True Freedom
I’m a pastor. I’m a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That is to say that I preach the good news of freedom from the bonds of sin given to us because of the love of God and the work of Jesus on the cross.
In preaching this message, I travel often. In those travels, I’ve noticed a shifting perspective among church folk.
Let me offer some background to my perspective. I entered the ministry during the Reagan administration. In that day, there was a very deep association with, and even a devotion to, the phrase “God and country”. Of course, the idea reaches much further into history than just the 1980s. One can easily trace the interwoven threads of the life of the church and the passions of patriotism through the two and a half century history of our land.
Yet the perspective really IS shifting among younger adults of the church.
In some ways that’s a good thing. In other ways it’s disheartening – and even so, being disheartening is a good thing.
The reason I consider it to be a good thing is this: it is far too easy to make ‘Americanism’ a religion. In varied forms and levels, a subset of church-going Americans does exactly that. ‘God, family, and guns’… I’m certainly not ‘anti-gun’. But these are watch words, perhaps even pillars to some. The words anchor a staunchly conservative political worldview that imagines that points of our national and state constitutions are enforceable as a mission appointed by God himself. From the rhetoric one could presume a ‘holy war’ against opposition is not out of the question. It does, however, raise an important question. How exactly does that accomplish making disciples of Jesus?
And to some degree that seems to be changing.
Perhaps spurred by media releases such as ‘American Gospel’, perhaps provoked by progressive philosophy from public school systems, whatever its source, I’ve found that younger members of churches are shedding the ideologies of religion wrapped in the flag.
In some ways that’s a good thing.
To learn that worldly political opinion is not applicable to life in the kingdom of God and body of Christ is indeed a good thing. To comprehend that there is an inherent unity in His body, a collective that distributes the goodness and blessings of God to each member is of prime importance. It grows and develops the life we share together in Christ.
That is also why I say, “in other ways, it’s disheartening”.
In its human manifestation, the unity believers have in Christ, working toward the collective good of our brothers and sisters in the Lord, becomes mere socialism. In its human form socialism leads to totalitarianism. That is the part I find disheartening.
For if one studies the political ebb and flow of our nation – roughly the last hundred years’ worth, just before the window of time we call the Great Depression through today, you will see that America has had her moments walking across a political landscape that ranged from life as a true republic, to a practical implementation of socialist environment during the era of depression and World War II years, only to level out into an uneasy compromise between a republic and a socialistic state improperly termed as a ‘democracy’.
This thing we call ‘democracy’ survives by pitting the political left against the political right by inciting the ‘conservative’ against the ‘liberal’ or ‘progressive’. That only achieves a see-saw effect in the governance of the people.
But there’s a trade-off to shifting away from Americanism as our religious basis.
To me, there’s something that stands out about a see-saw... The kids who play on them grow. As one grows larger than another the balance point doesn’t change, but the force applied does, so the bigger kid holds the power of their play.
Younger adults are more willing to embrace authoritarian leadership than in decades past. To some this is a troubling trend developing among younger generations of Americans. As we enter the second quarter of the twenty-first century, we see that Gen Z, and quite a large contingent of Millennials, seem willing to forgo many, if not most, of the rights and liberties inherent in our Constitution to gain the illusion of greater personal safety.
Social and political observers consider this the beginning of a paradigm shift in the current political world order.
Just a decade ago, Millennials called for less free speech in return for safe spaces at school, work, and play. Today, Gen Z shows a tendency to opt for less personal right or freedom of choice in favor of authoritarian rule. These are signs that power is shifting, and that see-saw is soon to be no longer a functional game.
Still, that’s a good thing.
Really? You’re talking about loss of or abandoning freedom, about the end of America as she has been known for two hundred-fifty years. Correct. I am indeed. How can that be a good thing?
It surely shows that Benjamin Franklin's words have lost context in the 21st century. Ignoring his wisdom echoing from the halls of history, “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.”
And the Bible is clear. The days in which Jesus will return are preceded by days when humankind has chosen to yield to an authoritarian power. People readily give away their liberty and gain neither peace nor safety and submit to its power. It’s scary. It’s dangerous.
These things must come to pass in fulfillment of God’s word.
I present to you this concept, and I hope you’ve heard it preached from God’s word: Freedom that is found in Christ Jesus is independent of freedoms we perceive in this life. Freedom in Christ is foundational to the gospel – and not dependent upon our Constitution. It matters not the book of the Bible nor the chapter or the verse. There are none that can change that truth, because the whole Bible is the message of God’s redeeming love and Jesus’ perfect sacrifice to buy us out of the bondage under which we were born.
That is the point of following Jesus. Once we learn His freedom, we share what we’ve learned. It’s not about political force or ideology. It’s not about being socially acceptable. It’s about being truly free.
Are you truly free? Do you wish to be? Reach out to us at effectradio.com
