Real Freedom

Just imagine if George Washington and Thomas Jefferson could see what's become of their country. Would they recognize it?

Today we're a nation where rights replace responsibility. Diversity is celebrated instead of dignity. We do things out of convenience instead of conviction. We know our entitlements but are no longer enlightened by truth.

On top of that, groups like the American Civil Liberties Union seem hell-bent to give us freedom FROM religion instead of the freedom OF religion. What’s going on?

“Well, hold on just a minute! What’s this talk of morals and religion? Isn’t America secular?”

If all you did was listen in History Class, you might think America was founded as a secular nation with government and schools that were religion-free zones. Sadly most Americans have no concept of the religious heritage that made America an exceptional nation.

What we need is a refresher course in true American History. Christian thinking was a major influence for our founding fathers. Take a tour of Washington D.C.’s monuments and over and over you’ll see their quotes from Holy Scripture.

Even the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia is imprinted with this quote from the Bible: “Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.”

George Washington said, "I am sure there never was a people, who had more reason to acknowledge a Divine interposition [intervention] in their affairs, than those of the United States; and I should be pained to believe that…they failed to consider the omnipotence [complete power] of that God who is alone able to protect them."

Thomas Jefferson defended religious instruction at the University of Virginia when he said, "The relations which exist between man and his Maker, and the duties resulting from those relations, are the most interesting and most important to every human being and most incumbent on his study and investigation."

Theodore Roosevelt recognized the need for religious instruction when he said, “To educate a man in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society.”

But it was Jesus Christ who said “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”

Usually you hear that quoted by politicians around election time and they take it completely out of context. It’s not about political freedom or social justice!

In the New Testament Gospel of John, chapter 8, Jesus talked about being set free from sin. He said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” After pointing out that we are all slaves to sin, he added, “So if the Son [Jesus] sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

The truth about Jesus Christ is what brings real freedom: Freedom from sin.

This weekend, as we celebrate the blessings of freedom, don’t neglect the greatest freedom of all: Freedom from sin. America cannot provide that freedom. No government can.

Freedom from sin can only be found in the Kingdom of God.

The Bible says that people are set free from bondage to sin by trusting in the truth that Jesus Christ died on the cross in their place. Personally believing in his death, burial and resurrection provides forgiveness of sin and the beginning of a new life. A life free from slavery to sin.

Real freedom starts with The Truth. Not just any truth but the truth about Jesus Christ.

Listen to the Bible; it’s good for your soul!

Bad Call

“We were robbed!” That’s the cry of teams and fans when a bad call costs them a win.

Last week we heard it when a bad call at the World Cup Soccer Tournament cost Team USA a win over Slovenia. (If you missed the news, a referee called a foul and disallowed the goal that would’ve won the game. Result? A tie. However, everyone agreed it seemed like a bad call.)

We heard a similar outcry a couple of weeks ago when a baseball umpire missed a call at first base and it cost the pitcher a perfect game. What’s the problem?

Referees and umpires judge their calls based on what they see and hear. And, being human, they make bad calls once in a while. They can’t see and hear everything.

We’ve also heard of referees, umpires or judges that were corrupt or intentionally threw a game, a race or a match. Not to mention the favoritism shown by some judges. Then there are the missed calls and bad calls due to errors in judgment.

Wouldn’t it be great to have a referee, umpire or judge that never missed a call or made a bad ruling? Well, according to the Bible, one day we will.

“Now, hold on just a minute! The Bible predicts that? Since when?”

Speaking of Jesus Christ the Bible says, “He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.”

It adds, “The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding; the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.”

Doesn’t that sound like the one you want calling the shots?

On one hand it’s encouraging. No cheating will get by him. On the other hand, since he knows all the facts, we’re in deep trouble because we can’t hide the truth from him.

The Bible teaches that one day “we will all stand before God’s Judgment Seat.” It says, “Each of us will give an account of himself to God.” Then it adds that Jesus will judge everyone who has lived on earth.

How do you think you’ll do?

If all of us were to be judged only on the basis of what we have done and the thoughts and intentions of our hearts, we’d be in serious trouble. Why? Because the Bible says that God’s standard is perfection. He doesn’t ‘grade on a curve.’

Since by our own admission, “No one’s perfect!” –that means we’re all in trouble!

The good news of the Bible is you don’t have to fix all your mistakes (and who could?). You don’t have to exhaust yourself doing more good works than bad (never knowing if it’s enough).

