Thought for Today
John 8:31 Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." . . . 36 So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.
2 Corinthians 3:17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
“Christian ethical action is acting out of freedom, out of the freedom of human beings who have nothing in themselves and every thing in their God, who ever anew confirms and strengthens his action through eternity.” (I Want to Live These Days with You, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, pg.284)
Between late-night television hosts, professors and executives, there has recently been a lot of discussion on news broadcasts and in print media about freedom of speech. “The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution prevents Congress from making laws respecting an establishment of religion; prohibiting the free exercise of religion; or abridging the freedom of speech, the freedom of the press, the freedom of assembly, or the right to petition the government for redress of grievances.” (en.wikipedia.org)
Obviously, all of these freedoms are somewhat limited. Many of us learned at an early age the adage, “You can’t yell ‘FIRE!!’ in a crowded building.” All of the current freedom of speech issues will ultimately either flame-out and die of their own inertia or be decided in our courts.
Since its inception, our nation has struggled with the concept of freedom of speech. “The Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 were a series of laws aimed at restricting immigration and limiting free speech, enacted during a time of heightened national security concerns.” (Copilot search) “The Sedition Act of 1918 . . . was an Act of the United States Congress that extended the Espionage Act of 1917 to cover a broader range of offenses, notably speech and the expression of opinion that cast the government or the war effort in a negative light or interfered with the sale of government bonds.” (en.wikipedia.org)
As Christians, we must all ask ourselves about freedom of speech from a much more serious position. How are we Christians to understand our freedom of speech and especially any restrictions on that freedom from the perspective of our faith? If Bonhoeffer is correct, and I usually find him so, what does “Christian ethical action is acting out of freedom” mean for each of us today?
While we are thinking about all of that, we must also consider our freedom of speech in the light of Jesus’ own answer to the question of the greatest of the commandments, “Luke 10:27 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself." For a Christian, our Constitutionally guaranteed freedom of speech must be understood in terms of love for God and love for neighbor.
I suspect all of this is part of what James meant by, “2:12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty.” Christians know the truth of the gospel message, the truth of God’s love for all of God’s children, for all of God’s Creation. Knowing that truth, we can begin to have some understanding of John 3:16-17. Our knowledge of that love does make us free from the tyranny of the Mosaic Law. It does mean that our thoughts, words and deeds are governed by Jame’s ‘law of liberty.’
Does that then mean that we are free to think, say and do whatever we please without any consideration of the consequences? How could anyone who truly believes in Jesus as the Christ ever deliberately think, say or do anything that did not reflect that love of God and love of neighbor? Our Christian faith itself limits and restricts our freedom of speech. Yelling “FIRE!” would be unimaginable simply because of the damage and harm it would inflict on God’s children.
The freedom we have is the freedom to only be governed and restricted by our faith in Jesus, our love of God and our love of God’s children. And, as Bonhoeffer further wrote, “Those who give up freedom, give up their Christianity. Christians stand free before God and before the world without any backing. On Christians alone rests the entire responsibility for how they deal with the gift of freedom.”
Stay safe, use your Christian freedom wisely, trust God,
Pastor Ray