Last year many universities created a (safe place) for their students. At first glance that looked like an honorable thing to do. However, the safe place was created for the prevention of free speech. The students were seeking refuge from being offended. The schools of yesterday openly invited civil debate. Fear now runs both governments and higher education. From here forward we will always be in crisis management.
As a minister I speak freely from God’s Word. Whether the subject is the government’s sin of attempting to make boys into girls or the church’s sin of not loving those who commit that sin. I speak freely, from God’s Word. If ministers are not vigilant about this freedom, they will someday find a government creating a (safe place)for people who want truth silenced.
Isaiah 1:16-17 gave us three reasons for government. They are to do good for its people, seek justice, and provide help for the oppressed. Overreaching political leaders must never forget that there is no compromise for us in the church. We will speak freely from God’s Word. We were given that right from our Father, not from the statehouse. We will love, honor, and respect those in authority over us, just as Romans 13 commanded us. However, the church was created as a (safe place) for believers to practice their faith. I have ministered in more than three hundred churches across the country and in more than twenty nations around the world, and never have I witnessed a closed door to any person who wanted to hear from God’s Word. Our American government should celebrate that freedom, not seek to silence it. The church is the last stand for freedom. Pastors must be willing to engage this culture with the love of Christ. Our weapon is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Every time your church doors open it is a celebration of freedom. God forbid we ever lose that…
Today, all social media is finding censure its primary way of silencing opposing thoughts. Daily, they take down Scripture posts they claim do not meet community standards. What if tomorrow our messages do not meet their community standard? If we state that abortion is sin and marriage is between a man and a woman? We will not be applauded, we will be removed. May we celebrate our freedoms and pray for each other in our differences.