What is Freedoms Price?

On this weekend as Americans   honour those who paid the supreme price for their freedoms, it is appropriate to remember that freedom never comes cheaply.

Perhaps we should remember some of the immortal words spoken by patriots on the subject.  One said,  “Give me liberty, or give me death”  Another said,  “The price of liberty is eternal vigilance.”  Someone else stated.  “It is better to die a free man on your feet, than to live as a slave on your knees.”  Mann said,  “No man escapes when freedom fails, the best men rot in filthy jails, and those who cried, ‘Appease! Appease!’ are killed by those they tried to please.”

I read a time back that over 200,000 Christian clergymen were killed for their faith in the former Soviet Union between 1917 and 1988. In addition,  tens of  millions of  simple Christians died  during this era  as well.  Let us never forget our forefathers who paid the ultimate  price that we might be free of such religious repression and persecution.  Let us also remember there is a continuing price to be paid in each generation if these precious freedoms purchased at such a high price are to be maintained and passed on.

But there is another sort of freedom that is even more precious and costly.  It is the freedom our Savior spoke of when He said,  “You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free - If the Son makes you free, you are free indeed.”

The price of this freedom has already been paid.  It was purchased by the Father and Son at the most terrible cost.  The  ultimate sacrifice.

The spiritual freedom God offers to those who will repent and believe upon His Son is more than momentary and historical.  It is eternal. When we are born again of His Spirit and become new creatures in Christ Jesus, we are justified by faith.

We are saved from:

The penalty of sin

The power of sin

The presence of sin

We are given eternal freedom from sin. We are immediately saved from the penalty of sin. Daily we are being freed  from the power of sin in our lives.  When we are ushered into His presence eternally, we will be freed forever from the very presence of sin!

What does such spiritual liberty mean in a practical sense? God enjoined His Old Testament people to, “Proclaim liberty throughout the land.” Paul said to God’s New Testament people, “Stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free...” And, “For brethren, ye have been called to liberty; only use not that liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.”

Lest We Forget

November 11 is Remembrance Day in my adopted land, Australia, and Veteran's Day in the land of my birth, America.   As we celebrate these special days of remembrance, it would be good to stop for a moment and take stock of the blessings of freedom God has given the citizens of both nations and to remember the sacrifices of those who purchased these freedoms with their blood.

We who have attended the dawn services and marched in parades with our fellow returned service men, have watched the faltering steps of those honored men who have served their country in many conflicts. We have seen the tears fall freely upon the cheeks of stooped and graying men, as they have wept openly for their fallen comrades in arms. We have heard again and again the poignant words, “Lest we forget,” issue from the lips of those who hold the memory of the fallen so dear. We have  heard the mournful notes of the last post or taps; played in remembrance of those who lie in graves on faraway fields. Such observances should move us to once again thank God for those who have gone before us.

God has richly blessed Australia and America.   Both are beautiful countries with rich and abundant natural resources. Both have good forms of government based upon a Judeo-Christian heritage and British Common Law. Citizens of these two great lands enjoy freedoms that most of the citizens of other lands  can only dream about. This is confirmed each year by the thousands of those who risk life and limb to seek safety, security and prosperity in these  nations.

There are no concentration camps in either nation. People are not executed for seeking to flee these lands. There are no dreaded knocks in the middle of the night. There are no mass graves filled with the bodies or those who have been killed by despotic dictators and godless regimes. Every person in these nations has a free voice and a free vote.

In governmental matters, the voice of the people can reflect the way and will of God. There is freedom of religion and speech.  Pastors can still speak freely from their pulpits. There is yet no law that can muzzle such free expression.   Although it seems clear that certain forces are active in both nations to change this.

Mark Twain once said, “…a Christian’s first duty is to God. It then follows, as a matter of course, that it is his duty to carry his Christian code of morals to the polls and vote them. … If the Christians .... could be persuaded to vote God and a clean ticket, it would bring about a moral revolution that would be incalculably beneficent. It would save the country — a country whose Christians have betrayed it and are destroying it...Christianity...is on trial now. And nothing important is on trial except Christianity.” He said this a century and one-half ago. How much greater are the weight of his words today!

