True freedom can never be experienced until one comes to know the Lord Jesus Christ, as only through Him can we truly be free. True freedom cannot be divorced from truth and truth can only be defined by the Bible. In the last blog, I talked about the only way we can live an overcoming life is to line up our lives with the standards and commandments of the Bible. God did not give us commandments to punish us or deny us any good thing. He gave us commandments so that by following them we could live blessed lives in this earth. Since He created man and the earth, He also established the rules for living. If we follow those rules we are blessed, but if we disobey and rebel against His rules, we will fall under a curse. God gave man a choice. We can choose to obey Him and be blessed or disobey and be destroyed. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life” and this means we can never know truth unless we know Him and we can never be free unless we know Him.
“I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live” (Deuteronomy 30:19).
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6).
God gives every person a free will to choose to follow Him or choose to disobey and suffer the consequences in this life, and in the life to come, doing evil and rejecting Christ will cause that person to go to a permanent place known as hell. We can choose our destination – believe in Christ and follow Him to heaven or reject Him and follow the devil and go to hell.
Penalties Should Be Imposed for Criminal Acts
Do we have freedom to commit criminal acts? Yes, but if we do, then we also should face the penalties imposed for committing those evil deeds. We are free to choose to do evil, but not free from the consequences of our choices. The Bible outlines many principles for the good of society as a whole; keeping them, brings blessing and order to society. The practice of evil brings destruction. If any man’s freedom imposes harm on another, then it is not the freedom that our founding fathers intended to extend to the people. If any man’s use of his freedom of speech perverts the minds of our children, then we have the right to rise up and say that is not the kind of speech that we will tolerate.
Pornography – A Perversion of Free Speech
I just read a review of an evil book and movie entitled, Fifty Shades of Grey. No Christian should see this movie, as it demonstrates perverted sex on the screen (sado-masochistic bondage sex). This is the same as pornography. As Christians, we are called to live holy and pure lives and we should never partake in movies or sexual acts that are depraved. The Bible tells us to live a separated life from the evils of this world.
“Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you” (2 Corinthians 6:17).
Pornography should never be protected under the first amendment as freedom of speech because it is an evil that is doing great harm to our society. Among the many evil fruits of this sin are broken marriages, the spread of sexual diseases and the extreme sexual perversions that incite sexual predators to rape and kill women and children. The devil is furnishing the pornographers with an escape for their evil deeds by using the first amendment as their legal way to get by with what they are doing. This is a perversion of freedom of speech. Certain religious deeds fall under this same thing. Freedom of religion gives us the right to worship as we are led by God, but if any religious deeds harm or destroy people, it should not be protected under the Constitution. Acts of terrorism, in the name of God, fall in this same category. Biblical principles and guidelines influenced the forming of our Constitution; those same guidelines should interpret our Constitution at the judicial level.
Should Christian Morals Influence Public Life?
Many Americans have believed the lie that we should not allow those who practice Christian religious morals to impose those good principles on the public. What is wrong with influencing the public with good? True Biblical standards will always create an environment for the good of all, while wicked standards will allow evil to overcome good. If Christian and Biblical moral practices are not incorporated into our national life, evil men will impose upon us their wicked interpretation of “freedom” i.e., the right to do evil in the name of freedom.
Biblical Definition of Freedom
If our definition of freedom is not based on the Biblical definition, then it is not true freedom. Jesus said that the truth would set us free. Since Jesus Himself is The Truth, His words to us will free us. Bondage is the alternative to freedom. The devil brings men into bondage by tempting them to sin, being careful not to tell them that the wages of sin is death. Bondage from sin comes in many forms–addictions, stress, fear, diseases, unforgiveness, torment, etc. The only way to escape from bondage is to come to Jesus and repent of our sins and find His love and forgiveness. He then will disciple us and teach us His Word and His ways so that we will be set free from every bondage that sin brings.
“Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; 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 8:31-36).
Additional articles can be found on our Bible Answers page at http://bibleresources.org/bible-answers/
Related Topics
What the Bible Says about Freedom of Speech
If this message has been a blessing to you and you would like to see more like them posted, you can help make this possible by your gifts to Christ Unlimited Ministries.
