Freedom Isn’t Free. We Can Never Take it For Granted!

I thank God that I was born an American citizen and that I can live in a country where there is Freedom. Whether we celebrate Memorial Day, D-Day, Flag Day, the 4th of July, Veterans Day, or another National American Holiday, I want you to consider not just what our Founding Fathers set up America to be, but what they went through. Additionally, I want to show how freedom is very precious and we in America can NEVER take it for granted! Let’s dig in…

The Declaration of Independence: Declaring our Right to Freedom

July 4, 1776

WHEN in the Course of human Events, it becomes necessary for one People to dissolve the Political Bands 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 of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent Respect to the 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 these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness—-That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these Ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its Foundation on such Principles, and organizing its Powers in such Form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America. Read the rest here.

The Declaration was signed by 56 men from the 13 colonies. At the moment that this document was presented to the King of England, each and everyone of them became enemies of the Crown.

The Price of Freedom

Here is a short summary of what their signatures cost some of them…

Francis Lewis, New York: His wife was captured by the British in 1776 and later died as a result of her captivity. Lewis himself lived out his years in relative poverty, having sacrificed his independent fortune to the cause of patriotism during the War of Independence.

Phillip Livingston, New York: He and his family had to flee their home to escape the British army and never returned.

Lewis Morris, New York: His family fled the approaching British army, which plundered his estate, destroyed hundreds of acres of crops, and took his livestock.

John Hart, New Jersey: Hessians destroyed Hart’s farm, livestock, and other property. The hardships brought on by the destruction caused Hart’s wife to become sick, and she died as her husband was trying to reach her. Hart was forced to flee into the woods and slept in caves when the British troops invaded New Jersey. His children were forced into hiding and sought refuge with family and friends.

Richard Stockton, New Jersey: He was dragged from his bed by a group of royalists and imprisoned in New York, where he was denied basic necessities. He was finally released, but he had endured so much suffering that he never fully recovered. His fortune was nearly wiped out, his lands ruined, his papers and library were burned, and his livestock seized. For a while, he was forced to depend on the good will of his friends for survival.

George Clymer, Pennsylvania: His family eluded British soldiers who ransacked their house. Clymer was in Philadelphia during this time. When British troops arrived there, they found where he lived and started to tear the building down and only stopped when told the house didn’t belong to Clymer.

William Ellery, Rhode Island: His house was burned down and the rest of his property was destroyed while the British army occupied Newport.

Edward Rutledge, Arthur Middleton, and Thomas Heyward, South Carolina: All three were imprisoned at St. Augustine, Fla., for almost a year.

Thomas Nelson Jr., Virginia: He lost his fortune aiding the war effort and died a poor man.

John Morton, Pennsylvania: On his deathbed, he asked those in attendance to tell his enemies—those who didn’t forgive him for voting in favor of independence—that one day it would be acknowledged that casting his vote was the most important act of his life.

Abraham Clark, New Jersey: Two of Clark’s sons were officers in the army. They were captured by the British and confined to the prison ship Jersey, where thousands of American captives died. One was held in solitary confinement and given no food. Reportedly, Clark still refused to change his position and support the crown when the British offered to spare his sons’ lives if he did so. His headstone reads:

Firm and decided as a patriot,
zealous and faithful as a friend to the public,
he loved his country, and adhered to her cause
in the darkest hours of her struggles
against oppression.
The Fate of Our Founding Fathers, American Profile

If you’d like to learn more about the truth of America’s Founding Fathers, visit TBN and watch “Independence Day” with David and Tim Barton of Wallbuilders.

Separation of Church and State

The separation of church and state is not to keep the church out of government. It’s to keep the government out of the church…

The First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
U.S. Constitution

In other words, they saw what European countries like England (Church of England/Anglican) and Spain (Roman Catholic Church) were experiencing. They wanted to make sure that citizens of the United States were free to worship whatever religion they chose. Likewise, if they didn’t want to worship anything, they were not forced to do so.

Looking at Christian church history, once the Roman Empire fell, the church started taking over the military. Kings chose popes, popes crowned kings. The church and the state were inseparable. With each regime change, Christians had to either adapt, adopt, assimilate, go underground or be killed.

Lack of Freedom to worship as we please is persecution.

Governments can easily take away our freedom if we let them. We saw that with the Government restrictions on all religious organizations meeting in 2020 during the pandemic. Sadly, many religious institutions ended up closing, and even some pastors were arrested. We lost our freedom to worship.

Christian Persecution — No Freedom of Religion

All we have to do is look around the world at Christian persecution today. Voice of the Martyrs reports on Christian persecution around the world…

Pakistan

Pakistan is the world’s fifth most populous nation. It has an officially Islamic system of government,and 98% of Pakistanis are Muslim. Though it is accurate to describe Christians as “second-class citizens” under Pakistan’s Islamic law, that phrase may understate the severity of the oppression.
Cole Richards, president, Voice of the Martyrs

India

When we think of India, we think of Bollywood and tech support call centers. Nevertheless, Christian persecution is high there.

