I want to take a moment to share an important video. Please, take the time to watch this video in its entirety. It is important for us as Citizens of a great nation, and followers of Christ to be aware of the evils in our world. Please take a moment to watch this video:
Kony must be brought to Justice, for the sake of the people of Uganda, and for the well-being of our neighbors throughout the world. Make this man famous!
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
John 3:17 Christians are not to Condemn
Many Christians have known and come to love John 3:16 – and many claim this verse as their favorite verse in the Bible. I can recite the verse from memory, and as a child I loved the message of John 3:16 with all of my heart:
John 3:16 (ESV) “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
This is the purpose of our faith, and the reason why we want to spread the Gospel. We want to share this incredible gift with everyone. Our love for one another is what drives us, and this is what the Great Commission is all about. You would be hard pressed to find a Christian who cannot at least summarize this passage.
But my point is this – How many Christians know John 3:17? It’s the verse which comes immediately after what is considered to be the most important verse in the Bible – yet many Christians do not know it.
John 3:17 (ESV) “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”
God did not send his Son to condemn the world. Think about this for a moment. Many secular interpretations of God is that of an old man sitting on a distant throne wishing for the Day of Judgment to come, so that he might pluck away the tiny ants that have corrupted his world. But John 3:17 paints an entirely different picture. It paints the picture of a God who gave an ultimate sacrifice so that the world he loves might be saved.
This verse ushers in the reality of God seeking Man – and as such we must be the same way. In no way should we condemn one another, Christian and non-Christian alike due to our sins. Instead, we are to be an example of the love that Christ delivered to the people of the Earth.
When Jesus was on Earth, he did not spend his time with those who attempted to obey the law of God. Instead, he spent his time with prostitutes, tax collectors, and the poor. He did many unconventional things, and dared to be different. He allowed children to come to him, and he went to those who were in need. He didn’t reserve his side for the righteous, but instead, he allowed those who needed him the most to come sit next to him. Our God is a loving God, and he is not looking forward towards the time of Judgment. In fact, there is a little known passage in the Old Testament which warns us about desiring the day of the lord.
Amos 5:18-20 “Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord! Why would you have the day of the Lord? It is darkness, and not light, as if a man fled from a lion, and a bear met him, or went into the house and leaned his hand against the wall, and a serpent bit him. Is not the day of the Lord darkness, and not light, and gloom with no brightness in it?”
God does not delight in the idea of condemning the world. Though judgment is inevitably necessary – it is not something that we should ever delight in. For that reason, we should not be interested in involving ourselves with condemnation of any kind. We should not seek to restrain the rights of those who do not think like us on this earth. We should not separate ourselves from sinners, nor should we become unavailable by condemning them for their sin. We have all sinned, and therefore, are not worthy of the ability to condemn one another. This brings to mind the story of Jesus and the Adulteress.
John 8:3-11 ESV “The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now, in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say? This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”
I shudder to think what might have happened if this story took place today. It seems that today’s Christians are all too eager to cast the first stone. Christians accused innocent women of being Witches, and burned them at the stake, Christians kept slaves before the Civil War, Christians championed the opposition to the Civil Rights movement, and Christians have attempted to condemn people to civil punishment by the Government for their sins. One man even killed a doctor in the name of the Lord. This is not what God had intended for us to do – but the Devil has tempted us with great power, and many have fallen for his tricks.
When we as Christians attempt to impose the truth upon those who do not know God, we are forcing them to look through a viewpoint that they simply do not understand. A common interpretation of Matthew 7:6 is “Even When You Are Right, Do Not Impose the Truth on Others.” This is because, as Paul suggests in 1 Corinthians 2:14, “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.” We cannot expect someone with a secular mindset to understand.
Instead, Christians must view themselves as citizens of the Kingdom of God before being a citizen of the United States of America. Never will these two nations be united in its aims and goals, and as such we must side with the Kingdom of God before the United States. The Nations were never meant to be given to God – as we see that God refuses the temptation when Satan himself confronted him.
Matthew 4:8-11 “Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’ Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.”
What Satan tempted Jesus with was the nations of the world. Jesus not once challenged Satan that the nations weren’t his to give. In fact, Jesus replied that it is written that we shall serve God and him only. This is both an acknowledgement that the nations of this world belong to the Devil, and that we as Christians should serve God, and him alone.
Christians must remember that we are instructed by the Bible to live in the world, not of the world. This idea is truly described by the teachings of 2 Corinthians 10:3 (ESV) “For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war in the flesh.” We are not supposed to win hearts for Christ through worldly means. Instead, we are to approach the task as Jesus would – with Love.
We are taught what love is in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (NIV), “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres. Love never fails.”
If Christians were to view the world through the lens of Christ-like love, I believe we would all understand that we shouldn’t be fighting for a Government, or a nation. Instead, we should be focused on sharing the gospel, and showing others what it means to really love. We cannot do that if our focus is of worldly things. We can only do this if our focus is God.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
The Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom
Separation of Church and State is a concept that Citizens and Christians can happily accept. This idea is both taught to us by our founding fathers, and by the Bible. Laws, Statutes, and Amendments to our Constitution have been passed to secure the religious rights of every citizen of this great country. Special interests, however, have manipulated history and the Bible to gain power, votes, and influence in an effort to pass laws against the natural interests of middle to lower class Americans. It important for every citizen of this nation to understand the fundamental teachings of our founding fathers, as well as understand their doctrine's teaching of civil interaction as an agent of God.
