This sermon is from the Rev. Charles G. Dennison sermon archive, part of the “Misc. Hebrews sermons” series, and was preached at Grace Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Sewickley, PA, during a worship service on Sunday, November 17, 1976.

Let’s pray. Our Father, we thank you that the Word is sown, as well as grain. We thank you, our Father, that we have the benefit of that Word day by day, as well as our daily bread. And we ask, Father, that we would see that everything comes from your hand, the grain that is sown, the word that is given. And may we delight in your word as much as we delight in our bread. For Jesus’ sake, amen.

We’ve heard a great deal about our 1776, about the year 1776 and its importance during this bicentennial year, and to all of us, to be sure, that bicentennial celebration is very important. And the year 1776 is very important to all of us. And during this year, it might even be more appropriate for us to think about 1776 now, rather than in July, because now we are approaching our annual Thanksgiving. We’ve listened to the rhapsodies on America. Some of them have been good, some of them not so good.

To many of them we could add a resounding amen, and we could look at the many, many blessings that we have as a people in this land. Certainly we are all blessed by the words of the refrain of our national anthem when it speaks of us being in the land of the free. I’m not always sure about the home of the brave, but wonderfully we do have many personal freedoms. Politically, the right, the freedom to vote. Economically, the right to own property. Spiritually, we have the right to pursue our faith according to our conscience, and in our particular case, as we are bound by the word of God.

There weren’t any state marshals standing outside the doors this morning barring our entrance. We didn’t have to announce this meeting secretly. There isn’t anyone here taking notes or taping my message in order to bring charges against me before the state government. My sermon isn’t being wiretapped.

But I think in the midst of all the rhapsodies on America that we’ve heard this year, they are indeed beautiful. Speaking of all of our blessings, an appropriate question needs to be asked. Whence the blessings, my friends? Where did the blessings come from? What is the root of our blessings. I think we might look at a particular year in our history to find the answer to that question, but I am not so sure that it is 1776. There are many that are asking us We being Christians who take a look at 1776 to see that as the foundation, as the root, the source of the blessings that we enjoy. We are being told that that is the proper focal point of our attention.

Many who are asking us to do that are what we call humanists. Now, what do I mean by a humanist? Simply, a humanist is one who says that man is the measure of all things, that he finds within himself the resources to determine for himself his own direction, and within himself the power, the responsibility, and the freedom to assign values. to the things that he sees around him and to the experiences that he has, without any reference or without any regard to anything personally that is outside of himself, particularly God. Man is the measure of all things, and one noted humanist a very important humanist in our country, has asked us to look at the American Revolution and the period of the revolution, 1776 and those years around that year, as a period in which people on the face of the earth for the first time effected an escape in the name of humanity, hallelujah, from tyranny in the name of God.

We see in the Revolution the conclusion of the Renaissance. What had begun in the Renaissance was completed wonderfully in the American Revolution because now, finally, men could stand free from all kinds of institutional oppression that had bound them through the centuries.

That freedom was not just simply political and governmental. That freedom was religious and ecclesiastical. No longer would men be bound by the ancient feudal systems that dominated them in their lives. From birth to death, no longer would men be oppressed intellectually by the tyranny of the clergy. The American Revolution brought freedom in a way that is much more than just political freedom.

The ancient hierarchy The priestly caste had crumbled, and now the power resident in them was disseminated into the hands of men whom history, not God, whom history and science had freed. In the community, it wasn’t now so much that everybody bowed down in front of the figure of the pastor, the preacher, or the priest. The power was now in the hands not of the clergy, but the liars, the doctors, the merchants, the working men. And bluntly, theology and God ceased to occupy the mind of people as it pertained to the affairs of life.

Even in New England, That last barrier where God was still honored and lip service was paid to the theocracy, even in New England, unique in the colonial situation, even there the walls gave way to the onslaught of secular humanism. And upon the scene there arose a new man, Not a man like Jonathan Winthrop. Not a man like Jonathan Edwards. Maybe even a new John, heralding a new age out by the waters of his Jordan. A new man, epitomized best in John Adams. chronicling a newer world, the newest, the latest, which public television has been sure to tell us in this bicentennial year.

Well, we are being asked to believe that 1776 is the focal point. And that year is the year that marks the arising of our blessings as a people. And you know, it’s interesting that Christians have even now begun to echo what the humanists have said. The humanists have asked us to look at 1776 as the most important year. Christians have said, all right, we’ll look at it and we’ll claim it as our own. We’ll say that 1776 is a unique event, especially in the history of Christianity, because of the contributions of Christians to the events of those days. 1776 really is responsible for our blessings as a people, and we as Christians are responsible for 1776.

