James 1:22 “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”
The Bible calls us to act on our faith; the Constitution gives us the right to do so. Our faith is hollow if we don’t; our rights are meaningless if we can’t. The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution 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.”
We are to exercise our faith, and the Constitution gives us the right of free exercise. The devil would be happy for us to be hearers only. Our earthly opponents would be happy for us to limit our rights to teaching and hearing only. Neither wants us to recognize our mandate to put our faith into action. They want us to deceive our own selves into thinking that teaching and hearing are the extent of our rights and our responsibilities. In a feeble nod to religious freedom, Justice Kennedy rendered the following in the majority opinion of June’s Obergefell v. Hodges:
“The First Amendment ensures that religious organizations and persons are given proper protection as they seek to teach the principles that are so fulfilling and so central to their lives and faiths, and to their own deep aspirations to continue the family structure they have long revered.”
This isn’t free exercise. This doesn’t protect being a doer, and only protects being a hearer. If this is the limit of our Constitutional rights, then we are being deceived. If this is how we limit ourselves in our Christian responsibilities, then we are deceiving our own selves.
PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERICAN CHRISTIANS WOULD FREELY EXERCISE OUR FAITH. The Bible doesn’t mandate a simple call to teaching and hearing. Instead, it provides a clear and unmistakable call to action!
SET YOUR ALARM: If you’re alarmed (by the dysfunction within our political parties), set your alarm (to pray for our nation)!
