darkness, oppression, evil, suffering, hardship, pain, grief, sorrow, and misery of every sort to claim lordship over all the nations, kingdoms, and empires, tribes, kindreds, and tongues and there is not a place in the world this day, that has not been influenced or infiltrated in some in some way by this evil spirit who is lord over all tyrannical powers and who has for ages waged war against the Lord God of Heaven and earth ever since he attempted to claim equality with God and claim a status not rightfully given to him and for claiming that which was not given him, he was cast out of the position that he once held before the throne of God in Heaven (Is. 14:11-21, Ezek. 28:12-19) and ever since he rebelled against God, he has been claiming that which has never rightfully belonged to him in Christ Almighty, everything that was stolen from us by that serpent who is that fallen cherub called Lucifer now known as Satan or the Devil is destined to be restored to us in Christ Jesus in whom there is restored fellowship with God, deliverance from eternal damnation, the abolishing of death, the reclaiming of the earth from which Satan will be cast and receive his final sentence, and the liberation of all of creation from the curse upon it.
 
The empire of liberty over which Christ is King, seeks only the well-being of its subjects without favoritism or prejudice.
It does not operate by way of guile or deceit, but only in truth and in the truth upon which liberty is founded and it does not feel the need to silence the lying tongues by force for it is confident that the lies and falsehoods preached will be thoroughly discredited.
It makes good on every promise it makes and offers no allusions.
It does not seek to take what does not rightfully belong to it, but only to take back what it rightfully owns which is everything for the God of our liberty is the Creator and Maker of all things but when there be those who choose not to be a part of this empire, it will not stop them from leaving, nor will it force any to join its ranks.
 
The empire of tyranny on the other hand through subtlety and deceit offers only an illusion of freedom by which people are led into a captivity, bondage, and oppression they were seeking to avoid.  It lulls its subjects into a false sense of security and blinds them to the final destruction to which they are being led.
It makes promises that it never intends to keep.
It may appear to have the best interests of its subjects at heart but in reality seeks only its own interests to the misery and detriment over those whom it rules and it may render temporal benefits and pleasures to those whom it favors and uses to advance its own ambitions but after it has done with what is needed with them, will discard them as trash.
It takes through both subtlety, trickery, fraud, manipulation, fear, lies, threats, intimidation, and force that which does not belong to it and always by force, it will retain that which it has taken for the spirit who is lord over all dark, wicked, and tyrannical powers is the father of lies, and a murderer (Jn. 8:44) and he is called the thief who comes to steal, kill, and destroy (Jn. 10:10)
 
By way of his lies, the prince of this world blinds, poisons minds, and hardens hearts against the way, the truth, and the life (Jn. 14:6) by whom we are set free when we embrace His truth which is Christ Jesus. In his wickedness, Satan suppresses and hides the truth of God from all who might otherwise embrace it.  With false promises, he entraps souls into darkness, misery, oppression, and eternal damnation.  He lulls with temporal pleasures and comforts, feigned benevolence, soothing but lying words into a false sense of security unsuspecting multitudes into a darkness, misery, despair, and destruction to which they were blind and oblivious to or in denial of, all the while promising a satisfaction that he never fulfills.
 
And when he cannot keep hidden the truth that sets free (Jn. 8:32) nor anything that might lead those whom he holds captive to that liberating truth, and when he cannot discredit in their minds the redemptive message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ with his cleverly devised arguments and elaborate slanders, and when he cannot tempt the servants of God into sin and thereby discredit their testimony and profession of faith, and when he cannot distract them with the cares and worries of life and divert them with the temporal pleasures and affairs of this present world from the things of God and with expanding the Kingdom of Heaven through the preaching of the Gospel, and when he cannot lead the saints astray with lies and falsehoods designed to lead them away from doctrinal purity and even an eventual departure from the faith itself, and when he cannot lull them into a state of laziness and complacency nor discourage them with adversity and hardship to cause them to be apathetic, and when he cannot lead the Church of God to tolerate and affirm those things sinful, he will threaten, intimidate, and violently persecute the people of God for their service and devotion to Christ and what he cannot destroy by force, he will attempt to infiltrate, corrupt, and destroy from within and the closer to the end of his reign upon the earth comes, the harder and more desperate he will fight to retain his captives and the power he has in the world but eventually, his empire of darkness, misery, suffering, evil, hardship, and oppression will come to an end and be destroyed by the empire of perfect liberty which will crush and annihilate the empires of both men and devils and it is this Kingdom that will have no end.
 
