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“the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.” -Daniel 11:32 (NKJV)

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Freedom Takes Faith

Posted by Dan on October 28, 2009 in Constitution, Faith, Religious Freedom

The Bible tells us that “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people” (Proverbs 14:34 NIV). Wherever there are men who maintain an active vigil over their hearts, who not only know what is right but do what is right, who reverently fear God and acknowledge Him by faith in Jesus Christ, there you will find peace, prosperity, and free men. On the other hand, wherever you find people who throw off all restraint, who insist in calling evil good and good evil, who deny God and exalt themselves above all things, there you will find tyrannical government and all of its fruits in full bloom: oppressive taxes, unjust laws and regulations, brutal police and a terrorized public. The great American orator and legislator, Patrick Henry, warned that “Bad men cannot make good citizens. It is impossible that a nation of infidels or idolaters should be a nation of free men. It is when a people forget God that tyrants forge their chains. A vitiated state of morals, a corrupted public conscience, are incompatible with freedom.”

America’s Founding Fathers understood a concept which I call “freedom takes faith.” They understood this because they knew that immorality and corruption serve as a pretext for government power to dilate and regulate, but self-controlled men are able to rule themselves and keep themselves and their nation in check from every manner of evil. Our Founding Fathers were not ashamed to confess Christ as their Lord and Savior – which is to say they believed in the Bible and acted upon its principles – because the Christian faith is the manifesto for freedom.

Consider the people of ancient Egypt: their people worshipped everything from humans to gnats, and their system of morality freely permitted their Pharaoh to engage in acts of mass genocide against infant Hebrews as a means for both population control and national security. Ancient Egypt was a tyrannical regime based on fear, intimidation, and slavery. A young Moses attempted to stir the Hebrews to revolt against their Egyptian task masters through violence, but his attempt at inspiring them failed to achieve anything fundamental. What ultimately permitted the Hebrews to be free from the economic, political, and racial tyranny of the Egyptians and their Pharaoh was not violent revolution but rather spiritual revolution through a reverent recognition of God and faith in Him.

In the pastoral epistle of 1 Timothy 6:3-6, the Apostle Paul warns,

If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, he is conceited and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions and constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain. But godliness with contentment is great gain (NIV).

Here we see that everything that can possibly go wrong in human society begins with individuals who are led not by faith but by carnal desires and lusts. Self controlled individuals keep themselves in check and do not require excessive laws to restrict their behavior or taxes to control their habits, as is the case with a society where no one is able to control themselves. Self controlled individuals likewise demand that those who are entrusted with leading their government be men who do not pervert justice but honor the rule of law and remain faithful to the people.

The Bible says in 2 Chronicles 20:20, “Have faith in the LORD your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful” (NIV). The Bible records, “Israel saw that great work which the LORD did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared the LORD and believed the LORD and his servant Moses” (Exodus 14:31 KJV). By having faith in God and His prophetic messenger, Moses, they not only escaped but devastated the greatest system of tyranny the ancient world had known. Today, Americans who seek to restore our Republic can do so by believing in God and His greatest Messenger of all, Jesus.