THE TRUTH ABOUT FREEDOM

The Rest of the Story: FREEDOM!

JOHN 8:31-32

To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, =

"If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. = &nb= sp; = Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."<= /span>

Well, the fourth of July is almost here. I look forward to the day each year—don’t you? We have so much to celebrate and r= eflect upon as this important day rolls ‘round.

Our daughter, Claire, is scheduled to arrive from New York City tomorrow. Two of our most memorable observan= ces of the Fourth have taken place while visiting up in her neck of the woods—once along the New York Harbor, and more recently, on the Washington Mall.= Both observances are impressive on TV, but they take on a whole new dimension when witnessed live!

Wherever we happen to be on the fourth of July, though, this is a time to celebrate = our freedom, to remember those who have sacrificed so that we may enjoy the freedoms we have in this country, and—if we’re believers—= to also express gratitude to God for giving to us the gift of freedom. The Bible tells us that freedom is God’s idea—His plan for His people.

Have you ever tried to imagine what life would be like without freedom? I have. In many ways, it would be simpler.= That’s right; life would be = much simpler if we did not have to deal with so much freedom.<= /p>

This past week, the Supreme Court deliberated over our right to bear arms. We have this freedom which people = in many countries don’t have.

Because of so many gun-related crimes, though, Washington, DC, placed restrictions on = the right to own a firearm, and the Supreme Court had to decide if this was constitutional. If the court = ruled the law could stand, some people would have less freedom when it comes to possessing a firearm. If the = court struck it down, there may be even more senseless deaths due to the easy access to firearms. <= /p>

There are people on both sides of the issue who think it’s all black and wh= ite, but there is a lot of gray area here. Freedom means that you have to deal with the gray areas; and that= 217;s often hard.

Some people want to have the freedom to burn the American flag as a form of prot= est, while others want to wear a flag—say, the Confederate flag, or a Nazi flag—to school or work. They all claim this is their right in a free country—that this is a matter= of free speech.

Some of us may think all of those things should be permitted even though we don’t like them. Others believe none of them should be allowed.&nb= sp; Freedom is a wonderful thing in theory. It gets messy in actual practice.<= o:p>

Then there’s the matter of religious freedom. It was simpler when we all sort of believed the same things, and when the government, in fact, told us what to believe and what church to attend. It’s more complicated now, and a lot of conflict arises from a= ll the choices associated with freedom of religion.

Baptists have long insisted that certain things ought not to be mixed with church. Business, for instance. Church and business don’t mix well.

Maybe you’ve heard the story of the little church that couldn’t afford new hymnals. A pharmaceutical company offered to provide hymnals for the church if they could put a few advertisements in them. The n= ew hymnals arrived just in time for Christmas, so the congregation stood up and sang:

“Hark! = The herald angels sing, Beecham’s pills are just the thing.

Peace on eart= h and mercy mild, Two for man, and one for child.”

Well, that seems a bit silly, but I do get requests occasionally from companies t= hat want to give something to our church providing they can attach their name t= o it or advertise in our bulletin that they are a Christian business. For me, that crosses a line we don’t need to cross. So= me things don’t mix well. =

Then there is the matter of church and state, and how do we as a church observe a day like this. We’re Christians, and we’re Americans—and we’re thankful to be both. But to what extent do w= e let these two very important realities in our lives get entangled?

Keep in mind that we have Baptist forefathers who were persecuted and even marty= red because of their insistence that the church and state be kept separate. So where does that leave us today?=

Patriotism is a good thing, friends. Patriotism, defined as “a devoted love, support, and defense of one’s country,” when directed toward a nation that is truly committed to the freedom and equality of all its citizens and to their righ= ts to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, then patriotism is a virtue= .

Hopefully we all understand how blessed we are to be Americans. I met a young woman in the hospita= l this week. She was taking care of = one of our members while going through nurses training. She had an unusual accent, so I as= ked where home was for her. ̶= 0;Ethiopia,” she said. <= /p>

“So how do you like Amer= ica?” I asked her. “I love it,” she said beaming. “America= is the land of opportunity. You can = become anything you want here!” Her words were a blessing to me. = What a privilege to live in this country and to be free.

What would you say is the greatest enemy of our freedom today? Years ago, Abraham Lincoln contempl= ated this very question. He was a student of history, you see, and he was well aware of the many great civilizations which have come and gone.&nb= sp; Would this also happen to America, he wondered?

Lincoln arrived at t= his conclusion. If America failed, it would not = be due to military aggression from the outside.&n= bsp; Instead it would be caused by inner decay. Listen to his words:

“At what point then is the approach of danger to be expected? I answer, if it ever re= ach us, it must spring up amongst us. It cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finis= her. As a nation of freemen, we must live thro= ugh all time, or die by suicide.”

Now, granted, Abraham Lincoln lived in a world with challenges quite different f= rom ours today. But his warnings = that the greatest danger confronting us as a nation and thus the biggest threat = to our freedom is internal rather than external are very sobering thoughts.

