Bulwark of a free society

 Bulwark of a free society

In the book of Genesis we read,

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." 

                                                                                         Genesis 1:1

The Bible does not debate the existence of God. It has no reason to. It was written to believers and believers in God do not dispute His existence.

To believers, it is God who wrote on each individuals heart what is right and wrong. It is belief in God that laid down universal moral values we all should live by. 

Abba Hillel Silver during the second world war in Britain wrote,

"Faith in God is the strongest bulwark of a free society.  Human freedom began when men became conscious that over and above society and nature there is a God who created them...who fashioned them in His likeness, and that they are, therefore, possessed of intrinsic and independent significance and are endowed, as individuals, with original and irrevocable rights and authority." Abba Hillel Silver.

The way I see things when God is left out of society bad things happen. We just have to look at Nazi Germany during the second world war to see what happens when men forget about or don’t believe in God. People end up in prison, tortured or are murdered for their beliefs. Life becomes cheap.

And the Nazis while perhaps the most extreme example in history, they don’t have a monopoly on the persecution of believers in God. It is happening around the world today.

It is believed that tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of people are persecuted,, in prison or labour camps simply for believing in God believing in Christ Jesus. A God that quite often, those who are imprisoning believers in God, say does not exist.

I firmly believe that if society is to thrive we need to keep belief in God strong within our society. That we need to worship our loving God in spirit and in truth. We need to show the love of a God to all those around us no matter who they are, family, friend and foe alike.

I firmly believe that we who are free in the western democracies need to pray not just for those who are in prison for their beliefs. But for those who are imprisoning them. That they will see that God exists and that they will see that the word the writer of  Ecclesiastes is true when he wrote,

"Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole  duty  of man. 

For God will bring every deed into judgement, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil." Ecclesiastes 12:13,14.

Please think about it.

Sound Doctrine

Sound Doctrine
The apostle Paul writes,
“For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.  
They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.” 2Timothy 4:3,4.
This is a warning not just for Paul’s day but for every generation of believers. Sadly too many people in the Christian community only listen to what they want to hear. This does not necessarily lead to the truth.
St. Augustine said,
“If you believe what you like in the gospels, and reject what you don’t like, it is not the gospel you believe, but yourself.” St Augustine.
From time to time I believe we need what we believe questioned. We should not live in a bubble. We should do as Paul writing to Timothy states,
“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.”  2 Timothy 2:15.
At the same time we need to discuss our beliefs with others. Even question what we believe.
It was by questioning their own beliefs, by questioning what they had been taught, that Martin Luther and John Calvin realized that some of what they believed was not scriptural. This triggered what we know today as the Reform or Protestant movement.
Those who believe in Christ Jesus. Those who are truly rooted in the truth of Christ’s teachings need not fear their faith being questioned.
Quite the contrary if what we believe is true, questioning what we believe will only make us stronger in our faith.
So the question I would ask you, if you espouse to be a believer in Christ Jesus do you from time to time question what you are being taught? Or, Do you simply blindly trust those who are teaching you?
Please think about it.