Henry Blackaby wrote in Fresh Encounter: “Christians should not be surprised by the spiritual darkness around us. That is all it can be. Darkness is dark. The greater problem is not with the darkness. The problem is with the light. When light shines, it dispels darkness. We face a growing spiritual darkness in our land because the light is not shining brightly.”

On this Remembrance Day and Veterans Day, let us praise God for His past blessings upon our nations and pray He will continue to bless. But at the same time let us remember that if we are to expect His continuing blessings, we must recognize our need for Him in our national life today. We must be willing to meet His conditions for such continuing national blessings. Conditions that are made crystal clear in His word: “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” (II Chronicles 7:14)"

Watchmen On The Walls Of Our World

I’ll never forget my first guard duty. I drew the midnight watch. Some called it the graveyard shift. It was bitterly cold. The memory of my extreme discomfort still lingers in the corners of my mind. The exhaustion of boot camp. The stress of a demanding and unfamiliar task. The lateness of the hour. The devastating cold and my desire to do well. All these made my fight to stay awake and alert one of the most memorable battles of my young life.

But it was only make belief. Training for the day when I might be called on to stand guard in a real life or death situation. My greatest fear was that I might fall asleep or give an inept or inadequate response to the challenge of those who would test me.

The story of Pearl Harbor clearly illustrates the need for watchmen who are alert and wide awake to the danger of an enemy attack. That infamous surprise attack was only successful because a number of responsible people were obviously asleep on their watch. The culprits ranged all the way down the chain of command; from those who were in command to the lowly officer who ignored the warnings of the operators of a primitive radar system. They had the blood of thousands of sailors, soldiers, airmen and civilians upon their hands.

When I was stationed for a time at Hickam Air Force Base just outside Honolulu during the Korean conflict, my living quarters still bore the pock marks of the strafing of Japanese planes.Just across a green was the large boarded up mess hall where dozens had died when a bomb had fallen in the midst of a sleepy Sunday morning breakfast. Anyone visiting the Battleship Arizona Memorial can still sense the tragedy of hundreds of young lives being snuffed out and their bodies being entombed in a watery grave; all because the watchmen did not give a warning cry. It would seem the ruins of the World Trade Center might also speak eloquently of the need for faithful watchmen on the walls of our world today.

Good and faithful watchmen have always been a scarce commodity. God in His Word places a premium upon spiritual watchmen. The Old Testament prophet, Ezekiel, clearly enunciated the principle that watchmen on the spiritual walls of the world are absolutely responsible to warn the world’s inhabitants of the spiritual danger of rejecting God and His Son.

If we who are called as watchmen and witnesses today go to sleep on the job, the spiritual blood of a lost and dying world will be upon our hands. We are only called to give a certain sound and effective cry. If people do not respond, we will be free of responsibility and will stand with clean hands before our God at the Judgment Seat of Christ.

In light of this awesome and eternal responsibility, may we take our calling as watchmen on the walls of our contemporary world seriously and be ever alert to the forces of darkness that threaten us on every hand. May we always stand ready to cry out and warn those who are lost of the danger of rejecting the Son of God!

The People Have Spoken

After a long campaign the people of Australia have spoken at the ballot box. Our present Prime Minister has declared victory and the leader of the opposition has conceded defeat. It then automatically becomes the responsibility of Christian citizens to pray for the government and for all those elected or reelected to serve in our parliament. We are also enjoined to respectfully obey the laws they enact and honor them for their office sake. (See Romans 13:1-7) The only justification God's people have in overtly resisting those in authority relates to laws restricting freedom of worship and religion and the free exercise thereof, as well as laws that abridge God's eternal moral laws. (Psalm 119:89, Acts 5:29)   Of course,  this does not mean that Christians cannot speak out against wrong decisions and oppose both legally and electorally ungodly men and the ungodly agendas of political parties.  Quite the contrary.

