Was the American Revolution Sinful?
Here are the facts:
In 1763 the French stopped attacking the American Colonies. The British rulers imposed new taxes on the Colonies to show their authority and power over them. The Colonies saw these as illegitimate because they had little American representation in British government; therefore they had no choice in the matter. In response to these taxes and some trade regulations on the Colonies, the Americans formed their own Provincial Congress in each Colony. In 1774 these Provincial Congress’s became united in their rejection of the British taxes and created the first Continental Congress. In response to this rejection Britain sent combat troops to Boston and the fighting began in 1775. After another year, the Continental Congress wrote up what they called, the Declaration of Independence, which rejected the British Monarchy and its parliament. In 1778 America allied with France, and Britain slowly lost control of the Colonies after large battles in Saratoga (1777) and Yorktown (1781). The Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783, which ended the fighting and all British rule over the Colonies. America was free, just as they wanted.
Now to my question; was this revolution sinful? Why even ask this question? Romans 13 brings it into view. Paul says in Romans 13:1-5 “Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience’ sake.”
Paul’s point is hard but clear. We ought to submit to the governing authorities because in doing so we are submitting to God. Paul’s point becomes especially clear when you realize that he is writing during Emperor Nero’s rule. How does this make Paul’s point clearer? Nero persecuted the Church more than any ruler to this present day. He would often sew up Christians inside animal skins and let lions loose on them, to be eaten alive. He would also dip Christians in oil, tie them to poles in his garden, and light them on fire to light his garden during the night. Yet Paul says, submit to Nero.
We must keep in mind that there is a time not to obey the government. This is only to happen when the government tells us to stop doing something God has commanded (see here). (But we should also notice that when we do not obey the government, we do not take up arms! We continue obeying God, and if necessary, lay down our lives for doing so. Never are we to take up arms against the government because we cannot do this or that.) Was this the case with the Revoltuionary War? Yes. They wanted to get out from under the British rule and taxes, and fought because of it. So was this War sinful? Yes. Praise God that He uses our sin for the good right? (Genesis 50:20)
I know that some (maybe most) will view me as being unpatriotic because of this; but shall we honor country above God and His Word? No. I am not anti-American, I do enjoy living here. I will submit to the government in everything as Romans 13 calls me, and every other person to do. But I will not submit to anything this country commands that God has forbid in His Word. What is my aim in telling you these things? I simply want you to view history more through God’s Word than through patriotism. What does this mean about celebrating July 4th? Am I celebrating a sinful act? Yes and no. Yes because the War was sinful. No because we are celebrating God’s goodness to us in spite of our sin (He has blessed our nation in spite of our sin). We remember that God has given us ultimate freedom, not from man’s rule and man’s taxes; but by the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ. I pray that you would also join me in the submission we are called to in Romans 13.
You are dead wrong about this. First of all, according to my Bible, Romans was written around 57 AD, about seven years before Nero began persecuting Christians. Second, Christians had no capability to resist the Roman Empire. Third, Saint John wrote Revelation, essentially a seditious document praying that Jesus would come and destroy the Roman Empire. Fourth…well, a Christian by the name of Constantine ultimately did destroy the empire when he defeated an enemy force at least twice as large as his own (presumably with divine intervention). After taking over, he ended persecution of the Christians, moved the capital away from Rome, and enacted various legal reforms.
But regarding the Romans 13 passage, just ask yourself the following questions:
1. How do we define what an “authority” is?
2. Which authorities do we submit to?
For example, do you obey the laws of China? If China tried to make you pay taxes, would you obey? I hope not. Not every so-called authority is real authority.
In the Revolution, the Continental Congress was the rightful authority, and God gave them the victory.
Drew,
Thanks for reading this, and thanks for leaving a comment; here is my response to you:
1) You are correct that Romans was written in 57 AD. But even though this is true, the truths found in Romans 13 would still stand when Nero was ruling over the Roman Empire. You have to ask yourself; “would it be glorifying to God if the Church took up arms and attacked Nero’s palace with force, intending to kill him?” No, that would not be glorifying to God. Jesus said that His kingdom was not of this world, that is why His disciples were forbidden to take up the sword. Even if they could have a big enough army to take on the Romans, it would be sin to do so.
2) I do not agree with your summary of the book of Revelation. It was not a “a seditious document praying that Jesus would come and destroy the Roman Empire”, it was a letter written to encourage suffering believers to persevere to the end, and to take heart, because the end is so near.
3) Constantine did take over the Empire, and it was precisely after seeing the sign of a cross in the sky while hearing a voice that said “Conquer in this sign.” While this is true, it does not mean Constantine was a Christian. It is a well known fact that he worshipped the sun. He was baptised on his deathbed, but that does not prove he was Christian. Even if he was a true believer, I would not point to him and say that he is a godly example of how to rebel against a government. In no way is that godly.
