Freedom???
John 8:32 "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
Physical freedom is one of our most precious and fragile possessions. Men have died by the millions to claim this great prize. Countless millions of others have spent a great portion of their lives, time and energy to possess it.
We today owe a great debt to those of our fore-fathers who worked to bring us this great gift, freedom. But I fear we may be in great danger of extinguishing its flame.
Someone once observed "A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largess from the public treasury. From that moment on the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been two hundred years. These nations have progressed through this sequence: From bondage to spiritual faith; from spiritual faith to great courage; from courage to liberty; from liberty to abundance; from abundance to selfishness; from selfishness to complacency; from complacency to apathy; from apathy to dependence; from dependence complacency to apathy; from apathy to dependence; from dependence back again into bondage.” May such a thing never be true in our country but alas the wolf would seem to be at our door.
The sixteenth amendment ot the Constitution, legalizing federal income taxes, was adopted in 1913. It began as an amendment to a bill in Congress lowering the tariff on imports. The idea was that the small deficit from reduced tariff receipts could be taken care of by a tiny tax on prosperous incomes. On incomes from $14,000 to $20,000, the bite was one percent. Few made over $4,000. That amount had a buying power of at least $10,000 of today's money. Few opposed the idea. It didn't seem important.
The tax was $140.00 - $200.00. For 137 years our nation existed without an income tax.The cost of the tax has risen in eighty years from the miniscule one percent to the now in excess of one third of the average income. Many Americans have decided that it is no longer profitable to work for a living. We need a restoration of the old work ethic that rewards productivity and turn from the something for nothing mentality. Eventually we the populace must foot the bill.
Edward Gibbon warns us of the possibility of loosing our freedoms in "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire."
1) The undermining of the dignity and sanctity of the home.
2) Increasing taxes and spending of public money for bread and circuses.
3) The mad craze for pleasure, with sports becoming more exciting and more brutal.
4) The building of gigantic armaments, when the real enemy is the decadence of the people.
5) The decay of religion, with faith fading into mere form.
Sociologist and historian Carle Zimmerman, in his 1947 book "Family and Civilization", recorded his keen observations as he compared the disintegration of various cultures with the parallel decline of family life in those cultures. Eight specific patterns of domestic behavior typified the downward spiral of each culture Zimmerman studied. Marriage loses its sacredness...is frequently broken in divorce.
Traditional meaning of the marriage ceremony is lost.
Feminist movements abound.
Increased public disrespect for parents and authority in general.
Acceleration of juvenile delinquency, promiscuity, and rebellion.
Refusal of people with traditional marriages to accept family responsibilities.
Growing desire for and acceptance of adultery.
Increasing interest in and spread of sexual perversions and sex related crimes. (This last one generally marks the final stage of societal disintegration.)
The "creeping, all-pervading gas" may be invisible, but according to Zimmerman, it can be lethal.
French writer Alexis de Tocqueville, after visiting America in 1831, said, "I sought for the greatness of the United States in her commodious harbors, her ample rivers, her fertile fields, and boundless forests -- and it was not there. I sought for it in her rich mines, her vast world commerce, her public school system, and in her institutions of higher learning -- and it was not there. I looked for it in her democratic Congress and her matchless Constitution -- and it was not there. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great!"
The first official act of the U.S. Congress formed under our Constitution was to select a chaplain. The second act was to authorize the purchase of 20,000 Bibles to give to the Indians.
I am firmly convinced if Americans are to preserve their freedom that must include God and His teachings in the social fabric.
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." John 8:32-36.
Jesus promises us true everlasting freedom.
If a man possesses this freedom he can be free even though he be a slave. He can be free even in a land that knows no democracy.
"Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." 2 Corinthians 3:17
This freedom is of far more value than the civil freedom in this world.
5. We must take care that we not lose this precious gift of freedom by being overtaken in sin.
Galatians 5:1 (KJV) "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage."
6. We must live the life of free men and accept all its responsiblilties.
We must live like free men
Romans 6:18 (KJV) "Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness."
We must not use our freedom to commit more sin
1 Peter 2:15-16 (KJV) "For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: 16 As free, and not using your liberty for a cloak of maliciousness, but as the servants of God."
If we return to sin we will lose our freedom
Romans 6:22-23 (KJV) "But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. 23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
Galatians 5:1 (NRSV) "For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery."
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