Rodney D. Hall
Originally published July 4, 2025
As fireworks light up the sky and families gather for barbecues this Independence Day, most Americans will celebrate our nation’s freedom lacking understanding of where their freedom came from. Many believe American liberty emerged from Enlightenment philosophy, democratic ideals, or perhaps the sheer force of colonial determination. But the truth is far more thoughtful and revolutionary: American liberty was born from the pages of Scripture.
When fifty-six men gathered in Philadelphia in 1776 to sign the Declaration of Independence, they weren’t just creating a political document—they were making a theological statement that would change the world forever. The ideas that birthed American liberty didn’t originate in that stuffy room in Philadelphia. They came from the Bible, filtered through the brilliant mind of Christian philosopher John Locke, whose biblical worldview laid the intellectual foundation for everything we celebrate today.
Could the United States of America have been founded without the Bible? Could concepts like “all men are created equal” and “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights” have emerged from any other source? Certainly not—and here’s why.
Let’s begin with the most revolutionary idea in human history: that all people possess inherent dignity and worth. This concept, which we take for granted today, was absolutely radical in the 18th century world of kings and subjects.
Genesis 1:27 declares, “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” This verse contains more political power than all the armies of all the kings who ever lived.
In every other political system, an individual’s worth was determined by birth, class, wealth, or power. Kings claimed “divine right” to rule because they were believed to have different, superior blood. Common people existed merely to serve their betters.
The Bible, however, says something completely different. It says that every single human being—regardless of race, class, or station—bears the image of Almighty God (Imago Dei). The poorest peasant has the same inherent dignity as the richest king, because both are made in God’s image.
John Locke, a devout Christian and careful student of Scripture, understood this profound truth. In his “Two Treatises of Government,” written in the 1680s, Locke argued that because all men are created equal in God’s sight, no one has the natural right to rule over another without their consent. Locke reasoned that Government must derive its authority from the governed, not from divine appointment of kings.
This was revolutionary! For thousands of years, rulers had claimed their power came directly from God. But Locke, working from biblical principles, argued that while God is the ultimate source of authority, He has given that authority to the people, who then consent to be governed.
Listen to how this biblical truth echoes in our Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.”
Notice they didn’t say these rights come from government, or from kings, or from the majority vote. They come from our Creator! This is pure biblical theology transformed into political philosophy.
The second biblical principle that shaped America was the concept of natural law—the idea that God has written certain moral principles into the very fabric of creation that transcend human government.
Romans 2:14-15 tells us, “When Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they do these things because they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts.”
Paul is teaching us that God has written His moral law not just on stone tablets, but on human hearts. There are certain rights and wrongs that transcend culture, transcend government, transcend human opinion—because they come from God Himself.
John Locke built his entire political philosophy on this biblical foundation. He argued that there are certain natural rights—life, liberty, and property—that come from God, not from government. Government doesn’t grant these rights; government exists to protect these rights.
This was absolutely revolutionary thinking! In Locke’s day, kings believed they owned everything and everyone in their kingdoms. Your life, your freedom, your property—all belonged to the king by divine right. But Locke, drawing from Scripture, argued that these things belong to you by divine right, and government’s job is to protect them, not take them away.
Locke wrote: “The state of nature has a law of nature to govern it, which obliges every one: and reason, which is that law, teaches all mankind, who will but consult it, that being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions.”
Where did Locke get this idea? From the Bible! From the understanding that we are made in God’s image, that God has written His law on our hearts, and that certain rights come from Him, not from human authority.
When Thomas Jefferson wrote about “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” as unalienable rights, he was borrowing directly from John Locke, who was drawing directly from Scripture.
The third biblical principle that shaped America was the understanding that government has a limited, specific role ordained by God—not unlimited power over every aspect of human life.
Romans 13:1-4 teaches us: “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established… For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.”
Notice what Paul is saying: Government is God’s servant, not God’s replacement. Government has a specific role—to punish wrongdoing and protect the innocent. But government is not sovereign—God is sovereign.