It is clear that all too often the ordinary citizens seems to face the dilemma of choosing between the bad and the not as bad.  The lesser of two evils.  For some of us this seemed to be the case in our recent election in Australia and it seems this may well be the case also for many conservative Christians in the upcoming November election in the U. S.  A recent  poll showed that over 80% of the people think one presidential candidate is hot-headed and obnoxious and nearly as many think the other candidate is a liar and cannot be trusted!

Yes the people have spoken, but is the majority decision always right? I'm afraid not. Biblical and secular history are replete with examples to the contrary. After all, wasn't Jesus crucified by what appears to be a unanimous vote? All present and voting seem to have cried out with one voice for the cruel and inhumane execution of the completely innocent God-man.

Yes the people have spoken, but so did Israel when they chose to have a King so they could be like other nations. God was opposed to the idea. When the prophet Samuel faithfully informed the people of God's will and way, they rebelled and still insisted on having a king. God relented and permitted them to make a mistake that would haunt and hurt them throughout many long years. He told Samuel they had not rebelled against Samuel but against God.

Yes, the people have spoken, but just what did they say? Again,  it seems the candidates and parties entered into a bidding contest to see who could promise the most goodies;  paid for by poor ill-informed taxpayers.  And it seems many responded as if this was all that really matters.  Like the old adage,  "My name's Jimmy and I'll take all you will gimme!"  It is clear that God and His eternal moral laws no longer seem the most important criterion upon which the grave choices of future leaders and government policy should be based . There seems to be no doubt that in the heart of many people God is no longer important and money (the economy) has become the God of our nation. Is it any wonder our Saviour said, "No man can serve two masters, he'll love the one and hate the other. No man can serve God and mammon (money - materialism)." (Matt. 6:24)

Yes, the people have spoken, but what did they really say? Did you hear much from either major party, leader or candidate relative to moral choices or issues? In a time when our Judeo-Christian heritage is being auctioned to the highest bidder for a mess of pottage and a glass of wine, did you hear any political voice crying in this wilderness of secular humanism  and relativism for the nation to repent and turn away from the ungodliness and immorality that is tearing apart the very social, moral and spiritual fabric of our nation? Did you hear any leader crying out against the deadly God-denying philosophies destroying the Christian mores and family values and traditions that have made our nation great? It seems that too many on all sides are ready to jump on the popular band wagon and support such  issues as abortion upon demand, the gay agenda, same sex marriage and the increasing degradation of our nation.

Yes, the people have spoken. The obsession of people and politicians with money, the economy and business as usual as a basis of choice might lead one to say, "God help us!" 

God Bless America

The Psalmist said, “Blessed [is] the nation whose God [is] the LORD...”
Do these words of the Psalmist still hold true for nations such as the United States in our day?  July 4, Independence Day, is very special to all those who have been blessed and privileged to have the U. S. as the land of their birth and heritage. No matter how far they may roam, those who love the land of the free and the home of the brave usually pause to thank God and celebrate this special day..
As people at home and abroad do so, it would be good to stop for a moment and take stock of the blessings of freedom God has given to the land and to remember the sacrifices of those who purchased these with their blood.  

God has richly blessed America with a beautiful country; rich in abundant natural resources. God has provided a great constitution and a good system of government based upon a Judeo-Christian heritage. It can truly be said America’s citizens enjoy freedoms and privileges that most of the citizens of the world can only dream about. This is confirmed each year by the thousands who seek to immigrate legally to her shores and even by the tens of thousand who illegally seek the same privileges.  There are no concentration camps in America. People are not executed for seeking to flee the land.  There are no dreaded knocks on doors in the middle of the night. There are no mass graves filled with the bodies or those who have been killed by despotic dictators and godless regimes. At least theoretically, every person in the nation has a free voice and a free vote.