This empire of liberty began its greatest advancements when Jesus died for the sins of the world and was raised again from the dead so that anyone believing only in Him for their salvation will not perish into eternal damnation but be cleansed of their sin and granted eternal life even though they may still be subject to bodily death until the resurrection of all the dead in Christ and the catching up of the saints who remain alive when He returns for us; this empire seeking to change first from within rather than without for it is when liberty enters into us that we began to experience its outward manifestations as more are persuaded to receive this inward liberty; that liberty which frees from eternal damnation by way of the forgiveness of sins and which instills in us to desire nothing more except to serve and please the God of our redemption and liberty in everything that we do and we expand this spiritual liberty and heavenly empire by preaching the good news of redemption in Jesus Christ and making disciples of Him and servants of Almighty God of all who are willing to trust in and receive this Gospel of salvation and the more receive it the greater the light of that empire of liberty becomes for as more persons are drawn to it, the more will take this light that has entered into them into their homes and the more households are converted, the more neighborhoods will come under the service of Almighty God, and the more neighborhoods turn to God in repentance and commit themselves to walking in His truth and in His ways, the greater His light will shine in every village, in every community, town, and city, and the more cities join themselves to this Heavenly Kingdom from which liberty begins, the more counties, territories, provinces, and states this empire expands throughout, the better able that is able to influence and direct the course of any given nation and every sector of society.
 
It will have an impact on not only the course of each life, but also the stability of every household and community, how business is conducted, how the private sector is operated, how education is taught, how news is reported, what is celebrated and affirmed by our entertainment industry, and what manner of governance that nation and people are under.
 
And when a nation embraces Jesus Christ as Lord, King, and God and commits itself to walking in His ways and in His truth and then spreading that truth throughout the rest of the world by both word and deed, it is then it truly becomes a light to the world and a city on a hill shining its light in the midst of a dark and evil world.
 
That is the vision that Puritan Leader John Winthrop had for New England: A land whose God is the Lord of Heaven and earth:
 
 
We shall find that the God of Israel is among us,
when ten of us shall be able to resist a thousand of our enemies ;
when he shall make us a praise and glory that men shall say of succeeding plantations, “ The Lord make it likely that of New England .”
For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill . The
eyes of all people are upon us. [3]
 
 
But he likely never dreamed that the city on a hill would span from sea to shining sea but as one French statesman, Alexis De Tocqueville, best known for his work, Democracy In America, reportedly discovered in his day, what made America a city upon a hill shining in the darkness was not her economy, her schools, her private sector, nor even government but something from which they derived their greatness, prosperity, honor, and respectability.
 
It was not even found within our founding documents but rather in something that inspired the writing and implementation of our founding documents:
 
 
“ I went at your bidding, and passed along their thoroughfares of trade. I ascended their mountains and went down their valleys. I visited their manufactories, their commercial markets, and emporiums of trade. I entered their judicial courts and legislative halls. But I sought everywhere in vain for the secret of their success, until I entered the church. It was there, as I listened to the soul-equalizing and soul-elevating principles of the Gospel of Christ, as they fell from Sabbath to Sabbath upon the masses of the people, that I learned why America was great and free, and why France was a slave.” [4]
 
 
 
Though whether the above cited statement was ever said by Tocqueville is debatable, it would nevertheless be consistent with the special attention he does undeniably give to the role of religion in the forming and shaping of America and guiding the course thereof in his two-volume work, Democracy In America.  In volume one, he stated:
 
 
Religion perceives that civil liberty affords a
noble exercise to the faculties of man, and that the
political world is a field prepared by the Creator
for the efforts of the intelligence . Contented with
the freedom and the power which it enjoys in its
own sphere, and with the place which it occupies,
the empire of religion is never more surely esta
blished than when it reigns in the hearts of men
unsupported by aught beside its native strength
 
Religion is no less the companion of liberty in
all its battles and its triumphs ; the cradle of its in
fancy, and the divine source of its claims . The safe
guard of morality is religion , and morality is the best
security of law, and the surest pledge of freedom'. [5]
 