This biblical understanding was revolutionary in a world where kings claimed absolute power over every aspect of their subjects’ lives. John Locke, studying this passage and others, argued that government’s power must be limited to its God-given role. Government cannot rightfully control your conscience, your worship, your family relationships, or other areas that God has not delegated to civil authority.
Locke wrote: “The end of law is not to abolish or restrain, but to preserve and enlarge freedom. For in all the states of created beings capable of law, where there is no law, there is no freedom.”
In other words, good government doesn’t exist to control people, but to create the conditions where people can be free to live according to God’s design for human flourishing.
This is why our Constitution limits government power through separation of powers, checks and balances, and a Bill of Rights. Our founders understood that government, like all human institutions, is corrupted by sin and must be restrained.
The Bible teaches us that only God has absolute authority. Human government must be limited government, or it becomes tyrannical.
The fourth biblical principle was the concept of covenant—the idea that legitimate government is based on mutual agreement and consent, not force. This is counter to what Communist leader Mao Zedong said in 1927, “Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.”
Throughout Scripture, we see God’s covenants with His people. These aren’t dictatorial decrees imposed by force, but mutual agreements where both parties have obligations and responsibilities.
John Locke applied this biblical pattern to government, arguing that legitimate political authority comes from a social contract—a covenant between the governed and their government. The people agree to obey legitimate government in exchange for protection of their God-given rights.
But here’s the crucial point: If government breaks this covenant, if it becomes tyrannical and oppressive, the people have not just the right but the duty to alter or abolish it and institute new government.
This is precisely what our Declaration of Independence argues: “That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”
This wasn’t rebellion against God—this was obedience to God! When King George violated the covenant relationship, when he became tyrannical and oppressive, our founders believed they had a biblical duty to resist.
Finally, let’s examine the distinctly biblical contribution to American liberty—the principle of religious freedom.
Jesus Himself taught us in Matthew 22:21, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” This establishes two distinct spheres of authority—civil and spiritual—and teaches us that government has no right to control matters of conscience and faith.
John Locke, deeply influenced by this teaching, wrote his famous “Letter Concerning Toleration,” arguing that government has no authority over religious belief because faith cannot be compelled by force.
Locke wrote: “The care of souls is not committed to the civil magistrate, any more than to other men. It is not committed unto him, I say, by God; because it appears not that God has ever given any such authority to one man over another as to compel anyone to his religion.”
This biblical principle became the foundation of our First Amendment: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”
America became the first nation in history to guarantee complete religious freedom for all people, and it happened because Christian thinkers like John Locke applied biblical principles to political philosophy.
As we celebrate this Independence Day, let us remember that American liberty was the result of biblical truth working through consecrated minds like John Locke, who understood that true freedom comes only when human government operates within God’s design.
Our founders understood this. The Declaration of Independence doesn’t just mention God once—it mentions Him four times! Our Creator who endows us with rights, the Supreme Judge of the world, Divine Providence, and Nature’s God who establishes natural law.
John Adams, our second president, said it plainly: “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”
The freedoms we celebrate today—freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from tyranny, the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness—all flow from biblical principles that John Locke helped translate into political reality.
But with these freedoms comes responsibility. We must remember that liberty without virtue becomes license. Freedom without faith becomes chaos. Rights without responsibilities lead to anarchy.
As we celebrate our nation’s birthday, let us commit ourselves to the biblical principles that made America possible. Let us remember that “blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord” (Psalm 33:12).
The next time someone tells you that America was founded on secular principles, that the Bible had no role in shaping our nation, you can confidently tell them the truth: Without Scripture, there would be no United States of America. Our liberty was born from the pages of God’s Word, and it can only be preserved by returning to those same eternal principles.
May God continue to bless America, and may America continue to honor the God who made her free.
What do you think? Share your thoughts on how biblical principles continue to shape American liberty today. And this Independence Day, as you watch those fireworks light up the sky, remember that you’re not just celebrating political freedom—you’re celebrating the triumph of biblical truth over human tyranny.
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