In governmental matters, the voice of the people can reflect the way and will of God. Freedom of speech still prevails. Freedom of religion has not yet been lost. Pastors can still proclaim the truth from their pulpits and Christians can still worship according to the dictates of their hearts. There is yet no laws that can muzzle those who would comment about sin in the land or criticize the powers that be.  The truth can be told, no matter how critical, about those occupying the highest positions in government.  Mark Twain once said, “…a Christian’s first duty is to God. It then follows, as a matter of course, that it is his duty to carry his Christian code of morals to the polls and vote them. … If the Christians .... could be persuaded to vote God and a clean ticket, it would bring about a moral revolution that would be incalculably beneficent. It would save the country — a country whose Christians have betrayed it and are destroying it ... Christianity ... is on trial now. And nothing important is on trial except Christianity.” He said this a century and one-half ago. How much greater are the weight of his words today!

Henry Blackaby wrote in Fresh Encounter: “Christians should not be surprised by the spiritual
darkness around us. That is all it can be. Darkness is dark. The greater problem is not with the
darkness. The problem is with the light. When light shines, it dispels darkness. We face a growing
spiritual darkness in our land because the light is not shining brightly.”
On this Independence Day, let us praise God for His past blessings upon this great nation and
pray He will continue to bless it. But at the same time let us remember that if we are to expect His
continuing blessings upon a nation, its citizens must recognize the need for Him in their national life.
They must be willing to meet His conditions for such continuing national blessings. Conditions that
are made crystal clear in His word: “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” (II Chronicles 7:14) Yes, America still needs God’s blessings today. It sometimes seems the secularists have tried everything else in recent years. Political parties have come and gone. New political movements blossom and flourish and then fade into history. New financial fads appear and then pass away. New social schemes come and go. Secular humanism, relativism and permissiveness have led to the pursuit of pleasure as a national preoccupation. It seems the nation has gone off the gold standard and abandoned God’s standards. Hundreds of books on New Age Religions of ancient origin are increasingly replacing Christian books on the shelves of our retail bookstores.  The nation needs those who recognize God in government. Christians need to not only pray for righteous leaders in the land, but be willing to speak up and act out their convictions. They need to be ready to stand against and oppose those who are philosophically and religiously opposed to God and His righteousness.  Godliness is needed in the homes and the institutions of any great nation. Great nations do not need leaders who advocate perverted lifestyles or accept and promote the destruction of traditional family institutions that are so clearly taught in the Word of God and have been the basis of civilized societies for millennia.

What can we who love this great land do to insure His future blessings upon it? We can live for Christ and be salt and light in this world of corruption and darkness. We can pray and work to place Godly leaders at the helm of the ship of state. We can pray for a true revival of righteousness in the land. We can always remember the Lord our God is the true source the spiritual courage and power that is needed to preserve the great land of our birth and heritage! Again, we can take seriously the promise of God to a people who will turn away from evil and back to a loving and merciful God! “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” (II Chronicles 7:14) .- Pastor John G. White

The Problem With Islam, Is Islam

It seems many of our politicians and journalists are either abysmally ignorant of the teachings of the foundational books of Islam as well as with the early brutal and violent history of its spread throughout the world, or could they be deliberately avoiding telling the truth about the matter based upon the misguided idea that doing so might somehow diminish the danger posed by violent extremists operating under this banner?   It is especially disconcerting that so many refuse to understand that until the nature of a problem is truly understood no effective solution will likely be found.

The extremists who are terrorizing our world today are correctly and aptly designated, “Islamic Fundamentalists.”  I am a Christian fundamentalist. Tens, perhaps hundreds of millions of us, exist in our world today. A Christian fundamentalist is just that. He believes his basic guide book, the New Testament, and the teachings of Christ are God-given and should strictly form the basis of his life philosophy and inform and guide his every day action.

