Zach’s Theological Musings

  From the American Declaration of Independence:

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.

  “All men are created equal“: I’m not sure of the intentions of the founding fathers, but certainly this phrase can be understood in a Biblically supported way. For example,

Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned… Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. Romans 5:12-18

For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all. Romans 11:32

There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. Romans 3:23-24

  All men are equally born as sinners in their father Adam. And all men are in need of the grace, truth, and life that only comes, for all men, through Jesus Christ. So far so good. But it seems that what the founding fathers were getting at was something quite different.

  “[T]hey are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights“: Hmm, unalienable Rights? UNALIENABLE RIGHTS! And anyone who should try to alienate me from these God-given rights is going to be confronted by the musket and the sword!? Now at this point we are starting to sound very American, and very unBiblical.

  Now, I am willing to acknowledge that it is self-evident that from the founding of this country, Americans haved loved their RIGHTS more than anything else. But is it really self-evident that the Creator has bestowed upon mankind certain unalienable Rights (note the capital “R” in the original)? No, at least to my self it is not at all evident. And indeed I don’t recall reading about these unalienable Rights anywhere in God’s recorded Word to mankind.

  “[T]hat among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness“: No. Allow me to be direct for a moment: No! I’m sorry, but no. You and I do not have God-given, unalienable Rights to Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. According to Genesis 1-4 and all that follows, sons of Adam can only claim a “Right” to death, slavery, futility, and misery.

  A God-given Right to life? Funny thing, it seems self-evident to me that God has granted death authority to crush every man who ever lived.

  An unalienable Right to Liberty? Nope! Every one of us is born a slave to sin, with no Right in ourselves to freedom. Moreover, many people will be born into literal, physical slavery, and even if the system be displeasing to God, He has made no promise that the slaves will be set free in this life (I Cor 7:21).

  And the pursuit of Happiness? Well, given the sinful bent under which all men were created equal, any “Right” to pursue happiness on your own terms is amounts to nothing more than a “Right” to partake of the fruit of futility and misery.

  Does that make it OK to kill, to enslave, and to thwart another’s pursuit of happiness? No, because we don’t have those rights either! You don’t have the right to life, but I don’t have the right to kill you either. You don’t have the right to liberty, but I don’t have the right to steal your body as property either. You don’t have the right to pursue happiness however you wish, but I don’t have the right to quench your happiness however I wish either.

  My dear American brothers and sisters in Christ, I pray that you would join with me in the joyous discovery that by birth you have no God-given rights at all! None whatsoever. No rights! Not the Constitution, not the Bill of Rights, nothing! No rights! None! Except for death and slavery of course.

  I say that this is a joyous discovery. Apart from Christ it would not be joyous. It would still be TRUE that you and I have no God-given rights. But there wouldn’t be much cause for celebration in that. But in Christ we have become recipients of grace and mercy. Not rights. God didn’t owe us the cross. We had no right to the gospel. We didn’t even have any rightful claim to partake of God’s covenantal blessings to Abraham, especially as Gentiles. But we received these things any way. Not as a right. But as an unwarranted, unmerited, undeserved gift.

  Not by birth, and not by right, but In Christ God has made us many great and glorious promises. In a very unAmerican way, God has promised us not a republic, but a Kingdom. HIS kingdom, where He reigns as the good, loving, gracious, just, righteous, benevolent king over those who have submitted to His eternal dominion (no term limits) over all areas of their lives.

  With all due respect, I’m sorry Thomas Jefferson, but I hear your words as the mere opinions of mankind. For in the course of human events Nature’s God, The Self-Evident One, has presented us with what we might call The Declaration of Dependence: “Apart from Me [Jesus] you can do nothing” (John 15:5). So before King Jesus I renounce any real or imagined rights, and direct my happiness to the only pursuit that satisfies: glorifying God by enjoying Him forever.