And when they take this route, our Christian brethren, what they tell us is, now you look at the man who had the most influence in the days prior to and even in the revolutionary situation. They were Christians. We think of John Locke, whose political ideas were incorporated into the revolution itself. We think of Jonathan Edwards, who took a stand against what he considered to be the tyranny of conformity. espoused by the churches of Europe. We think of Jonathan Witherspoon and his contributions to the American revolutionary scene. It is contended then that these men were most responsible for the revolution, and each one was a Christian. Taking Witherspoon as a case in point, we all know that Witherspoon was a Presbyterian clergyman.

He was the only clergyman to sign the Declaration of Independence. But we must recognize that in these days, people were not really listening to Philadelphia. They weren’t really listening to the political platform. The platform that they were listening to, so the argument goes, was the pulpit. the platform that had been established at the very beginning of this nation and that was the platform that Witherspoon used to preach his doctrine of revolution against the British crown.

It was because of Witherspoon’s effect that the revolution was a success because it was through Witherspoon and men like him using the pulpit that the power of the revolution reached the people who had to support it to joining the army or giving money, little as they have. Well, I think a good case can be presented for the truthfulness of this contention, that indeed, to a large extent, Christians were responsible for 1776.

But I think it is highly questionable whether it should be said that this is the source of our blessings as a nation. And I say this because, you see, what happened in the revolutionary day was such a mixed bag. It was such a combination of iron and clay. It was such a combination of gold and things that couldn’t be alloyed with gold.

You see, these men that I’ve mentioned, Locke, Edwards, Witherspoon, indeed were Christians. that there were men who were trying to fight in a world that was controlled by the Enlightenment mind, and invariably they made compromises with that Enlightenment mind. And they said to those who were even outside the fold of grace, outside of the Church of Jesus Christ, we have common ground with you in the affairs of nature. And when it comes to government, we can agree, even though we might not agree on points of theology. Here was common ground, they said, upon which we could then endeavor to proceed on a common cause of revolution and revolt. Believer and unbeliever together, both mentioning the name of God, the name of God appears in those documents.

Was it the same thing for Jefferson as it was for Witherspoon? Was Witherspoon compromising when he allowed that name to be put in there and there was no credit given to the fact that the God that he meant was the God and Father of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ? Jesus doesn’t appear. What kind of God is it that is not the God and Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? Is he any God at all? He is no God. He doesn’t exist. There is no such thing.

Witherspoon thought he had common ground. The God of Jefferson was the deistic God, the impersonal deity somewhere out there, who had set the world in motion much like you would wind a clock up. And then he let it run down, and men were pretty much on their own.

Is it really the Christian influence that comes to the fore in 1776 from these men? Or is it really the spirit of the Enlightenment? The ground of the Enlightenment, the assumptions of the Enlightenment, in which they felt that they could agree with these men who had no particular faith in Jesus Christ whatsoever.

I think the proof of the pudding is in the results, and I know by saying these things that I am taking definitely exception to many thoughts that have been expressed, and the thoughts that were expressed recently in the National Presbyterian Reform Fellowship meeting at Geneva College on October 3rd. Let’s look at the results. Was it really the Christianity of Witherspoon and Edwards and Locke that was victorious following the days of the Revolution? Was it really that which was victorious, or was it a philosophical concept, ideology stripped of Christ that really surfaced as the victor in the public forum, in the public domain? where the affairs of culture, where the affairs of life were being managed.

I think that it is undeniable that what was victorious was a general religion. A general religion palatable to all of the people. How can we then mention Jesus Christ in any definitive way if we are interested in a general religion, a religion that proves to be the least common denominator among all of the people, a religion that in the end proves to be a democratic faith of the people, by the people, and for the people? This general religion is insipid, it is tasteless and it is contentless, and in the end it has no meaning.

Jesus Christ as Savior from sin is shelved, Jesus Christ as the divine Son of God, equal with the Father in power and glory, is put in a closet. And in the next century we reap the benefits. Then the cults arise. They come to the fore, and in every one of those cults there is an attack upon the deity of Jesus Christ, and the fact that he is the Savior of men from sin. We have reaped the benefit of it. indeed in the churchly circles, but we have reached the benefit of it in public life as well.

For now we have the general religion of the politicians and the official religion of public functions, and this religion is emptied of the person of Jesus Christ as saviour of men from sin. and as the divine Son of God equal with the Father in glory and in power.

A high school student is sitting in his graduation service. He has been taught by his mother and father that the only way to God is through Jesus Christ, but this is a public function. He’s delighted that his pastor has been invited to offer the prayer at the beginning of the service.

