Freedom: A Funeral or Future?

In Mark Driscoll’s recently-released, compelling book A Call to Resurgence, his subheading asks: “Will Christianity have a funeral or a future?” We can appropriately ask the same question concerning freedom as we have been blessed to know it in America.

God has always desired that those who know Him as Father be blessed and become a blessing to all people on the earth. His children are to be fruitful, wise overseers of all He created, faithfully proclaiming the life and liberty that can only be found in Christ. From the time of Christopher Columbus, our founders believed they were on a divine mission. Only foolish minds can deny the effect faith and a desire for religious freedom had on the birth of our great nation.

In our present day, enemies of faith and true freedom don’t even want to acknowledge the supernatural power that influenced America’s birth or the importance of God, faith, family, and the principles necessary for freedom. Their coalition of hostile forces, however different, diverse or distinct, refuses to be divided. They stand together hell-bent in opposition to undeniable, absolute, transforming truth. Sadly, those who know the truth and hold to the importance of it seem unable to work together as a family standing in behalf of faith and true freedom.

The exaltation of truth and freedom has transformed people
and blessed nations throughout the ages.

 It’s now time for people who understand the value of faith and freedom and its foundation, to stand together like a mighty army, an undeniable spiritual force. The very term “freedom” implies the potential for abuse. For freedom’s sake, for your sake and for your posterity, do not assault, attack, and destroy freedom in a foolish attempt to curb or control abuse. Don’t destroy freedom’s fertile fields of opportunity because of the neglect or abuse on the part of any individual. We must reclaim the land of promise birthed through faith, prayer and personal sacrifice to bless the American people and the nations of the world. Our freedom can only be preserved with the same determination, diligence, and supernatural unity Jesus prayed for and freedom’s champions so well understand.

The framers of the Constitution knew that the freedom — actually true liberty — they offered demanded responsible citizens. Benjamin Franklin was asked if the meeting in Philadelphia had created a monarchy or a republic. Franklin answered, “A republic – if you can keep it.” Franklin, along with the other founders, knew that in order for liberty to be maintained, it would have to be supported by principled statesmen who were actively engaged in the task of governing themselves, encouraging all citizens to hold fast to truths espoused in the Declaration of Independence.

With deep conviction, I am openly stating that I believe we are on the verge of losing freedom’s blessings because we have too few well-informed, responsible citizens. The church has not understood the importance of living under the control of God with the powerful spirit of God providing the strength for us to not only enjoy the privileges and possibilities of freedom, but also to protect them.

Jesus commissioned His followers to share the truth that sets people free and keeps them free. He said, “When the Son sets you free, you are free indeed.”

True freedom is living under the control of God,
not under the control of any other power or influence. 

Ronald Reagan made many great statements concerning freedom including this one: “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We don’t pass it on to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected and handed on to them to do the same or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States when men were free.”

I do not want to be found among those who will be asked what we were doing when freedom died. By the grace of God, with His help and the help of those who share common concerns and with Christians of conviction, I will not be indifferent and allow freedom to die on my watch. I will continue to pray, preach and openly call for a return to God-given principles.

To compromise truth is to compromise freedom and its blessings.

Our nation is in the process of doing it and we are marching toward the death of freedom and the destruction of meaningful national life. We are presently following the course of decaying nations we can observe around the world where intellectual, moral and economic systems are collapsing. Some in power today are actually suggesting we follow other nations’ tragic course. May God forbid it and may we stand together to prevent it!

America’s founders believed they were on a journey similar to that of Israel’s exodus from Egypt to God’s Promised Land. Moses was their hero. His farewell address delivered on Mount Nebo references the choices God offers those desiring true freedom. Martin Luther King, Jr. repeated these words the night before he was assassinated in 1968, and Ronald Reagan repeated them while standing at the base of the Statue of Liberty celebrating our nation’s birthday in 1986.

“See, I have set before you this day life and good, death and adversity. For I command you this day to love the Lord your God to walk in His ways and to keep his commandments. But if you turn away, you will certainly perish. You shall not long endure on the soil that you are crossing the Jordan to enter. I have put before you life and death, blessing and curse, choose life that you and your offspring shall live.” (Deuteronomy 30:15-19)

The life being offered was a life of freedom, fullness and fruitfulness. God has granted us both the privilege and responsibility of being overseers, good stewards of all that He had entrusted to our watch care. We are to tend to our business, maintaining legitimate self-interest, but never lose our focus on God and the importance of others. We must understand what it means to be “our brother’s keeper”, and it by no means indicates that we should turn responsibility over to some dictatorial, controlling power base. We might as well have a ruthless tyrant in power. If we fail to govern ourselves and remain in control of the powers that be, we will witness anarchy.

Those of you reading this article live at the greatest moment in human history.

You can be the guardians, the gate keepers, the restorers of the foundation and the wall builders maintaining our precious liberty. Let not your hearts be troubled. Keep the faith. Fight the fight as a good soldier of the Lord Jesus Christ with the whole armor of God and the sword of the Spirit, don’t bend and don’t bow before the godless influences of this world and you will not be crushed and enslaved by the powers in this present world!

Jesus said the gates of hell (deception, defeat, destruction, and debt) will not prevail against the church standing upon God’s revealed truth. For some time, Christians have allowed hell’s gates to prevail while they sit in church. Now is the time to waken from slumber, confront the culture and help restore freedom’s blessing. People of faith can and must inspire strong, stable, effective, limited government power.

I will gladly spend the rest of my life inspiring others to action. God is calling us to far more than religion. He is calling us to repentance, a personal, intimate relationship with Him, and the restoration of freedom’s foundation. Religion is strong enough to make men hate one another, but not strong enough to make men love one another. God is calling us to a life filled with the power of transforming love and the boldness of New Testament believers to stand against the powers of this present darkness. A dying world is waiting for the release of the river of life flowing freely from the lives of yielded believers.

When God rules in individual lives, sound principles will prevail in our land.  Leaders will no longer be chosen because of personality, party affiliation, or skillful communication. They will be chosen because of their commitment to God-given principles necessary for the survival of true freedom.

“Unless a man becomes the enemy of evil, he will not even become its slave,
but rather its champion. God himself will not help us to ignore evil,
but only to defy and defeat it.” – G.K. Chesterton