By Jack Wyman

It was a sweltering day in late August.

The crowd seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see. The occasion was historic and momentous. Tension and anticipation both ran high.

He was introduced as “the moral leader of our nation.”

He spoke at a time when eloquence counted and words mattered. So did morality, conscience, and leadership. These virtues were not yet mocked or dismissed; they were respected and valued.

He was just 34 years old.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. began his remarks with the deliberate and mellifluous cadence of the black Baptist preacher he was. His deep, resonant voice carried authority and reason.

We know it as the I have a Dream speech. Its power and suasion remain vibrant after nearly sixty years. It is considered, arguably, the greatest American speech of the 20th century. It’s an oratorical masterpiece—a clarion call for justice and equality, delivered to America on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

King’s speech, 17 minutes long, secured his place as the unquestioned leader of the country’s civil rights movement. His birthday, January 15, is a national holiday. This year, we were reminded that Dr. King would have turned 94 years old. President Biden became the first American president to speak in the pulpit of the church Dr. King, and his father, once pastored—Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta.

We honor Martin Luther King for his vision, his leadership, and his courage. He gave his life in the enduring cause of freedom and justice. Like Lincoln, King became immortal in the nation’s conscience. As we pay tribute to his noble place in the pantheon of American heroes, are there still lessons we may learn—and recall—from his life and beliefs?

Can Martin Luther King’s legacy be a guide to America’s future?

As he bid a fond and poignant farewell to his country upon his retirement from the presidency, George Washington reminded his fellow countrymen that “religion and morality are indispensable supports” to the advancement of “political prosperity.” Washington argued that the cynical politician, as well as the “pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them.”

In his epoch speech, Dr. King anchored his appeal to justice in two enduring American ideals: the country’s founding promises found in the U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence; and God’s moral law. Indeed, King believed that any law that contradicted God’s law “is no law at all.”

Quoting Saint Augustine, King stood by that conviction. His Letter from Birmingham Jail is a careful exposition of the intersection of God’s law with man’s. To disobey unjust laws is the nature and duty of civil disobedience. Followers of Jesus in the first century felt the same.

Peter was categorical: “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). The legal collision between Christian businesspeople and gay marriage is a contemporary illustration.

What fueled King’s bold leadership, and passionate and fearless commitment, was his firm belief, also asserted by President Kennedy in his 1961 inaugural address, that “the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God.”

This is a classic Christian belief. It is unalterable by circumstance, power or ideology. What separates the Christian from the atheist is an affirmation of the God-given dignity of every person. Created in the image of God, each human being possesses “certain unalienable rights.” King’s worldview was not formulated by liberalism, radicalism, activism, or partisanship. It was rooted in Christian dogma as expressed in holy scriptures.

Though his theology may have differed from evangelical beliefs in various ways, Dr. King’s conviction about justice was undeniably biblical. To the extent this may be ignored by some is perhaps the reluctance to see King as a religious hero rather than merely a secular one. Still, Dr. King’s speeches, sermons, and writings give clear testimony to the central place of Christian faith in his life and work. His most famous speech is saturated with biblical quotations and allusions.

Faith matters. Without it, the American civil rights movement may never have happened, at least in the time and manner it did. Religion and morality were “indispensable supports.”

America’s march toward secularism is at growing odds with its Judeo-Christian tradition. Though never a Christian nation by official edict or understanding, this nation’s most noble achievements and advancements have been powered by the convictions of religious faith. As Washington wisely warned us, we ignore this at our nation’s peril.  

In his speech, King also wrapped his oratorical case for justice in the founding principles and documents of the American republic. He referenced the “promissory note” found in the words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, quoted from them, and made them the basis of his argument. He condemned violence and made an appeal beyond race. Speaking of “our white brothers”, Dr. King declared, “their destiny is tied up with our destiny.”

King’s inclusion of the nation’s founding and of the white race were sincere efforts to unite the country around a patriotic and nationalistic American ideal. He rejected identity politics and famously dreamed of the day when people “will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

At no point was King’s soaring rhetoric more unabashedly American than when he proclaimed that his dream of racial equality “is a dream rooted in the American dream . . . that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is a hero, not just for our time but for all time—and for all of us. Regardless of politics or ideology.

It is Dr. King’s unwavering belief in God, his justice, freedom, and the founding values and ideals of America that we should remember and draw wisdom and guidance from in our continuing struggle to address our pressing issues and unite our sundered nation.

Christian. Minister. Patriot. Moral leader.

 American dreamer.

To order Jack Wyman’s book, “Everything Else: Stories of Life, Faith and Our World”, go to amazon.com, Christian Book Distributors or barnesandnoble.com. It is also available on Kindle and eBooks.

WE NEED YOU! Would you consider partnering with us as a monthly donor to support the work of our nonprofit ministry? Or maybe a generous one-time donation?