What is Our War Cry?
“Give me liberty or give me death!” Patrick Henry’s declaration from the pulpit of St. John’s Church in Richmond, Virginia, is one of the most famous Revolutionary War cries, in which colonists claimed their independence from England. For the Sons of Liberty and the brave men who signed the Declaration of Independence, there was no other alternative but death or liberty. Signing their name to the document sent to King George meant either America would win the war and establish its freedom from England, or the signers and their compatriots would hang for treason.
“No king but King Jesus!” was another battle cry of the Revolutionary War that is no longer found in many school textbooks. It started from the words of Reverand Jonas Clarke, who spoke out in defiance of British Major Pitcairn’s command. Pitcairn shouted at a regiment of Minutemen, “Disperse ye villains, lay down your arms in the name of George the Sovereign King of England.” Rev Clarke, who later became the militia leader in Lexington, replied, “We recognize no Sovereign but God and no King but Jesus.”
While our country declared its independence from England, it was never intended to forsake its dependence upon God. Patrick Henry, who said, “Give me liberty or give me death,” also stated, “It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians: not on religions, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
It is our dependence upon God and our trust and hope in Jesus Christ that gives us freedom. 2 Corinthians 3:17 says, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” Without Jesus as our king, we are slaves to our sinful human nature. We take the full responsibility for the consequences of our sin upon ourselves, and the wages of sin are death and separation from God for all eternity.
Paul states it best in Acts 13:38-39, “Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through Him everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses.”
As we celebrate July 4th, we don’t just light fireworks to celebrate our country’s independence from a tyrannical king, but also that a brave group of patriots fought and died for our Christian freedom. Let “No king but King Jesus!” continue to be our rally cry when schools, employers, radical political advocates, and judicial courts try to sweep our beliefs under the rug upon the twisted guise of freedom from religion when our country was founded on the freedom for religion.
Happy July 4th!
God Bless America!