While
conducting a Revive America event at Abounding Grace Church in Schenectady, NY,
I heard the Holy Spirit instruct me to have the audience repeat after me the
two reasons the Pilgrims gave for coming to the New World. I did so, and one
could sense the life and energy of the Holy Spirit as we all repeated their own
words for why they had come to America.
After
the meeting, a young man came up to me very excited. He explained that he was
attending the community college in that area and taking a course on American
history. “Just this week,” he said, “The professor told us that the Pilgrims
did not come here for religious reasons but for monetary reasons.” With his
face glowing, he exclaimed, “But there it is in their own words.”
The Reasons They Came
The
words we had repeated are part of the opening statement of the Mayflower
Compact, which had been projected on the large screen. It reads, “Having undertaken for the glory of God and the advancement
of the Christian faith . . . a voyage to plant the first colony in northern
Virginia.” They came to America, they said, for two reasons: (1) for the glory
of God and (2) for the advancement of the Christian faith.
William
Bradford, who served as governor of Plymouth for over thirty years, stated this
same vision in his memoirs written later in life. He shares this as part of his
explanation as to why they decided to leave Holland and come to the New World.
First
of all, he tells how they were not satisfied with their lot as foreigners and
second-class citizens in Holland. They were also concerned that many of their
children were being led astray by undesirable influences in the Dutch culture. He
then said,
Lastly (and which was
not least), a great hope and inward zeal they had of laying some good foundation, or at least to make
some way thereunto, for the
propagating and advancing of the gospel of the kingdom of Christ in those
remote parts of the world; yea though
they should be but even as stepping-stones unto others for the performing of so
great a work.
Although
we have often heard that the Pilgrims came to escape religious persecution in
the Old World, that is only part of the story. The rest of the story is that they
were drawn here by a proactive missionary vision to take the gospel where it
had not been heard.
Others Came for the Same Reason
The
thousands of Puritans that followed the Pilgrims to New England over the next twenty
years came with a similar vision. This is obvious from the constitution of the United
Colonies of New England formed in 1643 to arbitrate land disputes and provide a
system of mutual defense for the many towns that were springing up. The opening
statement of the constitution reads,
Whereas
we all came into these parts of America with one and the same end and aim,
namely to advance the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ and enjoy the Liberties
of the Gospel in purity and peace.
These
New England Puritans had a similar missionary vision as the Anglicans who first
settled Virginia. On April 29, 1607, the Jamestown settlers disembarked at Cape
Henry, near modern day Virginia Beach, and erected a seven-foot cross they had
brought from England.
They
then gathered around the cross for a prayer service in which they dedicated the
land of their new home to God. In his dedicatory prayer, their chaplain, Rev.
Robert Hunt, declared, “From these very shores the gospel shall go forth, not
only to this New World, but to all the world.”
Original Vision in the Founding
Fathers
It
is clear that the earliest immigrants to America came with a vision for a land
of liberty from which the gospel would be taken to the ends of the earth. That
vision did not die but is clearly seen in statements by many of the Founding
Fathers. Consider the following.
“Might it not greatly facilitate the
introduction of pure religion among the heathen, if we could, by such a colony,
show them a better sample of Christians than they commonly see.”
Benjamin
Franklin in a 1756 letter to George Whitefield, the most famous preacher of the
Great Awakening, in which Franklin proposed that they partner together in
founding a Christian colony on the Ohio frontier.
“Pray
that the peaceful and glorious reign of our Divine Redeemer may be known
throughout the whole family of mankind.”
Samuel Adams, Founding Father and Governor of
Massachusetts. This call to prayer was part of a proclamation for a Day of
Prayer that he issued as Governor of MA in 1795.
“Pray
that all nations may bow to the scepter of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,
and that the whole earth may be filled with his glory.”
John Hancock, Founding Father, President of the
Continental Congress and Governor of Massachusetts. This statement was part of
a call for prayer he issued while Governor.
“The
policy of the bill is adverse to the diffusion of the light of Christianity.
The first wish of those who enjoy this precious gift ought to be that it may be
imparted to the whole race of mankind.”
James Madison, chief architect of the Constitution
and America’s fourth president, voicing his opposition in 1785 to a bill that
he perceived would have the unintended consequence of hindering the spread of
the Gospel.
“The
philosophy of Jesus is the most sublime and benevolent code of morals ever
offered man. A more beautiful or precious morsel of ethics I have never seen.”
Thomas Jefferson, Author of the Declaration of
Independence and America’s third president, who took money from the federal
treasury to send missionaries to an American Indian tribe and to build them a
chapel in which to worship.
“Bless, O Lord, the whole race of mankind, and
let the world be filled with the knowledge of Thee and Thy Son, Jesus Christ.”
From
a public prayer prayed by George
Washington, America's first president.
May the Vision to be Restored
This
Thanksgiving we can be thankful for the vision and sacrifice of those early pilgrims
and patriots. We are enjoying liberties and blessings today because of their utter commitment to a Christian vision.
Yes, the
original American vision was that it be a land of individual and religious liberty
and a place where the gospel would have free course and would spread from here to
the ends of the earth. This Thanksgiving let’s pray for that Original American
Vision to be restored.
This article by Dr. Eddie Hyatt was derived from his book, Pilgrims and Patriots, available from Amazon and his website at www.eddiehyatt.com