Because God accepts Christ’s death on the cross as payment for our sin, he can forgive us. Plus, because God is willing to credit us with Jesus’ perfect life, our lives can still be a win instead of a loss. But we must come to Jesus in faith. And that’s where some struggle.

We are a proud people. We think that salvation is more complicated than it really is. But it’s not. The secret is to stop trying and start trusting God to love us and forgive us as he promised.

Once God accepts us because of our relationship to Christ, all of our service and good works are acceptable to him. We can serve him with joy and not fear because we know he loves us.

So the next time you see a bad call, don’t get depressed. The referee is just human. Let it remind you that Jesus Christ, the perfect judge, will credit you with his “win” if you trust in him.

Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!

Messy Disaster

How do you clean up a big mess?

Spilled milk? A paper towel will do. Dirty diaper? You need a baby cleaning system (wipes or wash cloth) and plenty of soap and water. If it’s a major oil spill coming ashore you need workers with Haz-mat suits and plenty of equipment and detergent. Oh--and lots of money, too.

In each case, it’s helpful if the source of the mess has stopped making the mess!

But what if the source keeps making a mess that doesn’t end? You have a messy disaster.

A worst-case scenario, right? Well, no. The worst-case scenario is the human condition.

“Now hold on just a minute! How can the human condition be worse than a major oil spill?”

The Bible tells us, “God made mankind upright, but men have gone in search of many schemes.” It adds, “Every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood.” Furthermore, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”

The two major competing worldviews are that mankind is inherently good and the opposite, than mankind is inherently evil. The first seeks perfection through education and ends up with smart criminals and self-deceived do-gooders. The second seeks redemption through moralistic religion and ends up with legalists and spiritual abusers.

Which worldview is right? Neither. Confused? You needn’t be if you believe the Bible.

According to the Bible, God created a man and a woman that were innocently good. But because they chose to disobey God, and sought to become like God, they and their descendents became sinners and enemies of God.

The resulting penalty was that death entered the world.

But God created a plan to be reconciled with us. In an amazing display of love, God himself, in the person of Jesus Christ, came and died in our place. He took our penalty.

Now, through faith in Christ--by personally accepting what he did—we’re not only forgiven but become children of God and receive a new nature that changes us from the inside out!

The amazing truth of the Bible is that, if you will come to God and say, “Father, accept me—not for what I have done but because of what Jesus Christ did for me on the cross,” you will receive what the Bible calls a “new heart.”

God predicted, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you.” Then, after Jesus came, the Bible says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”

Through education modern societies attempt to rehabilitate people. But if that could solve the problem of the human condition, wouldn’t most lawyers be out of work and most jails empty? Instead we have greed-gone-wild, power-hungry politicians and overcrowded jails.

God doesn’t rehabilitate people he re-creates them. Instead of enemies of God, we can become friends of God. Instead of God’s punishment we can receive his mercy, grace and love.

Many think of God as a grumpy old man who keeps us from having fun. But nothing could be further from the truth. Instead, he is a loving father that wants to restore us to his family.

When he saw the messy disaster we made (and kept making), his love caused him to send a Savior to do for us what we couldn’t do for ourselves. As the Bible says, “God demonstrates his love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Only God can clean up our messy disaster and give us new hearts.

Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!

Escape from Hell

A soldier may call his battlefield experience hell. Others in a place of pain or turmoil may describe their life as a hellhole.

Of course it’s not really hell--but their expressions betray their belief that hell is a real place.

Some people say they don’t believe in hell but their words are still peppered with “hells” and “damns!” (To “damn” is to condemn someone to hell.) Go figure.

Others want to know how a God of love could send people to such a terrible place.

“Now hold it right there for just a minute. I thought Jesus talked about a God of love.”

Yes but Jesus also spoke about hell more than all the other New Testament writers combined!

Interestingly, all we know about hell comes from the Bible. It says hell is prepared for the devil and his fallen angels and that God has done everything possible to prevent people from going there. That’s why he sent Jesus Christ.

But people don’t talk about that. Instead what you usually hear is people wishing they could send their friends and family to hell. They say, “Go to hell!” or “God damn you!”

The Bible clearly warns that all who reject Christ as their Savior will be judged after death and spend eternity in a lake of fire called hell. God sent Jesus to die on the cross and provide forgiveness for sin so that salvation from hell could be free to all who trust in him.