Thomas Jefferson was the writer of the Declaration of Independence, the Third President of the United States, and the writer of the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom. The Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom provides language which both defines Separation of Church and State, and grants total protection of our freedom to practice religion. Without this document, we wouldn't have Freedom of Religion in the sense that we do today.
Thomas Jefferson explains that God has gifted man with a free mind, and as such it is not appropriate for any person or government to curtail this freedom. By recognizing that each person is gifted a free mind from God, each person is entitled to the right of free thought.
The second stanza of the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom is that actual act itself, and clearly defines what Religious Freedom means, and the necessity of the Separation of Church and State.
II. Be it enacted by the General Assembly, that no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief; but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinion in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil capacities.
The act protects citizens from being forced to support, or attend any religious observance. Furthermore, it is clearly stated that no citizen shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, or to be made to suffer on account of his or her religious opinions. In short, this means that in matter of Religious opinion, such as when does life begin, or what defines marriage, one's rights cannot be limited by the doctrine of any religion. Every citizen is allowed to maintain their own opinion regarding religion, and that in no way shall their opinion diminish or affect their rights.
Finally, the last stanza of the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom states that the act is describing a natural, and inalienable right of the people. It warns that to circumvent the language of the act with future legislation is to be done at the assembly's own peril, as no government or person can ever revoke this natural, and inalienable right.
III. And though we well know that this assembly elected by the people, for the ordinary purposes of legislation only, have no power to restrain the act of succeeding assemblies, constituted with powers equal to our own, and that therefore to declare this act to be irrevocable would be of no effect in law; yet we are free to declare, that the rights hereby asserted are of the natural rights of mankind, and that if any act shall be hereafter passed to repeal the present, or to narrow its operation, such as would be an infringement of the natural right.
The Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom was not some act that Thomas Jefferson took lightly. To him, this was a product based on a lifetime of work. In fact, it was so important to Thomas Jefferson that he requested that he be credited for the act on his tombstone. As such, his tombstone reads as follows:
"Here was buried Thomas Jefferson, Author of the Declaration of American Independence, of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom and Father of the University of Virginia"
Thomas Jefferson was the writer of the Declaration of Independence, the Third President of the United States, and the writer of the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom. The Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom provides language which both defines Separation of Church and State, and grants total protection of our freedom to practice religion. Without this document, we wouldn't have Freedom of Religion in the sense that we do today.
In the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson argued that "the laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle [citizens]" to certain inalienable rights. The Statute of Religious Freedom begins by stating that one of these natural rights is freedom of thought. The God which Thomas Jefferson attributes these inalienable rights is the natural God that is undeniably at work in the Universe. Without acknowledgement of this God, no one could secure the natural rights of man. The first stanza of the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom is as follows:
I. Whereas Almighty God hath created the mind free; that all attempts to influence it by temporal punishment or burthens, or by civil incapacitations, tend only to beget habits of hypocrisy and meanness, and are a departure from the plan of the Holy author of our religion, who being Lord both of body and mind, yet chose not to propagate it by coercion on either, as was his Almighty power to do.
Thomas Jefferson explains that God has gifted man with a free mind, and as such it is not appropriate for any person or government to curtail this freedom. By recognizing that each person is gifted a free mind from God, each person is entitled to the right of free thought.
The second stanza of the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom is that actual act itself, and clearly defines what Religious Freedom means, and the necessity of the Separation of Church and State.
II. Be it enacted by the General Assembly, that no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief; but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinion in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil capacities.
The act protects citizens from being forced to support, or attend any religious observance. Furthermore, it is clearly stated that no citizen shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, or to be made to suffer on account of his or her religious opinions. In short, this means that in matter of Religious opinion, such as when does life begin, or what defines marriage, one's rights cannot be limited by the doctrine of any religion. Every citizen is allowed to maintain their own opinion regarding religion, and that in no way shall their opinion diminish or affect their rights.
Finally, the last stanza of the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom states that the act is describing a natural, and inalienable right of the people. It warns that to circumvent the language of the act with future legislation is to be done at the assembly's own peril, as no government or person can ever revoke this natural, and inalienable right.
III. And though we well know that this assembly elected by the people, for the ordinary purposes of legislation only, have no power to restrain the act of succeeding assemblies, constituted with powers equal to our own, and that therefore to declare this act to be irrevocable would be of no effect in law; yet we are free to declare, that the rights hereby asserted are of the natural rights of mankind, and that if any act shall be hereafter passed to repeal the present, or to narrow its operation, such as would be an infringement of the natural right.
The Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom was not some act that Thomas Jefferson took lightly. To him, this was a product based on a lifetime of work. In fact, it was so important to Thomas Jefferson that he requested that he be credited for the act on his tombstone. As such, his tombstone reads as follows:
"Here was buried Thomas Jefferson, Author of the Declaration of American Independence, of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom and Father of the University of Virginia"
Thomas Jefferson's view of Religious Freedom is complete, well described, and completely correct. To violate this natural right of man is an affront of our God, the one who grants all natural rights. If God saw fit to force individuals to observe the law of the Bible, we would indeed not have the will to disobey. However, God has gifted us with the natural, and inalienable right to a free mind.
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