Protect and Defend Your Right to the Establishment of a Religion, and the Free Exercise Thereof – Part III
I was listening to an Andy Stanley sermon on iTunes this
afternoon when the doorbell rang. It was Chris Hagenow, my state
representative, doing the door-to-door thing for this fall’s election. Now, I
don’t know if Chris is Republicrat or Democan, and I don’t care. He emails his
constitutents, I email him, he always writes back, takes what I talk about and
explains how he is carrying the views of his constituents into the snakepit
Iowa House of Representatives. At least it isn’t the Iowa State Senate where he
has to put up with dingbat Gronstal on a regular basis.
But, I digress. Yes, I am going to vote for him again and
would recommend you do so too if you have the opportunity. But, as we were
talking, he mentioned that he hadn’t seen a new blog from me for a while. Just
knowing that anyone else reads these things inspired me to go ahead and get
back on the keyboard. And, knowing it was Chris kind of puffed me up and pepped
me up.
This is the third in a series. It is longer than a typical
blog, because this is a really detailed topic that I feel very strongly about.
Very simply, it is time for all citizens, let alone all Christians, all
Disciples of our Lord, to fight
for the right to establish their religion and to exercise thereof freely.
Let’s get clear on this. Please, understand completely from
the outset how strongly I feel here. This is what Doug Giles had to say that
kicked my mind in to “prolific writing” status:
The Church needs the biblical rebel
spirit of our founders injected back into the evangelical mix instead of this
squishy, pusillanimous, ignoble and compliant crapola that’s currently cranking
through our indolent pulpits and pews. God help the Church to lose its
cowardly, effeminate bent in these critical days. Amen. – Doug Giles
I always said that, when the revolution comes and they are
lining up people who they try and find to be guilty of Christianity, they would
grab me, stab me and slab me without a trial, that there would no need to find
evidence, that my true colors are clear. You shall know we are Christians by our love, and there are a lot more
reasons that you should know I am a Christian.
As a Disciple of our Lord,
you might ask, what is it that I fundamentally believe. Lots of things are
variable and optional among those I know to be Disciples and those who profess
to be Christians, but the salient points of import to me are:
1.
The Great
Commission – found in Matthew 28:16-20
It is our job, directly commanded
to Disciples by the Lord, to go
into the world and preach the gospel to everybody. Not just the ones who want
to hear it, not just where we want to go, not just where they want us to go.
It’s like Stansfield in The Professional
screaming”I MEAN EVERYBODY!!!”
2.
One Way
– found in John 3
Anyone who trusts in him is
acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death
sentence without knowing it. And why?
Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God
when introduced to him.
3.
One End
– found in Revelation 21:
Conquerors inherit all this. I’ll be God to
them, they’ll be sons and daughters to me. But for the rest—the feckless and
faithless —for them it’s Lake Fire and Brimstone. Second death!"
Conveniently, Doug Giles then brought up 4 points that he proposed as talking points. Then he did not do a lot of talking. Silly boy. That leaves room for me to talk, right?
Point, the First
Some dainty saints of today think rebellion against tyrants is disobedience to God, when the converse is actually true.
One of the greatest learnings of a Disciple is discernment;
that pretty much either follows or leads to willingness to buck the flow,
another key ingredient in life according to the Voice of Truth.
The “unknown epistle writer” tells us in the letter to the Hebrews
in the 5th and 6th chapters:
By this time you ought to be teachers yourselves, yet here I find you need someone to sit down with you and go over the basics on God again, starting from square one—baby’s milk, when you should have been on solid food long ago! Milk is for beginners, inexperienced in God’s ways; solid food is for the mature, who have some practice in telling right from wrong. So come on, let’s leave the preschool fingerpainting exercises on Christ and get on with the grand work of art. Grow up in Christ.
Practice in telling right from wrong. Easily said, difficult
initially to discern. God makes it pretty clear to me in His Word that right is
right and wrong is wrong; but, the world of today, post modern as it is, has
phased to a state of relative truth. Relative analysis is dangerous, because
what we end up with what I think is right may be wrong for you, what I think is
wrong may be right for you, and we both are right and wrong at the same time.
Sol Davidson, who was pretty much regarded as the smartest
man around then and could have given Hawking , Freud, Kant, Plato, Aristotle,
Socrates and Einstein a run for their money, in the 29th chapter of
his book of witticisms says:
1 For people who hate discipline and only get more stubborn, There’ll
come a day when life tumbles in and they break, but by then it’ll be too late
to help them. 2 When good people run things, everyone is glad, but when the
ruler is bad, everyone groans. 3 If you love wisdom, you’ll delight your
parents, but you’ll destroy their trust if you run with whores. 4 A leader of
good judgment gives stability; an exploiting leader leaves a trail of waste. 5
A flattering neighbor is up to no good; he’s probably planning to take
advantage of you. 6 Evil people fall into their own traps; good people run the
other way, glad to escape. 7 The good-hearted understand what it’s like to be
poor; the hardhearted haven’t the faintest idea. 8 A gang of cynics can upset a
whole city; a group of sages can calm everyone down. 9 A sage trying to work
things out with a fool gets only scorn and sarcasm for his trouble. 10
Murderers hate honest people; moral folks encourage them. 11 A fool lets it all
hang out; a sage quietly mulls it over. 12 When a leader listens to malicious
gossip, all the workers get infected with evil. 13 The poor and their abusers
have at least something in common: they can both see—their sight, GOD’s gift!
14 Leadership gains authority and respect when the voiceless poor are treated
fairly. 15 Wise discipline imparts wisdom; spoiled adolescents embarrass their
parents. 16 When degenerates take charge, crime runs wild, but the righteous
will eventually observe their collapse. 17 Discipline your children; you’ll be
glad you did—they’ll turn out delightful to live with.
My first thought to discuss that popped immediately out of
this is: “When good people run things, everyone is glad, but when the ruler is
bad, everyone groans.” True then, true now, shall be true forever. And, another line worth noting especially is “A
sage trying to work things out with a fool gets only scorn and sarcasm for his
trouble.” And, finally, “Discipline your children; you’ll be glad you
did—they’ll turn out delightful to live with.”
The same principles are equally or moreso true with respect
to tyrants and kings.
Next time:
