When Benjamin Franklin came from the meeting to draft the Constitution, he was asked by one lady, “What have you given us?” He answered, “A Republic, Madam, if you can keep it.”

Around us today, we see nations seeking political independence as our forefathers sought and won it for us. I do not know if the name of God is mentioned in their declarations or not, but it should be there. There can be no true independence without the acknowledgment of God. It is only as we employ “truth” that we truly can be free.

The cost of political liberty is high. Millions have fought, and many have died, to preserve the Republic. Apathy, in any generation, can lose our hard-won, and hard-kept liberty.

The same is true of religious liberty. Jesus said:”You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free” John 8:32. Churches close their doors because some have re-evaluated their freedom, and decided to do nothing. Missionaries have been forced to come home, and give up their vital work, because of lack of support. Christians have drifted away from God and no longer count Him a factor in their lives. They erroneously think that if they are not governed by God, that they will be free from any restraints of responsibilities. Such is not the case. Jesus said there were two spiritual entities in the world, and that we would have the freedom to choose which one we served . . . but not whether to serve either.

Citizens, through the years, have given their lives to gain and protect our political freedom. Jesus died to give us spiritual freedom. These freedoms are precious, and God forbid that we only learn how precious by losing them.

-- In Pulpit Helps, The Bible Friend (Volume 92, No. 6) July/August, 1995 p.2

Abraham Lincoln

“I believe the Bible is the best gift God has ever given to man. All the good from the Savior of the world is communicated to us through this Book. I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. I can see how it might be possible for a man to look down upon the earth and be an atheist. But I cannot conceive how he could look up into Heaven and say there is no God.”

Daniel Webster

“If we abide by the principles taught in the Bible, our country will . . . prosper. But if we and our posterity neglect the instructions and authority in this Book, no man can tell how suddenly a catastrophe may overtake us and bury our glory in profound obscurity.

This is the Book that inspired thousands of men and women to travel to a New World where they could love and worship God in Freedom.

This is the Book our forefathers drew upon for the great principles included in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.

This is the Book that the people of America—in every walk of life—have turned to for strength, for comfort and for guidance.

This is the Book that is in every court of this broad land, a reminder of America’s ideal of freedom and justice for all.

This is the Book that its enemies burn—the Book they smear and fear, because it proclaims the dignity of the individual and teaches that all men are created in the image of God.”

-- In Pulpit Helps, The Bible Friend (Volume 92, No. 6) July/August, 1995 p.2

John Quincy Adams: “I have made it a practice for several years to read the Bible through in the course of every year. I usually devote to this reading the first hour after I rise every morning.”

Andrew Jackson: “The Bible is the rock on which our Republic rests.”

Abraham Lincoln: “The Bible is the best gift God has ever giver to man. All the good from the Saviour of the world is communicated to us through this Book.”

Woodrow Wilson: “The Bible is the Word of Life. I beg that you will read it and find this out for yourself. When you have read the Bible, you will know that it is the Word of God.”

Calvin Coolidge: “In this Book will be found the solution to all the problems of the world.”

Herbert Hoover: “To read the Bible . . . is a necessity of American Life.”

Ronald Reagan: “No book has so molded the life of a nation as the Bible has shaped America. It has been America’s hope, its foundation, its molder of character. The Bible has sustained America throughout its 200-year history and is our only hope of security for the years ahead.”

-- Pulpit Helps, The Bible Friend (Volume 90, No. 1) Jan. /Feb., 1993 p.3