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The Wall That Protected the Church - Not Silenced It · 5-Minutes of Good News

• 0:01
  SPEAKER_00: Hello, Christians.
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_00: This is Dallas Beecher.
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_00: Stand by for good news.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: Today many voices shout a familiar phrase, separation of church and state.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: They use it as a weapon.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: They use it as a warning.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: They use it as a way to silence the church and to push God out of public life.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: But the truth is simple and the history is clear.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: The founders never meant what people claim today.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: The phrase separation of church and state is not in the Constitution.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: It is not in the Bill of Rights.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: It is not in any founding document.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: It came from a letter, a private letter, written by Thomas Jefferson to a group of believers, the Danbury Baptist Church.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: They were worried.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: They feared the government might interfere with the church.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: They feared the government might control doctrine.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: They feared the government might silence pastors.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: They feared the government might do what the kings in Europe had already done.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: Jefferson wrote back.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: He told them the First Amendment builds a wall of separation, but not a wall to keep the church out of government, a wall to keep the government out of the church, a wall of protection, not a wall of restriction.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: The founders did not fear the church.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: They feared tyranny.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: They feared government power.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: They feared any authority that tried to control the conscience of the believers.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: The Bible says righteousness exalteth a nation.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: The founders believed that.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: They prayed publicly.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: They quoted scripture.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: They honored God.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: They believed morality comes from the Lord, not from human opinion.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: They did not want a nation without God.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: They wanted a nation where the church was free, free to preach, free to worship, free to speak truth, free to shine light.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: Today the phrase is twisted.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: It is used to silence Christians.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: It is used to remove scripture.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: It is used to push God out of schools, out of government, out of public life.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: But that is not what the founders intended.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: They wanted the church to be free.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: They wanted believers to speak.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: They wanted pastors to preach.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: They wanted the Bible to guide the conscience of our nation.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: They did not want the government to tell the church what to do, and they did not want the culture to tell Christians to be quiet.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: The First Amendment protects the church.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: It protects the gospel.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: It protects the believers.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: It protects the freedom to worship God without fear, without punishment, without interference.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: That is the truth.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: That is the history.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: That is the meaning.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: And as we continue this series, we remember something important.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: The church is not a threat to freedom.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_00: The church is the foundation of freedom.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: Because where God is honored, people remain free.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: And that matters for us today.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: Because freedom is not protected by silence.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_00: Freedom is protected by truth.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: It is protected when believers understand their history.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_00: It is protected when churches remember their calling.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_00: It is protected when families teach their children that liberty is a gift from God.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: The church does not need permission to be the church.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_00: The gospel does not need approval from politicians.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: And the truth of God does not become silent because the culture is uncomfortable.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_00: The founders understood this.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_00: They knew a free people must remain a moral people, and a moral people must remain anchored to God.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: And I hope this message today causes you to think deeper into where we are today.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_00: And I hope this message causes you to have a good day.