 
 
But Winthrop also issued this warning:
 
 
…if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken , and so cause him to with draw his present help from us, we shall be made a story and a by word through the world. We shall open the mouths of enemies to speak evil of the ways of God, and all professors for God's sake.
We shall shame the faces of many of God's worthy servants, and cause their prayers to be turned into curses upon us till we be consumed out of the good land whither we are agoing. [6]
 
 
And as founding father and second President of the United States, John Adams, who was also a signer of our Declaration of Independence noted:
 
 
we have no government, armed with power, capable
of contending with human passions, unbridled by
morality and religion.
[7]
 
 
And further warning:
 
 
While our country remains untainted with the principles and manners which are now producing desolation in so many parts of the world ; while she continues sincere , and incapable of insidious and impious policy, we shall have the strongest reason torejoice in the local destination assigned us by Providence.
 
But should the people of America once become capable of that deep simulation towards one
another, and towards foreign nations, which assumes the language of justice and moderation , while it is
practising iniquity and extravagance, and displays in the most captivating manner the charming pictures
of candour, frankness, and sincerity, while it is rioting in rapine and insolence, this country will be the
most miserable habitation in the world…
 
Avarice, ambition , revenge and licentiousness would break the strongest cords of our Constitution, as a
whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other. [8]
 
 
But we, under the great and strong delusion of thinking that we could have greater freedom and greater equality than that which is has been our source of liberty and equality have increasingly rejected and abandoned that God who is the source of true liberty and equality, and honest justice to begin with and in turning against Him, we have also rejected His laws, moral standards, counsels, precepts, and guidance and have place our faith and trust in lesser things subject to failure, disappointment, corruption, and treachery and find ourselves beset with the very corruption, injustices, inequalities, chaos, misery, and oppression that we had sought to avoid and as one notable commentator had once said years ago:
 
 
 
we've systematically have attempted to remove God
from our schools, our public activities, but then at the moment we have
a calamity we wonder where He was...It's far more than just taking
prayer or Bible reading out of the schools; its the fact that people
sue a city so that we aren't confronted with a manger scene or Christmas carol,
and lawsuits are filed to remove a cross that's a memorial to fallen soldiers.
Churches and Christian owned businesses are told to surrender their values
under the edict of government orders to provide tax funded abortion pills.
We carefully and intentionally stop saying things are sinful and we call them disorders;
sometimes, we even say they're normal, and to get to where we
have to abandon bedrock moral truths: then we're asked, 'Well, where was God?'
And I respond that as I see it, we've escorted Him right out of our culture
and we've marched Him off the public square, and then we express
our surprise that a culture without Him actually reflects what it's become. [9]
 
 
 
And if the Deuteronical blessings should apply to us in any way shape, form, or fashion, if we will but turn away from our sins, earnestly seek the face of our Creator once more, receive His offer of forgiveness and redemption in Jesus Christ in whom salvation, redemption, and spiritual transformation are found, submit to His authority, His laws, morals, precepts, and guidance, and dedicate ourselves to His service above all else as they also applied to the people of Israel in the days of Moses, (Deut. 28:1-14) should also not then the Deuteronical curses and punishments also be equally applied to us as to them if we persist in the rejection of our Creator, His mercy, love, forgiveness, and continue taking pleasure in the things that He has declared to be sinful and which are evil in His eyes? (Deut. 28:15-68)
 
As the Lord God had spoken through the prophet Jeremiah to the people of Israel in his day, so He also says the same to us:
 
 
At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it; If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them.  And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it; If it do evil in my sight that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good wherewith I said I would benefit them. (Jer. 18:7-10)
 
 
A choice remains before us today and before every man, woman, and child just as that same choice was placed before the first man Adam and the first woman Eve being the ancestors of all mankind:
 
 
Life or death
Good or evil
Light or darkness
Truth or falsehood
Wisdom or foolishness
Holiness or sinfulness
Purity or corruption
Righteousness or unrighteousness
Order or chaos
Liberty or oppression
Angels or demons
God or Satan
Heaven or Hell
Salvation or damnation
 
 
What do you reader choose? If you have not done so already and choose redemption, love, mercy, and forgiveness and salvation, and to be on the side of life, light, liberty, and all that is good and right, that I would urge you to call upon the name of the Lord Jesus for the forgiveness of sins so that you may be made a member of His everlasting empire of liberty and a perfect liberty at that and also a citizen of the Heavenly Kingdom which will be joined to that that new and better world that is to come.  It is but a sincere prayer of repentance away:
 
 
 
"Lord Jesus I need you.
 