Radical Hindus violently oppose Christians throughout India, seeking to eliminate all witness for Christ and to “purify” their nation by making it entirely Hindu. Hindu extremists live in nearly every village and report on Christians, making false accusations against them as well as assaulting those who refuse to return to Hinduism.
Voice of the Martyrs

Uganda

Here we see the steadfastness and bold faith of Geoffrey, a young man skilled in electronics. He learned about Christ by helping at Christian gospel services. When his father found out, he beat him and tortured him. After VOM helped him, his wife and two kids resettle elsewhere, his faith is still solidly grounded…

“I have seen the power of God in my life,” he said. “They took away the house and land and threw us out, but they cannot take away our Jesus.”
Voice of the Martyrs

Freedom is NOT Free!

God gave us freedom — free will — but the devil is continuously trying to tempt us away from it. We have to work hard to keep it. So many people have died protecting it.

Here’s what the Bible says…

Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.

¹³For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
Galatians 5:1, 13 NKJV

¹⁷Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
2 Corinthians 3:17 NKJV

Jesus Said…

“If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. ³²And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

³⁶Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.
John 8:31b-32, 36 NKJV

Our Founding Fathers Studied the Bible

Prior to the first meeting of the Continental Congress, the Founding Fathers met for a prayer service and they studied Psalm 35. Since I’ll be eventually getting to this Psalm in my “Sunday Psalms” series, I’ll let you read it on your own, but note the last passage…

²⁸And my tongue shall speak of Your righteousness
And of Your praise all the day long.
Psalm 35:28 NKJV

Here’s a paraphrase of a quote from one of the Founding Fathers…

If we remove the Bible from schools, we will spend time and money punishing crimes that we could have prevented by teaching young people morals.
Paraphrase of Benjamin Rush

Wow! Imagine that! What a concept!

Without religion — the Bible — God’s instruction book — there can be no virtue. Without virtue, there can be no liberty. Furthermore, Liberty is the object of our government. If we teach the Bible, we can always enjoy freedom. The government took the Bible and prayer out of schools in America in 1961. I was 6. I don’t remember either way. However, this makes me stop and think how different my life would have been like if I had had a solid Bible-based upbringing rather than the fake “religious instruction” of the Roman Catholic Church. Check out my testimony at the bottom.

The Biblical Christian church failed the subsequent generations. They should have fought the removal. The church is the weakest it has ever been. Consequently, its vision of godliness is gone.

²When there is moral rot within a nation, its government topples easily.
But wise and knowledgeable leaders bring stability.
Proverbs 28:2 NLT

Jesus told us to build on a solid foundation...

²⁴“Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. ²⁵Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. ²⁶But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. ²⁷When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”
Matthew 7:24-27 NLT

Clearly, that is HIS teaching — not the watered-down, twisted, and corrupted false teachings of Catholic and woke churches.

How can we tell if what we are hearing in our church is the true Gospel? We must rely on the Holy Spirit — the Spirit of Truth — to help us discern.

I heard this quote today…

“As long as we can pray, God can move.”
General Gerry Boynkin

God promised us through the Prophet Isaiah…

¹⁵When you lift up your hands in prayer, I will not look.
    Though you offer many prayers, I will not listen,
    for your hands are covered with the blood of innocent victims.
¹⁶Wash yourselves and be clean!
    Get your sins out of my sight.
    Give up your evil ways.
¹⁷Learn to do good.
    Seek justice.
Help the oppressed.
    Defend the cause of orphans.
    Fight for the rights of widows.

¹⁸“Come now, let’s settle this,”
    says the Lord.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
    I will make them as white as snow.
Though they are red like crimson,
    I will make them as white as wool.
¹⁹If you will only obey me,
    you will have plenty to eat.
²⁰But if you turn away and refuse to listen,
    you will be devoured by the sword of your enemies.
    I, the Lord, have spoken!”
Isaiah 1:15-20 NLT

Have YOU found freedom in Christ?

If you’re not sure if you’re saved or not, if you truly want to be born again and have the assurance of salvation, receive the Holy Spirit, feel His Shalom — a peace that surpasses all understanding, and get a 1-way, non-stop ticket to Heaven after you die, or that you won’t be left behind at the Rapture, which can happen at any moment, this is what you have to do…

Believe. Repent. Be Baptized. Receive the Holy Spirit.

Believe — have Faith — that Jesus is the Christ and He died taking your sins away forever and that He rose from the dead 3 days later.
Repent of your sins — stop sinning! Do a complete 180-degree turn in your life and surrender your life to Him. When you ask Jesus to forgive you He will. ALL your sins will be wiped clean — past, present, and future! And All means ALL!
Be Baptized by water baptism — show the world and yourself that you have died to your old life and are born again in Christ.
Receive the gift of Holy Spirit in your heart.