Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. – Galatians 5:1

On this July fourth, as I often do, I am thanking God for the freedom of religion that is guaranteed by our Bill of Rights.

It is an ideal. It is not fully realized for all, but among our freedoms, it is about the best protected in our system. It does not guarantee favoritism or preferred status in our beliefs. That would be contrary to its purpose and deprive others of the same freedom. 

It guarantees us free exercise and assembly.

There are many places in the world where this is still a big struggle.

It is always fragile and requires a tight-rope balance between extremes.

I am grateful for the Baptists of Virginia and Connecticut who lobbied for this freedom along with others, who became unlikely  allies with the philosophers of the Enlightenment and free thinkers like Thomas Jefferson.

I am grateful for all who crafted the statement that they could not fully understand and who championed its cause.

Mostly, I am grateful to God for having the idea in the first place.

It is true that many of the ideals that have defined what we strive for were not fully understood and have not been fully. Over the centuries, many have remained disenfranchised and disinherited. But it is in the magnificent mix of the freedoms of religion, speech, and press that people of conscience can advocate for the continuing evolution of what all humanity longs for – freedom, dignity, liberty, opportunity, justice, and equity.

It is God's big idea.

God created us in His own image with the freedom to choose Him or reject Him. 

Otherwise, we could not have come by faith, in love, and through conversion. God’s design presupposes freedom. Salvation requires the work of the Holy Spirit regenerating the human heart that receives Him willingly.

Coercive conversions are no conversions at all. State sponsored religion creates an unregenerate and unconvinced church membership.

God has given men and women a deep desire for freedom. True freedom is only realized fully in Christ. It is at the heart of the gospel.

If the gospel is to be proclaimed freely, it must not be supervised by human agencies. Nor can man dictate the way that God will work with a human heart.

Jesus said, “The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.” – John 3:8

That is the essence of soul freedom and the best guarantee that government can give for such freedom is to stay out of the way. And that is what our Constitution does for us and for that I am grateful.

We must work to the goal of the liberation of all people and we must guard our freedom by never submitting to a yolk of slavery or oppression, peacefully resisting all threats to liberty and conscience with a willingness to face the consequences of our convictions.

Let us honor those foresighted fathers of our country who respected the inherent dignity of each person before God and fashioned our national liberties on that basis. As we ring the bells of patriotism this Independence Day, let us sing with renewed zeal, deeper knowledge, and stronger conviction:

 

America, America,
God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea.

 -Katharine Lee Bates, 1893