But he is dismayed as the prayer progresses, because he realizes that here in the public forum the name of Jesus cannot be mentioned, and so there is no mention of Jesus in the prayer. He’s been taught as a child that prayer in Jesus’ name is the only kind of prayer that comes to the Father, because Jesus is the only mediator between God and man. And now as the prayer concludes, there is no mention of Jesus’ name.

Jesus is forgotten, even by this man who is part of the clergy that now is in an official public function. Jesus is in a closet. A young pastor is invited to pray at the opening of a freeholders meeting in the state of New Jersey. That young minister gets up and he prays about Jesus Christ, how Jesus Christ has been committed as the Lord of heaven and earth now in these latter days, and all men must recognize his authority. how he is the savior from sin, how that men are accountable to him in the actions that they perform, even in the realm of public affairs.

And he closes that prayer in Jesus’ name, and in five years of his ministry, he is never asked to return to pray again. Jesus Christ in the public forum has become a public embarrassment. And we even now have to pass laws to keep him out of public life, and especially our public schools.

You see, I don’t believe for a moment that 1776 is the year. And if you’ve noticed the announced title of the sermon this morning, I think you know which year I mean. You see, our glory as the people of God is not 1776, it’s 1620. That’s the year. I was here with the people, that God would bless.

And here became evident the reasons why he would left. How many were there? A million, twenty million, two hundred million as there are today. There were a hundred and two of them, and within three months they were cut in half. There was only fifty left.

And I’m saying to you this morning, it’s because of that 102 and that 50 that were left that we are blessed today. That’s what I’m saying. I’m saying that we as a nation are riding on the coattails of the pilgrims. The light that shone in them is shining today as dimly as it might be shining in the night time that is around us. And because of that we continue. And because of that we have prosperity. And only because of that, because these people were the recipients of God’s grace. And Jesus Christ would never be an embarrassment to them, even if they were penning a public document Even if they were starting a school. Even if they were holding a town meeting. What a unique group of people they were.

They were not revolutionaries even though they were expats. They were driven out of England in 1608 by James I, three years before the King James Bible came on the market. They had to go to home. They were pastored there by John Robinson. They weren’t perfectly content there because of certain problems, so they looked for a home elsewhere. They received a grant from James himself. the man that had driven them out, and they thanked him for it.

They weren’t revolutionaries, they weren’t rebels. All you have to do is read the Mayflower Compact and you know that. They recognized the authority of the king and they were willing to be submissive to it. He started out in September It was late in the year for sailing the Atlantic. They were tossed about. Some died. They arrived early November.

And I’m saying in this little group of exiles, we have the reason, as well as the year, that provides us with the source of our blessing even today from God Almighty. These people were pious and godly folk, and they had a first-hand knowledge of the gospel, and they had that in an experiential way. They knew what it was like to be saved.

To take out of the gospel the Saviorhood of Christ from sin, never! That was their life! They could never do it! And that meant they had an incredible appreciation for grace, for they were saved only by God’s grace and God’s grace alone. Such a Christ could never be taken out of their lives.

And these people were people who lived by the law of love, contrary to what so many people say about them today. They were not heartless in their severity. They were gracious in their love, and they demonstrated that a few years later when Winthrop arrived with the Puritans. They didn’t quite agree with the Puritans. The Puritans wanted to stay in the Church of England. The Pilgrims were separatists. But they opened their arms to the Pilgrims, and they welcomed them, and they loved them. Everybody brings up Roger Williams. Roger Williams has become the champion of the humanists.

Why was he driven out of Massachusetts? Why did he himself become an exile? Was it over a religious matter like baptism? No, it wasn’t over that question at all. It was because Roger Williams said that God has nothing to do with the civil magistrates. Do you think a pilgrim or a Puritan could accept a doctrine like that? Never.

The pilgrims were heartless, we are told, because they persecuted the Quakers. What images we get of the Quakers, these peaceful, ironic folk? You know what they taught? They taught the doctrine of the inner light that pretty much said you could throw your Bible away. And in their strongest expressions, they taught that Jesus Christ was a man no different from yourself. Now how were the Pilgrims The Puritan is going to take that.

These were people who were not anti-establishmentarian. I’ve always been looking for an opportunity to use that word. I learned to spell it when I was a little kid. I used to show off in 6th grade. They weren’t against the establishment and the institution, but they realized that whatever God gave them and whatever tasks they had to perform, they were to do that as stewards before God, infinitely responsible to Him who had saved. They weren’t so otherworldly that they were no earthly good.

We know that about them. They built homes, schools. They were tremendously industrious and inventive. Because they were responsible to their God. But they always built, you see. Not with some sort of image in their heart that they had picked up in an ancient history class somewhere, trying to rebuild Rome or Greece or one of the great ancient civilizations. They built with the blueprint of heaven in their heart. That’s how they built.

