The anti-abortionists who are enraged at certain pro-life justices on the Supreme Court would have completely lost it if they had encountered America’s first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, John Jay. Appointed by George Washington, Jay was a devout Christian who, unlike so many modern public figures, did not talk about “my faith,” but boldly proclaimed the object of his faith, saying:
“Unto Him who is the author and giver of all good, I render sincere and humble thanks for His manifold and unmerited blessings, and especially for our redemption and salvation by His beloved Son, blessed be His holy name.”
Jay was a passionate advocate for Life and Freedom. Over 60 years before the Emancipation Proclamation, as governor of New York, he pushed through a law outlawing slavery in that state. But although he worked diligently to pass laws against slavery, Jay believed that Christianity, lived out in word and deed, was the ultimate key for eliminating that horrible institution.
That is why in 1785 he helped found the New York Society for Promoting the Manumission of Slaves. Manumission emphasized that slaveholders should take initiative and free their slaves even if there was not yet a law against it. They should do this simply because it was the right thing, and Christian thing, to do. In an address to the New York Constitutional Convention in December of 1776, Jay declared:
“The gospel is yet to be preached to those western regions, and we have the highest reason to believe that the Almighty will not suffer slavery and the gospel to go hand in hand. It cannot, it will not be” (Hyatt, America’s Revival Heritage, 92).
Like most of the founding generation, Jay believed that only Christianity provided the moral values for a stable and successful nation, and he encouraged the American populace to keep this in mind when they went into the voting booth. In 1816 he wrote:
“Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty, as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers. National prosperity can neither be obtained nor preserved without the favor of Providence” (Hyatt, America’s Revival Heritage, 92).
Justice John Jay was right. We must go to the polls this year and vote for real Christians who believe in life and freedom. And while we oppose Roe v. Wade, we must also pray for another Great Awakening to roll across this land, touching hearts and changing minds. Then the pregnant mother will give birth to her child, and abortion clinics will close their doors, simply because it is the right thing, and Christian thing, to do. {eoa}
This article is derived from Dr. Eddie Hyatt’s book America’s Revival Heritage, available from Amazon and his website at www.eddiehyatt.com.
For the original article, visit biblicalawakeningblogspot.com.
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