 
I realize that I am a sinner
who has fallen short of the glory of God
and that my goodness falls short
of your standard of Moral perfection.
 
Please forgive me of all of my sins.
Come into my heart and into my life
to be the Savior and Lord of my life.
Make me into the servant and follower
that you want me to be.
In your name Lord Jesus, I pray.
 
 
Amen."
 
 
Know that God is not concerned with the words that you use to call upon Him forgiveness, but with the attitude of your heart and if you have, with all sincerity, have asked Christ to forgive you of your sins, placing your trust in Him only for your salvation and in nothing else, then your sins are forgiven and your place in Heaven is certain.
 
 
 
End notes:
 
 
 
1.  “Thomas Jefferson to James Madison,” 27 April 1809
https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/03-01-02-0140
 
2. “From Thomas Jefferson to George Rogers Clark,” 25 December 1780
https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-04-02-0295
 
3.  John Winthrop; A Model of Christian Charity, “A Library Of American Literature From The Earliest Settlement To The Present Time Vol I,” pg. 307; Compiled and edited by Edmund Clarence Stedman and Ellen Mackay Hutchinson in eleven volumes; New-York Charles L. Webster & Company, 1892
https://books.googleusercontent.com/books/content?req=AKW5QacdgamGVRVIrz6VpTNic0oeKlyhct2Ec3XdA7vWHTiUjlZxerMeOPRVF-tJxnj9x7CdmcwSAMLD2OVGtwQX04aQC2j4rqbiWX-0IFrMNrlYt4kDbUnVZOmYsJpsGlsZFMTxn6Aj-dvhLmDXi9A2ELax7ezYGI0vHiu5U1k04udXLFfDnh5UNiuEKiAOor2vADDOO7CWoLs0KKxzdtEugNFGWN7_SPlF_ODuzBlVgDI-nycOI-9C5Aokzg361RMofrmRGOTy9TpEGdpcA7u9iwXI83ZsR65gPO770H-AZVimTExISng
 
[If the PDF link does not work, click on this link.]
https://books.google.com/books?id=ugg6AQAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=A+Library+of+American+Literature:+Early+colonial+literature,+1607-1675&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CB4Q6AEwAGoVChMIhZWrxaGAxwIVzIsNCh1Fzg42#v=onepage&q=A%20Library%20of%20American%20Literature%3A%20Early%20colonial%20literature%2C%201607-1675&f=false
 
4. Madison Clinton Peters, “Empty Pews & Selections from Other Sermons on Timely Topics,” pg. 35, Philadelphia A. T. Zeising & Co. , Printers And Publishers, December, 1886
https://books.googleusercontent.com/books/content?req=AKW5Qafon2XrslMRJTbIN4oM-t88XPg1wkgy4WihcVQ_sjDyCFRr-IuG5o9DixvCNzyrLbJmMbf4y6oGxkGvI0zk9b7gUIehry-kqK7aGEkjjNO2vj17GcajdIvWaantZI--OSAPfbetvUrR9m9q8tQlaU59iwGHD8F1h6I49lLnCDRzo3TFsuJJjYQp6dS6XfG5w9Gp6_j7yzyi3EyhMEs8nIApwvjItNAQsznI4YyTBUjQE7THuShMWe0vdwxUTGhoB_iGpSvnE7aVmaFJQ6bO6nZDkFt2RnQF5I8u732alBj489smzPo
 
[If the PDF link does not work, click on this link]
https://www.google.com/books/edition/Empty_Pews_Selections_from_Other_Sermons/f54PAAAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0
 
