FREEDOM'S FLAME

Galatians 5:1,13-14

INTRODUCTION:

a. Today throughout our land churches everywhere will celebrate freedom and especially Religious Freedom

b. Many will do just as we have done, say the pledge, sing the patriotic songs, and thank God for freedom

c. Freedom's Flame has set many on difficult and perilous paths with the promise of great rewards

1. In recent years Freedom's Flame has brought down the Berlin Wall and the Iron Curtain

2. The grip of communism was broken

3. The Haitian Boat people have risked everything on over-crowded boats to flee a tyrant and come to America

d. Over and over these stories are played out in history - People have always sought and desired freedom

I. FREEDOM'S FLAME FORMS AMERICA

a. At first our land was seen as a remote prison where undesirables and convicts could be sent

b. Soon it was the destination of those seeking religious freedom and fleeing oppression

1. They braved the elements and seas on small boats for a taste of freedom

2. Many died on the journey and yet they came - by the 1000's

c. Why - seeking Freedom

d. Little did England realize what she had created and the flame she had lit - a flame that would finally burn all oppressive ties with America

e. Our ancestors fought the tyranny of oppression and won Freedom for all of us

II. THE GREAT AMERICAN LESSON

a. Although many had come seeking Religious Freedom they did not give it to those who differed from them

b. This religious prejudice could have cost America the victory in the Revolutionary War

c. The religious oppression in many colonies was as fierce as any where in Europe - People were jailed and tortured for differing beliefs

d. We as Baptists were born from the desire for religious liberty

1. Roger Williams was forced to leave Mass. because of religious intolerance

2. He went to Providence, Rhode Island and began the First Baptist Church, based on "soul liberty" and its guarantee

e. To win the Revolutionary War the official churches of many colonies had to compromise with the "dissenters" in their colony in order to get their men to fight

1. Baptists in Virginia demanded their own chaplains before they would fight - It was a hard pill but it was granted and fight they did

f. The lesson of the Revolution was not lost in the victory.

1. As the framers of the Constitution began to write the Constitution and the Bill of Rights - Religious intolerance was the first to be challenged

2. The very first right in the Bill of Rights is not Free Speech but rather the Freedom of Religion and a prohibition on governmental interference

3. Civil Religion leads to oppression and prejudice and division

a. Wars and all kinds of evil have come because of Civil Religion

4. We do not want religious privilege but rather religious freedom

a. Do you really want mandatory prayer in schools

1. We have assumed it would be the Lord's Prayer - NOT Necessarily - My guess a generic prayer would be written

b. Privileges can be changed or removed by those in power - I prefer freedom and liberty

g. Civil Religion leads to a government that says just enough to make you believe that God is on our side

1. A. Lincoln story - Asked if the Lord would be on our side responded, "I am not concerned about that, for I know that the Lord is always on the side of right. But it is my constant anxiety and prayer that I and the nation should be on the Lord's side"

III. REAL FREEDOM

a. Comes from a right relationship with God thru Christ

b. Real Freedom is explained and demonstrated in Communion

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Hymn - 474 - My Country 'Tis Of Thee