Jesus talked about freedom in the Gospel of John. He related freedom to “truth.” He said = it’s impossible to have freedom in the absence of truth, for it is only the truth that will set us free.

But are we not talking about two very different kinds of freedom: one political= in nature, the other spiritual? = Well, they are different, to be sure; but they are also closely related. In fact, one freedom grows out of = the other, and failing to see this and understand it is one of the greatest dan= gers we face in America.

It seems to me that those who founded our nation were well-aware of the connec= tion between these freedoms--that political freedom must grow out of something m= uch deeper, something more inherent to who we are at the core of our beings.

In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson did not say simply that as people we should have certain b= asic rights. What he wrote, and wh= at those brave souls who were part of that Second Continental Congress adopted= on July 4, 1776, was that “all people are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights.”

This conviction--that there are basic rights which are bestowed upon us by the G= od who made us-- removes the question of human freedom from the arena of polit= ical theory and puts it squarely in the realm of spiritual truth.

Whether our founding fathers were Christians or Deists or something else, they overwhelmingly affirmed that the God who made us made us to be free. So, at the very heart of freedom, = there is faith—faith in the God of freedom!

Freedom is like a great tree. It must= be rooted in what we believe. Se= vered from those roots, it will wither and die.&= nbsp;

Freedom is like this building we find ourselves in today. Without a strong foundation, it wo= uld crumble and fall. So, too, fr= eedom that is not grounded in the truth of God will fail. Jesus said that freedom always mus= t be rooted in and founded upon the truth.

Undergirding our freedom, you see, is what we believe about God. Almost everybody thinks about God-= -even atheists. They must think abo= ut Him in order to deny Him. Examine= any culture from any time in history, and you will discover an awareness of a higher power, of some kind of god or gods.

Those who envisioned this nation as a place of freedom for all people based this = vision on their belief in the God of the Bible--the God who created this world and created us in His image, and assigned to us a way to live that is right, a = way to relate to one another that is based upon God’s truth, which does n= ot change.

Many today have rejected this view of truth and claim that all truth is relative= to each individual’s situation. Right and wrong, in other words, become a matter of what you prefer. There simply is no re= al truth, no eternal truth, they say.

I find it interesting, though, that no less a thinker than Albert Einstein, w= ho formulated the Theory of Relativity in the physical sciences, nevertheless refuted relativism in regard to human actions. Instead, he asserted his belief th= at there is a real right, and a real wrong.&n= bsp;

In other words, there is real truth. Again, Jesus said, ‘It is the truth--the real truth about God = and who we are in relation to Him--that will set us free.’

I believe God has placed within all of us the desire for freedom. He made us in His image. God is free, and you and I are not= all that He intends for us to be until we are also free. So this yearning for freedom exist= s in all people.

When we understand that all of us are created in the image of God, it changes not only how we view ourselves and what we want for ourselves, it also changes = the way we see others and what we desire for them.

For one thing, we treat others the way we want to be treated--with dignity, respect, fairness and love. T= hey deserve this from us, not because of what they do or what they have, but because of what we now know God created them to be.

We have not always lived up to these high ideals in our nation. There have been times when we have treated some in our society as possessions rather than people; but there ha= ve always been those faithful, courageous souls who have challenged us concern= ing God’s truth--the truth that because God created us, and because He ma= de us in His image, we have certain rights and responsibilities. This conviction is the foundation = of human freedom.

Remove this great truth from our souls and freedom will disappear. Allow enough people to forget this truth, that as fellow citizens of God’s creation we all have both rig= hts and responsibilities in relation to one another and before Almighty God, an= d a truly free society becomes impossible.

This is why a free church is so important in a free society. We are in the truth business. We alone have received the high an= d holy calling to point people to Jesus Christ who is “the way, the truth, a= nd the life.” <= /span>

So, what’s the connection? Freedom won’t survive in an atmosphere of “every man for himself.” Freedom requi= res people who “treat others the way they want to be treated,” who = have compassion for “the least of these,” and who live their lives a= nd make decisions with a commitment to “the common good.”

This is God’s truth, embodied in Christ Jesus, His Son. If you want His freedom, you take the whole package—the rights and the responsibilities. This is why= faith is so foundational to freedom.

Jesus said, “If you abide in my word, if you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then--on= ly then--you will know the truth, and this truth will set you free.” No matter what kind of government = you live under—democracy or dictatorship--this truth, Christ’s trut= h, will set you free. Don’t forget that Jesus spoke these words to people who knew nothing of political freedom and who would later be persecuted by their government because of th= eir faith in Him.

Thank God we have religious freedom; and along with it, we have the privilege of sharing this truth with others—to point them to our Lord and Savior, = who relinquished His freedom, took the form of a servant, suffered and died for= our sin, and now lives forever to set us free from sin and death and to put in = our hearts a love for freedom—a freedom that we desire for ourselves and = for others.

Know this truth. Know Christ Jesus= as Savior and Lord of your life. And BE FREE. IN CHRIST JESUS, BE FOREVER FREE! Thanks be to God! Amen.<= /p>