God doesn’t want to damn people, he wants a personal relationship with them. He wants to be their God and for them to be his spiritual children. But, if people reject his son, Jesus Christ, as their personal Savior, Jesus said there is no other way to be saved from hell.

Jesus did not say, “I am ‘A’ way.” He said, “I am THE way, THE truth and THE life.” He didn’t allow for there to be another “way” to get into heaven—no matter how sincere a person is.

Now that bothers some people. But it’s really no different than if I told you there is only one road to my house. Stating a fact you believe to be true doesn’t make you a bigot.

Christians who believe the Bible is true naturally feel they must warn others of the consequences of rejecting Christ. The forgiveness, peace and joy that come from accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior is something they want everyone to have.

On top of that, Jesus commanded his followers to go into the whole world and tell others the good news about him. The Bible calls that good news the “Gospel.”

According to the Bible, the gospel is that Jesus died for our sins, according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to his disciples and then to more than five hundred people at the same time.

Sadly some Christians aren’t tactful in their approach to sharing this news. If you’re not a born-again Christian, please don’t dismiss Christians who share their faith with you as bigots.

When a Christian tells a non-Christian that they need to put their faith in Jesus, it’s not because he disrespects the other person’s faith. Rather it’s because he cares about the other person’s eternal soul. He wants them to repent and personally trust Jesus for salvation.

Here’s more good news: Jesus will not only save you from hell, he will be your friend, guide, protector and provider through your whole life. Being a Christian is not just about living for the hereafter. It’s about eternal life that starts right now—a life with purpose, meaning, joy and contentment. Instead of a hellhole (or hell on earth) you can experience heaven in your heart.

Yes, God is a God of love. And he never wants you to get anywhere near hell!

Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!

Hell, No!

Does imagining something make it true?

When John Lennon sang, “Imagine there’s no heaven / It’s easy if you try / No hell below us / Above us only sky,” many loved his song. But when a loved one dies we tend to agree with only half of it. Suddenly the idea of a heaven can become very appealing.

More people seem to have trouble with the idea of hell than heaven, right? Why is that?

When I was a child I had no doubt my parents loved me. But I learned early in life that good behavior is rewarded and bad behavior is punished. Why should the afterlife be any different?

“Now hold on just a minute!” How could a God of love send people to a place like hell?”

Well, according to the Bible, hell is designed to be a place of eternal punishment for the devil and his fallen angels. God doesn’t want any human to go there. But he won’t stop you from going if you’re determined to go.

“Whoa—hold on! Why would anyone choose to go to hell?”

In the same way that people choose behaviors that lead to skid row, the cancer ward or the coronary care unit. At first the decision to consume an alcoholic beverage or use tobacco seems like a freedom of choice. But it can quickly lead to a form of slavery called an addiction.

Once enslaved by such a habit, it’s only a matter of time until the consequences hit. That is unless the belief behind the behavior is changed to the point that something else (like living healthier and longer) becomes more important.

Usually what happens is that the pleasure of the experience becomes more important than the consequences. So much so that reality is ignored and we believe the lie: “Nothing bad will ever happen to me!” And the same thing can happen to us spiritually.

The Bible tells us that we were made to live for God. Instead we look to love, work, achievement, or morality to give us meaning and worth. So every person, religious or not, is worshiping something—a functional savior other than God—to feel worthwhile.

Rather than trying to prevent us from enjoying life, God warns us about things that will ruin our health and our lives. Only worshipping him brings contentment, joy and satisfaction in life.

Sin is really worshiping anything but God—and the wages of sin in this life is slavery.

What’s sad is that many people would rather have their freedom (as they define it) than salvation. Why? Because salvation, according to the Bible, is trusting Jesus Christ to save us from hell instead believing (mistakenly) our own goodness will do it. It puts God in control.

Only God can save us; we cannot save ourselves any more than a drowning man can.

Hell is really the freely chosen eternal skid row of the universe. As author C. S. Lewis put it, Hell is “the greatest monument to human freedom.”

We go to hell only by choosing to ignore Jesus Christ’s work on the cross.

The universal religion of this world is that we develop a good record, give it to God, and then he owes us. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is that he developed a good record, gives it to us and then we owe him. He doesn’t force us to trust him, he invites us to come to him and be forgiven.

So you can imagine with John Lennon that there’s no hell, or you can believe the Bible when it says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Go to hell? The choice is yours. But don’t blame God. He doesn’t want you there.

Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!