FREE TO BE
#283 FREE TO BE
Scripture John 8:36 NIV Orig. 11/16/63
Rewr. 6/29/88
Passage: 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
Purpose: To share with my people an Independence Day message reflecting upon our heritage of freedom that is in Christ.
Keywords: Christ the Deliverer Freedom Heritage Religious Liberty
Introduction
It was June 7, 1776, and the Continental Congress was in session. Richard Henry Lee, grandfather of Robert E. Lee, moved that the congress adopt a declaration of independence. It took nearly thirty days to decide the issue, days of discussion, debate, and prayer. On July 2nd, the resolution was adopted.
John Adams was a member of that congress. He wrote home to Abigail, “the second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epochal day, in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding generations, as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the day of Deliverance, by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty.” (John Adams and the American Revolution—Catherine Drinker Bowen, 1950).
Adams had no way of knowing that the new American congress would pick up on July 4th as the Epochal day. To these men, the signing was mere form. The milestone was reached when representatives from 12 of the 13 colonies agreed on a policy to pursue together, fully persuaded that it was none other than the will of God.
“When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bonds which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of Nature and Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect of opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. . . . We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among those are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”—Declaration of Independence.
Thus, we are guaranteed constitutional freedom, but true freedom awaits the constraint of faith. To deny to others what we hold so dear, is a betrayal of both the constraint and the faith. “Free to Be” is not worth a plug nickel if we would withhold it from any other person.
I. This Liberty Looks to the Scripture as Its Cradle. V31 “If ye continue in my word, then ye are my disciples indeed.” There is an absolute link here between this freedom and the word. We abuse freedom when we divest it of its scriptural character. The scripture mandates the criteria of liberty. Psalm 33:12 “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.” Psalm 119:45 “I will walk at liberty for I seek thy precepts.” John 8:32 “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” Romans 8:21 speaks of “. . . the glorious liberty of the children of God.” Galatians 5:1 “Stand fast, therefore, in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and do not be entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” I Peter 2:16f “Live as free men: . . . Give due honor to everyone; love to the brotherhood, reverence to God, honour to the sovereign.”
And others of persuasive faith have had their say.
Samuel Adams: “Driven from every other corner of the earth, freedom of thought and the right of private judgment in matters of conscience direct their course to this happy country as their last asylum.”
Alexander Hamilton: “The sacred rights of man are not to be rummaged from among old parchments or musty records. They are written as with a sunbeam in the whole volume of human nature by the hand of divinity itself and can never be erased by mortal power.”
There must be contemporary concern for this liberty. We face more and more dangers from the anti-religionists. The Bible nowhere remotely suggest a freedom from religion. The constitution, then, was not written to mandate that conclusion. The constitution was a guarantee of freedom “in,” not “from” religion.
We can learn much from the State of Israel about this false “dogma” religion. As late as this, the atheistic Jew is welcomed and given a valued place in the hierarchy of Israel. The Christian Jew is treated as an apostate and a traitor. The dangers of materialism are real and imminent, and we must stand our guard. Abuses are evident at every level. Yet, the pre-eminent safeguard for us is in practiced stewardship.
II. Religious Liberty Grew to Maturity in the White-Hot Forge of Democracy. V36 “If the Son frees you, you really will be free.” I remind you that the religious life of the early colonies was not characterized by religious freedom. Early colonial governments dictated religious practices. In New England particularly, there was an established state church. Isaac Backus, Baptist, appeared before the Continental Congress in 1774 to appeal for religious freedom in Massachusetts. John Adams, was without sympathy: “just as well expect a change in the Solar System as to expect Massachusetts to give up her established church.” Our compatriots were Jews. Catholics who had settled Maryland.
Free people are free simply because federal, state, municipal governments have no right to dictate religious practices. But remember, that is freedom “in,” not “from” religion. By its very declaration, it affirms the link.
Thus, in those early years, Baptists became the force for public conscience and freedom.
In 1740—50 Baptist churches
By 1776—perhaps 475
In 1795 there were over 1150
Today—36,000 Southern Baptists with that many others
It is imperative that we remember who we are and whose we are. It not who we are that God has blessed. His blessing then, and now, is upon those anointed with His concern for conscience, freedom, and truth. What better expression than that of variance in convention outlook but togetherness in mission.
Conservatives sustain a doctrinal base anchored in God’s Word. Moderates remind us that we are free, and accountable for ourselves to the Father. Together, we are to open the door of faith to as wide a gathering of seekers as we can. The questionable resolution on the priesthood of the believer is something for us to chew on until next year.
Conclusion
A Baptist named John Leland was the human influence that prodded James Madison to introduce the first amendment to the Constitution. In that amendment, the basis for religious freedom would be established. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the exercise thereof.”
We call ourselves “Baptist.” Considering what it means, are we? Or are we just prostituting the name until some real Baptists take it from us?