We’re proud of our freedom in America. But freedom has its limits.
To forget that is to do so at our own peril. Like the immigrant I once read about.
As the boat neared New York harbor, the Statue of Liberty came in to view. The sight of that majestic lady and the city’s skyline was more than the old man could bear. He began jumping up and down shouting, “I’m free! I’m really free!”
He had heard that in this new land you could speak your mind without fear. That the police were your friends. That a man could do just about anything he wanted.
When the boat docked at Ellis Island, the new immigrant was the first one down the gangplank. He immediately ran up to a man and punched him in the nose.
Bleeding profusely, the American decked the old man. In shock he cried, “Why did you hit me? This is a free country. I can do what I want!”
“Sure, buddy,” said the American, “But your freedom ends where my nose begins!”
Now that story might be true. But our forefathers understood the danger before it happened. And they crafted a land where privilege is balanced with responsibility.
Freedom in America is not the ability to do whatever you want without constraints. A good citizen is one who exercises his choices with wisdom and respect for the law.
I’m old enough to remember when schools used to give awards to students who showed “Good Citizenship.” To receive such an award was a real honor. But not today.
Today it’s “cool” to be “bad.” To ignore the rules. So doing what you want and getting away with it is one of the ultimate highs. A real “rush.”
A student’s T-shirt I saw not long ago sums up such an attitude. It said, “It’s not illegal if you don’t get caught.”
Hold it right there for just a minute.
Would you want to live in a country with that motto? I wouldn’t. Who could you trust? No one. And unless you were the biggest, strongest, fastest and smartest, you wouldn’t be safe.
Today America is on the verge of trading liberty for license—freedom with no limits. The courts seem to find new rights every day that our founding fathers never dreamed of!
And when personal freedoms trump the law, we descend into a hell of our own making.
What’s the solution? The French historian and political scientist Alexis de Tocqueville observed, “Liberty cannot be established without morality, nor morality without faith.”
The Bible has the only answer that always works. Jesus 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.”
Did you catch that? Obedience brings true freedom.
When we respect our nation’s laws and follow them we are free from fear of punishment. And, as Jesus pointed out, the same is true in the spiritual realm.
Obeying God brings freedom from sin’s punishment. Instead of fear we live at peace with God and others. A free society works only when its citizens practice moral goodness.
Unrestricted freedom ends where the law begins. The law exists to punish the lawless.
Real freedom starts with the truth. Not just any truth but the truth about Jesus Christ. And the truth of Christ is that the lawless can find forgiveness in his name. And true liberty.
Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!
Showing posts with label Freedom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Freedom. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Monday, July 2, 2007
Truth Freedom
Just imagine if God allowed George Washington and Thomas Jefferson to see what's become of their country. Would they recognize it?
Today we're a nation where rights replace responsibility. Licentiousness (the unrestrained pursuit of one’s desires) replaces liberty. Diversity is celebrated instead of dignity. We do things out of convenience instead of conviction.
On top of that, the American Civil Liberties Union seems hell-bent to give us freedom FROM religion instead of the freedom OF religion. What’s going on?
Well, hold on just a minute.
If you didn’t know otherwise, you might think America was founded to give us a government and schools that are religion-free zones. Sadly most Americans have no concept of the religious heritage that helped make America great.
What Americans need is a refresher course in American History. Christian thinking was a major influence on our founding fathers. If you take a tour of Washington D.C.’s main monuments, you will see a multitude of quotes from Holy Scripture used by our founding fathers. Even the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia is imprinted with a quote from the Bible.
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 have forgotten that agency, which was so often manifested during our Revolution, or that they failed to consider the omnipotence [complete power] of that God who is alone able to protect them."
Thomas Jefferson was defending 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 quote from politicians around election time and they take it completely out of context. Interestingly it’s not even about political or social freedom!
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 of Christ brings freedom from sin.
This week, 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 putting their trust in the truth that Jesus Christ died in their place. And that his death, burial and resurrection provide forgiveness of sin, a new heart and the beginning of a new life. It’s a life of true freedom.
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!
Today we're a nation where rights replace responsibility. Licentiousness (the unrestrained pursuit of one’s desires) replaces liberty. Diversity is celebrated instead of dignity. We do things out of convenience instead of conviction.
On top of that, the American Civil Liberties Union seems hell-bent to give us freedom FROM religion instead of the freedom OF religion. What’s going on?
Well, hold on just a minute.
If you didn’t know otherwise, you might think America was founded to give us a government and schools that are religion-free zones. Sadly most Americans have no concept of the religious heritage that helped make America great.
What Americans need is a refresher course in American History. Christian thinking was a major influence on our founding fathers. If you take a tour of Washington D.C.’s main monuments, you will see a multitude of quotes from Holy Scripture used by our founding fathers. Even the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia is imprinted with a quote from the Bible.
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 have forgotten that agency, which was so often manifested during our Revolution, or that they failed to consider the omnipotence [complete power] of that God who is alone able to protect them."
Thomas Jefferson was defending 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 quote from politicians around election time and they take it completely out of context. Interestingly it’s not even about political or social freedom!
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 of Christ brings freedom from sin.
This week, 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 putting their trust in the truth that Jesus Christ died in their place. And that his death, burial and resurrection provide forgiveness of sin, a new heart and the beginning of a new life. It’s a life of true freedom.
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!
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