5. Alexis De Tocqueville, “Democracy In America Volume I,” pp. 26-46, Translated by Henry Reeve, Esq., Saunders & Oatley, London, 1835
https://books.googleusercontent.com/books/content?req=AKW5QadafhgWas9ejbEcZqVPreL01R44-PxQTylm-Nj8qYDwnoS-C-quE0ZIPTNcLMryv9C22FWtk9_oae_7fbv0AoZjSbhh4O1ozq7qv9v4r43HvBo8N9FYwm0rlDcqdN37akOvQzP9_bpJ728rbbnOObn_7eJeswMlY4g6KvvZgSrQdGJ5xAPOlMMBaOAXej9GNQDVhKEnIrBD0ap-lCMI8qxfbrXlw2zXFVyFlcCfpVA3rZMGYVqL9Ym4OGVY-obfK0UAHI0bwX_XJAs7MaR8GRVyGp4XHtbUjSAr2WuDkaL8mDhYQBw
 
[If the PDF link does not work, click on this link]
https://www.google.com/books/edition/Democracy_in_America/-b5LAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0
 
6.  Winthrop, pg. 307
 
7. Cited correspondence between John Adams and William Hull contained in “Revolutionary Services And Civil Life Of General William Hull,” pp. 265-266; prepared from his manuscripts by his daughter, Mrs. Maria Campbell together with The History Of The Campaign Of 1812 And Surrender Of The Post Of Detroit by his grandson, James Freeman Clarke; New York, D. Appleton & Co and Geo S. Appleton, Philadelphia; Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year of our Lord 1847 by E. F. Campbell in the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Southern District of New York
https://books.googleusercontent.com/books/content?req=AKW5QadJBC49fyEZ6C35V_y4tFNUtBKScQAOklPZWlBSbZ-f17vA_3C5gVfd_dpU6RL2z0ZebAhMvYy5YKjL2HqgQf4Xb2X6X7dIb8bF6yHkMKCDm0kNm2RvjgxmN_dV1pSrLf17ksdc6I3I1gMyM_IedtYRhC6XCogsCR74CMnfcHL46MpsBhjczyQRUtnxGuk16FsYck-hK_bapQtvq-gZwshVq92_f_jvG9W-vKk0uonTDKYsn6XGhAlEISa8HgsQidmJKejiJl1wBG9OtgQqo3FM2PXXzftdWkPCycBRGmLnTxdY8Bk
 
[If the PDF link does not work, click on this link]
https://books.google.co.in/books?id=43oEAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Revolutionary+Services+and+Civil+Life+of+General+William+Hull&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiu9Ij3vajiAhUJSN8KHTJiCbAQ6AEIKjAA#v=onepage&q=Revolutionary%20Services%20and%20Civil%20Life%20of%20General%20William%20Hull&f=false
 
8. Ibid.
 
9. Mike Huckabee in response to Neil Cavuto’s question, “Where was God?” during the terrible Sandy Hook elementary school shooting that took place in December of 2012; air date: December 15, 2012
http://video.foxnews.com/v/2038135300001/huckabee-where-was-god/?#sp=show-clips
 
 
 
Scripture references:
 
 
 
1.  Genesis 2:16-17
 
2.  Genesis 3:3
 
3.  Genesis 3:4-5
 
4.  Genesis 3:19
 
5.  Romans 5:12
 
6.  Romans 6:23
 
7.  Matthew 15:11, 18-20
 
8.  Romans 3:23
 
9.  Romans 8:19-22
 
10.  Matthew 4:8-9
 
11.  Luke 4:6-7
 
12.  John 12:31
 
13.  John 16:11
 
14. 2 Peter 3:9
 
15.  John 3:16
 
16.  John 1:14
 
17.  2 Corinthians 5:21
 
18.  Hebrews 7:26-27
 
19.  Romans 4:25
 
20.  Romans 10:9, 13
 
21.  2 Corinthians 5:17
 
22.  Revelation 21-22
 
23.  Matthew 10:28
 
24.  2 Corinthians 5:18
 
25.  1 Corinthians 51:51-55
 
26.  1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
 
27.  Matthew 25:41
 
28.  Revelation 20:10-15
 
29.  Isaiah 14:11-21
 
30.  Ezekiel 28:12-19
 
31.  John 8:14
 
32.  John 10:10
 
33.  John 14:6
 
34.  John 8:32
 
35.  Deuteronomy 28:1-14
 
36.  Deuteronomy 28:15-68
 
37.  Jeremiah 18:7-10