Guard The Landmarks

In the early history of the Nation of Israel, God blessed His people by allowing them to possess the Promised Land. The Lord divided the land into territories for each of the twelve tribes. The boundaries of these divine land grants were identified by landmarks. The primitive landmarks were usually a post, a tree, or a pile of stones at the corners of the property. The Biblical landmark was instituted to designate boundaries. The Law was very specific in commanding that these landmarks be left alone!

Deut. 19:14 Thou shalt not remove thy neighbour's landmark, which they of old time have set in thine inheritance, which thou shalt inherit in the land that the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it.

Deut. 27:17 Cursed be he that removeth his neighbour's landmark. And all the people shall say, Amen.

Prov. 22:28 Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set.

Prov. 23:10 Remove not the old landmark; and enter not into the fields of the fatherless:

The Founding Fathers of America firmly believed that the United States should be governed by Scriptural landmarks!

"Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." -John Adams (2nd President)

"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!" -Patrick Henry (1776)

"The highest glory of the American Revolution was this: It connected in one indissoluble bond the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity." -John Quincy Adams (6th President)

Landmarks are what make us who we are. To remove them would be to change our identity. Yet, many in our society today are fervent in their cause to remove these moral boundaries.

May God help every Bible Believer to recognize and respond to their duty to guard these Godly landmarks!

1. The Landmark of SCRIPTURE!

• The Founding upon this Landmark. a) Immediately after creating the Declaration of Independence, the Continental Congress voted to purchase and import 20,000 copies of the Bible for the people of this nation. b) In 1782, the United States Congress voted this resolution: "The congress of the United States recommends and approves the Holy Bible for use in all schools." c) "It is impossible to govern the world without God and the Bible..."
  -George Washington (Farewell Speech on September 19, 1796) d) "The Bible is the rock upon which our Republic rests." -Andrew Jackson (June 8, 1845)
• The Fighting against this Landmark. a) On June 25, 1962, the United States Supreme Court effectively removed public prayer from our nation's classrooms. Millions of students were forbidden to do what their predecessors had done since the founding of our nation. b) In 1963, the Supreme Court ruled that devotional Bible reading in public schools was unconstitutional. c) Since the removal of public prayer and devotional Bible reading in schools, SAT scores have plummeted, crime has escalated, and alcohol consumption has increased. d) The most dangerous threat that America faces is not from terrorists across the sea but rather from liberals who dwell inside our country. Terrorists like the ACLU are trying to remove the landmark of Scripture!
• The Future of this Landmark. a) Some will Change It! - Rom. 1:25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. b) Some will Corrupt It! - 2 Cor. 2:17 For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ. c) Some will Cherish It! - Psalm 119:11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

2. The Landmark of the SANCTITY of LIFE! America was founded upon the premise of "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness..." Our forefathers believed in a Sovereign Creator who brought LIFE into existence.

• The Vote of Abortion. - On January 22, 1973, seven black-robed men declared WAR ON THE UNBORN! The infamous Roe v. Wade decision set the stage for the grossest form of child abuse in history. In all the wars fought by the United States, there have been an estimated 1.3 million soldiers killed. However, in Satan's war against the unborn, over 50 million innocent babies have been murdered.
• The Victims of Abortion. a) The Victims are Human! - Jer. 1:5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. b) The Victims are Harmless! - Deut. 1:39 Moreover your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, and your children, which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go in thither, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it. c) The Victims are Helpless! - Psalm 139:16 Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.
• The Voice of Abortion. God's people need to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves. Our silence equals their suffering!

3. The Landmark of the SACREDNESS of MARRIAGE! Traditional Marriage is the most ancient of all landmarks. The institution of marriage dates back to Genesis Chapter Two. Modern society is guilty of secularizing this sacred institution. The approval and promotion of the sickening sin of Sodomy has been inviting the judgment of God upon our land. Sodomy is the Goliath of Satan's sinful army! God views Sodomy as wicked because it seeks to destroy His most precious institution, the FAMILY! Marriage has always been between a MAN and a WOMAN! It has never been the will of God for men to marry men or for women to marry women. JESUS CHRIST validated this sacred Landmark with these words, "Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?" (Matthew 19:4 - 5) JESUS CHRIST would not approve of same-sex marriages! God's people should also be resolved to stand against it. Christians should never vote for any political candidate who seeks to aid in tearing down this ancient landmark of God. We must protect the landmark of traditional marriage.

• The Wickedness of Sodomy. a) It is Morally Degenerating! Lev. 18:22 Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. b) It is Mentally Deteriorating! Rom. 1:28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
• The Warning about Sodomy. a) It Corrupts Nature! Rom. 1:27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. b) It Condemns Nations! Lev. 18:25 And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants.

WHAT CAN GOD'S PEOPLE DO TO GUARD THE LANDMARKS?

1. We can PRAY CONSTANTLY for our LEADERS!
2. We can PRACTICE CHRISTIANITY in our LIVES!
3. We can PREACH CHRIST to the LOST!

(Sermon notes as posted by Evg. Jeremiah Dixon of Knoxville, TN)