Just what is the difference in the Christian fundamentalist and the Islamic fundamentalist and how do their views about the validity of the use of violence to advance their faith differ?  The central theme of the New Testament is love: God’s love for mankind as revealed by Christ on the cross and the Christian’s love for God, his brother and his neighbor. Jesus said that such love would be the primary identifying characteristic of His true followers.. Conversely, hate and hateful action, especially gratuitous violence, are clearly proscribed and condemned.

It should be clear then that a Christian fundamentalist could never validly use violence in any form to spread a gospel of love and win true converts to the cause of Christianity. The coercion involved in such action would violate the first great commandment on love given by Jesus and deny the principle of free will and be a contradiction in concepts.

Who is a Islamic fundamentalist? Could he be correctly characterized, as is the Christian fundamentalist, as one who strictly follows the teaching of his founder and prophet, as found in his source book(s)? Are politicians, journalists and even the ordinary man in the street, correct in labelling those of that faith who advocate hatred and even destruction of those who will not convert to their religion as Islamic fundamentalists?

Is it wrong to call those who have, over the past decades, slaughtered thousands of innocents in the name of their religion, Islamic fundamentalists? Is it incorrect to call those who proudly claim that identity and use their fundamentalist teachings to recruit new fodder for the deadly war of terror they are waging, Islamic fundamentalists? Is it inconsistent to call those who decry Islamic moderates as apostates because they have departed from the fundamentals of the faith, as they see it is revealed in their book, Islamic fundamentalists?  Could this be one of the difficulties moderates and others face in combating the phenomenon of jihad? Could it also be true that one thing that makes the appeal of Jihadism effective to young Muslims is that the Jihadist can correctly say that so-called moderate Muslims have departed from the true faith as taught in their holy book(s) and by their prophet? Is the Islamic fundamentalist a legitimate Moslem, as defined by his book and by the history of his religion? If so, how can leaders and nations refusing to correctly identify their sworn enemies hope to combat such an insidious threat? 

- Pastor John White

Putting Godly Men In Office

Godless men should not rule, nor be snares of the people.” (Job 34:30)

Should Christians be involved in politics? Obviously, this is an emotive question that elicits a strong response from those who have certain opinions on the matter. The primary reason this question is often the basis of strong debate even among committed Christians is that the world has convinced Christians  that we have no right to be involved in such matters.This is evidenced by the question itself. It is obviously the wrong question. The real question is, “Can a Christian in good conscience refuse to become involved in the battle for good government.”

We know Christians are commanded to be in the world, but not of it. As someone has said, “A ship was made to be in the water, but when the water gets in the ship, you have big problems.” But we are not to use such obvious truth to abdicate our responsibilities to influence and change the world for good as the light and salt of the world. God is not asking us to gather in isolated holy huddles and sit around introspectively, as navel inspectors, venturing forth only to proclaim the gospel of spiritual redemption. He surely had more than this in mind when He said, “A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.” (Matt. 5:14)

Of course. we’re not to be of the world. Our lives are to be focused upon Christ. Our affections are to be set upon Him. We are to always seek first the Kingdom of God. But if He reached out to the world and met needs at every level, so should we. But could such a godly approach to life entail the possibility of involving ourselves in the rough and tumble world of what is known as politics in order ‘to militantly do battle for good and godly government and by placing godly men in government?

We only need to make a cursory survey of the Bible to discover such men as Daniel and Joseph. They served God with whole hearts, never compromising their faith or changing their convictions. But where did they serve Him? In the corridors of power and the cabinet rooms of the most powerful pagan governments of their contemporary world. They obviously pleased God and did His will and He blessed them and through their “political involvement” blessed the entire nation in which the people of God dwelt.

How then can it be said, “God’s people don’t belong in politics”? We should place our prayer to see righteousness restored in our land into practical effect by helping put godly candidates into office. “When the righteous become great, the people rejoice, but when a wicked man rules, people groan.” (Proverbs 29:2) - Pastor John White

“History is changed by a dedicated minority; the apathetic majority will go with the dedicated minority which out lasts the other.”