Religious Liberty

America is just a few weeks away from celebrating its 250th anniversary. The American experiment as it has been called is unlike anything in history. No other nation/state empire has ever been established for the express purpose of insuring freedoms on such a scale as America.  

The preamble to the constitution states… “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” Following the articles of the constitution are the first 10 amendments which are known as “The Bill of Rights” and chief among them is Religious Liberty as stated in the 1st amendment—“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”.

With that in mind, you might be interested to know the heritage and position that our Southern Baptist Convention holds. In an article on Religious Liberty, Alex Ward lays it out as follows…

“And Jesus said to them, ‘Whose likeness and inscription is this?’ They said, ‘Caesar’s.’ Then he said to them, ‘Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’  Matt. 22:20-21(ESV)

A missional principle… The Baptist Faith & Message rightly declares, “A free church in a free state is the Christian ideal.” Defending religious freedom is part of the “DNA” of what it means to be a Baptist. For Baptists, religious liberty is a missional principle rooted in God’s character and his command to make disciples.

Lord of the conscience… In the same passage where Jesus reminds his disciples to render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, he also says that there are things which belong rightly to God, not Caesar. This is a reminder that God alone is Lord of the conscience, as he has created all people in his image (Gen. 1:27). The government should not interfere with the sincere religious convictions of individuals. Baptists have historically held that though the conscience is not infallible, recognizing that it can be malformed because of sin’s effects, it should be inviolable. When rightly formed by Scripture, individuals should live in accordance with conscience rather than do what they think to be sin (Rom. 14:1-12).

Submission to appointed authority… As a divine institution of God, Christians are to give obedience to government when it exercises its power justly within its sphere of authority. The command to give obedience to government is not a blessing of all the uses of government’s power, but a submission to the authority established by God (Rom. 13:1-7; 1 Pet. 2:14). However, Christians should resist commands from the government that call them to sin or reject the teachings of Christ. Most importantly, Christians must pray for all authorities and leaders—that they would further promote justice and justly govern society (1 Tim. 2:1-4).”

As July 4th approaches, let us be faithful to pray for our nation, its preservation and the protection of our religious liberties clearly articulated in the First Amendment. And remember that God is always trying to take us someplace new. I love being your Pastor.

For God’s Glory Alone,

Pastor Ray

Image credit: Unsplash