And that leads me to my last point about these people. And why I’m saying these things is because I believe in many ways that you are like them. You see, the Pilgrims were separatists. And you are separatists. You stand with them on that account. They walked away from the Church of England because they felt it was irreformable.

I believe they were right. I think to this day they are right. And I think the Puritans even came to the point where they agreed with the Pilgrims. And I. But the Separatists, the Pilgrims, were the forerunners of a movement whose life and feat is still felt and seen today. And I’m saying to you that as Separatists you are their sons and daughters. That’s who you are. I tell you, there is no better company. You don’t need the humanists to make yourself feel good. If you just simply remember that God, for the sake of fifty-two people that survived after three months, is blessing.

You know, these pilgrims were primarily people that realized, as the text in Hebrews says, here they have no abiding city, but they seek one which is to come. And this is what gave them their force, their power, their incredible abilities, They had gone, as it were, with Jesus outside the city to suffer reproaches with him, with the one whom they loved above everyone else.

That was the reason for their strength. They were separatists not interested in simply setting down roots or setting up shop, building homes of their dreams, or their dream house. They’re amassing a fortune. They’re making the world safe for their children. For many of them, their children were dead. They had no reason, if that was the case, to go on. Build that nice little home setting where everybody could gather around the hearth and have a nice little turkey dinner in the middle of November.

That wasn’t what was on their mind. What was on their mind was Jesus Christ and the heavenly city. These men were not pilgrims merely on their way to a new world, they were pilgrims on their way to heaven. To meet the one who was the same yesterday, today and forever.

And how that comes across, you see, because William Bradford got off that boat when it first dropped anchor in the bay. He went in that first landing party. He returned to the ship to find out that his beloved wife had fallen overboard in his absence and drowned.

Well, what do I do now? I’ve lived for my wife. I was only coming over here because I wanted her to have a nice little plot of ground where she could have a garden in the backyard. You see, the land was not a thing and end in itself. These men had other things on their mind. He grieved, to be sure. But he also rejoiced because he knew that she preceded him to glory. And that’s precisely what kept these people going as they saw their children drop, their beloved ones die.

They knew they were going to a better place and there was not one open voice of descent And there was never anyone in that community that said, let’s go home, let’s go back to England. Let’s give in. I think Jonathan Winthrop was a man of the same caliber A beautiful spirit. He came over with a group of settlers and within a year and a half, 200 of the people that came with him were dead. 200 in a year and a half. Gone.

What does he say? He says, the Lord is pleased still to humble us. Listen to this. Yet he mixes so many mercies with his corrections as we are persuaded he will not cast us off that in his due time will do good to us. We may not look at great things here. It is enough that we shall have heaven, though we pass through hell to it. Here we enjoy God and Jesus Christ. It is enough. I do not repent of my coming. And if I were to come again, I would not have altered my course though I had foreseen all these afflictions. This is the company of which we want to be a part.

And I say this morning to you that this is the source of our blessing and the reason that God has been gracious to us for so long. Not a great crowd There were other colonies down the shore, but this small band, blessed by God, now provides for us the means for riding on the coattails of a blessing granted for their sake. We are living on borrowed capital if we don’t embrace their faith. And if we don’t, we are certainly living on borrowed time. I rejoice that God today is still continuing to call pilgrims like these, and like yourselves to himself, sojourners in this world, who here have no abiding city, whose treasure is in heaven, and whose heart is there too.

Our blessing is indeed their blessing, if we have their faith. in the Christ who is the same yesterday, today, and yes forever. Let’s pray. Our Father in heaven, we do thank you that you have been gracious to us as a nation, that never allow us to be so foolish as to think that you are blessing us because we have been so clever, and so strong, and so powerful, and so intellectually refined. O Father, may not the sophistications of men blind us to the truth, that you have been gracious to your servants who have loved you and loved you, Father, even in their frailty, but yet, Father, who have endeavored faithfully to declare the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord of all of life. Father, we pray that we, as children like them, might continue to demonstrate their faith and their power in this day. for we know even as it is true that we are small yet certainly they were smaller and we ask Lord that you would continue to bless us indeed as you bless them even through all of the afflictions which we face which certainly are not anything compared to what they underwent so Father give us strength in this hour and give us reason then to give thanks and to give thanks for your grace in another day because you loved the people well and they loved you well.

The sermon text provided above is derived from the sermon audio recording making use of generative tools. It has not been manually edited. While transcription tools have a high degree of accuracy, the output may include generative textual, punctuation, and/or formatting errors.