4) Regarding the questions you asked: Romans 13 portrays the responsibility of Christians to governing authorities. We are to be subject to them because they have been ordained by God. We are only to disobey the authorities over us when obedience to them would mean that we are disobedient to God. So do I obey the laws of China? If I lived in China, yes.
It is sin to rebel. We only rebel against the authorities when they want us to disobey God. (Acts 4:19-20)
I am a Chinese studying in USA. I am also a Christian. I hate the Chinese government because they exploit our human right, receiving bribe, keep us from reaching democracy, and one more thing is that they persecute Christians like Emperor Nero did. So if according to the scripture is it sinful to overthrow such a tyrannical government which have no consent from its people to govern?
Timothy,
I really do appreciate your heart in asking this, I know it must be a hard subject for you and so many others. But I want to encourage you to obey your government. The only time God wants you to disobey your government is when obedience to them means disobedience to God. Does that make sense? For example: If they told you to stop speaking and sharing the gospel, do not obey them, keep sharing the gospel, and if suffering comes for it, praise God that you have been counted worthy to suffer for His name.(See Acts 4:1-20) But if you do not like them because they are blocking the advancement of democracy, you would be in sin to overthrow them to set up your own form of government. Would you really want to fight for the cause of democracy over the kingdom of God? I wouldn’t. Let me know your comments on this, I would really like to continue this conversation with you.
Thank you for this post. It has encouraged me. I am a homeschooling mother of three right in the middle of studying the American Revolution. I have had to relearn this time period because my education was so poor. As I read with my children, I’m amazed at the frequency and intensity of violence. My oldest two have come to conclusions regarding the clear rebellion against authority without me saying a word about it. Still, the “greatness” of the Revolution is so ingrained in my thinking that I’m still reluctant to say it was outright wrong through and through. I pray that the Lord will help me and all Christians seeking the truth to let go of wrong thinking and bring all of our thoughts into alignment with His Word. Thanks again!
Hi, I found a better answer to this question for me on the WALLBUILDERS website of David Barton.
Here’s a link http://www.wallbuilders.com/LIBissuesArticles.asp?id=128
But wouldn’t a United Nations takeover of our country shredding our constitution, Bill of Rights, etc… constitute an illegitimate government that should be resisted even if our own politicians were the ones that enabled such a transfer of authority?
How dare you say that about my country! You sir are insulting the very men that fought and died for your right to make this post. Our founding fathers would shake their heads at you. I have no problem with you believing in this “god”, but don’t go insulting the very country that gave these rights to say what you want to say, beleive in what you want to beleive in, wether that be a 1000 gods or no gods at all. Why don’t you go back to the 1930s Russia and come up with a theory on how thr Russian Revolution was “sinful”. You would be shot on site.
You like alot of americans a ungrateful for what you have. You take advantage of rights that those soldiers of the Revolution died to give you.
Michael,
Thank you for taking the time to reply to this post. I want to make it clear that I am not aiming to insult those who died in the revolutionary war. I am grateful for all the men and women who serve us everyday in our armed forces, past and present. But at the same time, I do not have to agree with everything they do; the revolutionary war is one of those things. Even though I do not agree with it and do think it is sinful, it did happen, and we must read verses like Genesis 50:20 to get insight into why God allowed it to take place. Even though we meant it for evil, God meant it for good.
You are absolutely right, brother. The American Revolution certainly was sinful.
Hey Adam, I’m a bit late for this party. You write a lot of posts. :)
I agree with everything you wrote. It’s controversial, but it’s refreshing. It’s hard for people to discern between the popular public opinion vs what the Bible says.
Wake up gentlemen. Human beings wrote the Bible. That is it. It’s just a book. The American flag really exists. It’s a tangible thing that represents intangible values. God may have intended us to be free, but God didn’t give you nor did he defend thereafter, your freedom. That gift came from the Continental Army, and every U.S. Armed Forces member since. Oh and your freedom to worship too by the way.
Mr. Bliss,
Thank you for taking time to comment on my blog. I respect your opinion but I do disagree with you (as you might have guessed). I disagree, at least, for these two reasons:
a) The Bible was written by human beings, but those human beings were inspired by God during their writing. Therefore when the Bible speaks, God speaks, and that means that the Bible holds all authority and deserves the utmost allegiance. This means that the Bible and the Truths contained in it are as tangible as the our flag.
b) AMEN! God did give us much freedom through the Continental Army and it is a freedom that I use everyday. I am very thankful for this freedom also. But it still does not prove that what they did was right according to God’s eyes. If you do not believe the Bible is the Word of God, than you will never think I’m right in thinking the revolution was wrong because you are more American in your beliefs than you are Christian (if your beliefs are Christian at all). If you were a Christian, you would see my point that I want you to be more Biblical than American. The first allegiance for the Christian must go to God, not country.
Thanks again for commenting.