by Terry Laughlin | May 1, 2016 | Proclaim Freedom
Psalm 33:12 says, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people He chose for His inheritance.” Hebrews 13:7 says, “Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”
The Founding Fathers of the United Sates of America knew that the fear of the Lord was needed before they could enjoy liberty. In regard to the genuine faith of our founding fathers, only the Lord knows for sure who was or wasn’t a born again Christian. What is known is that the writings of many of our early political leaders reflect some kind of belief in God and a good knowledge of the Bible.
Through the hard work and sacrifices made by the Godly influences of our Founding Fathers and because the Lord is true to His Word, we are a nation that has been truly blessed and protected by God’s mighty hand. The Lord put upon the hearts of our Founding Fathers to be a nation that gives people freedom. Our Founding Fathers’ faith in God and His Word laid the original foundation which was girded with a reverent fear of the Lord.
In a message, “Let Freedom Ring,” Bible Teacher David Mains points out some of those freedoms or liberties we have in America because of the faithfulness our “Founding Fathers” had in the truths of God’s Word. They are:
1.) “Political Freedom” – We have a voice in our government, as well as the opportunity to take part in its decisions. We can even speak freely in praise or share our opinions without fear of being arrested.
2.) “Social Freedom” – We have the right to exchange ideas about what we believe. For example because of freedom of the press, you can publish facts, ideas and opinions without government involvement. This also includes TV and radio programming.
3.) “Economic Freedom” – For the most part you can pick the job you want to interview for and through hard work train for any field or trade. For the most part the harder you work the farther you can go. You can save money, invest, spend your money on what you want.
4.) “Freedom of Religion” – The fact is in this country you can choose your religion, choose to ignore any kind of religion and choose not to believe in God if you so desire. There is no law stating you must have any kind of religious belief.
Let the Holy Spirit of Christ probe your heart with these questions. Does your life express praise to the Lord for His sovereign control over this nation? Are you thanking the Lord for statesmen who were hungry for the righteousness of the Lord and faithful to do all they can to lay a solid foundation for this nation based on the truths of God’s Word? Do you express your love for the Lord by walking in accordance with the Word of God as King David and Solomon did?
by Terry Laughlin | May 1, 2016 | Proclaim Freedom
Freedom in a nation that proclaims worship to God and Christ begins with a life expressing praise for the freedoms He has already established. True freedom is responsible Christian living involving a new enslavement. Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.” (John 8:34) Galatians 5:13-15 says, “You, my brothers were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature…”
When Jesus spoke truth, “…everyone who sins is a slave to sin” (John 8:34) He was speaking to a group of people who were claiming to not have been slaves to anyone. They were finding their righteousness in the fact they were from the seed of Abraham and they said God was their Father. (John 8:33;39;41) These Jews assumed they should have all the liberties or freedoms that come with being the children of God, through the blood lines that trace back to Abraham. Jesus boldly showed them that they did not have the faith of Abraham because they did not do as Abraham did, and He exposed the truth that their real father was the Devil. (John 8:39-47) Originally the Jews were meant to be a nation of people reflecting a life as being holy to the Lord. (Deuteronomy 26:16-19) They needed only to obey His commandments.
The people the Lord is speaking to in John 8 are like those the Apostle Paul wrote about in 2 Corinthians 3. When the Law of God was read a veil covered their hearts and it was there because only Christ can take the veil away. They were rejecting the claims of Christ. Therefore, the unbelieving Jews remained in their oppression of spiritual blindness. (2 Corinthians 3:13-16)
It must be noted, there is not one man on this earth who has not and cannot slip into sin. Therefore, whoever slips into sin is not a slave to sin. If this was so the Lord would have no servants. The Lord is not speaking to those who slip into sin here. (Matthew Henry Commentary: The Pulpit Commentary)
The type of people the Lord is referring to have spiritual hearts like the people of Jeremiah’s time. God had given the Prophet Jeremiah a message to be spoken for the purpose of calling the people of God out of Idolatry. Listen to their response to His message, “We will not listen to the message you have spoken to us in the Name of the Lord! We will certainly do everything we said we would: Will burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and will pour out drink offerings to her just as our fathers, our kings and our officials did in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. At that time we had plenty of food and [we] were well off and suffered no harm.” (Jeremiah 44:16-17)
A depraved heart leads to an inability to understand God’s spoken Word and this hard heart toward the Lord moves unrepentant mankind into idolatry. This causes people to say, “I will do it my way and I do not care what the Word of the Lord says. We are enjoying all that we have and we will worship the god we feel provides for our wants.” Idolatry causes men and women to act as the people who lived in the time of
the prophet Jeremiah and it is just as dangerous today. Everyone is enslaved to someone or something. Who are you enslaved to?
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