Jesus spoke clearly and without ambiguity. He told the Jews who believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; 32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.  (John 8:31-32) It is necessary to continue in the word or message of Christ to be numbered among his people; by following him, truth will be known and that truth will free those struggling to be free. Jesus was speaking to the Jews who were under bondage to the Law trying to be saved by keeping the law. It was futile because the keeping of ordinances and the attendant sacrifices could not free anyone. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. (Hebrews 10:4) Thus law keeping and the many ordinances associated therewith only kept the people under bondage year after year.

Now let’s apply the truths and principles in those verses to our existence in the Republic of the United States. The founders of the republic threw off the shackles of England which were keeping the colonies in bondage. The people were under the rules and dictates of King George III. Simply, they were not free to live as they wanted to live. They wanted to worship as their conscience dictated; they wanted to conduct commerce as they chose; they wanted to be free to chart the course for their lives with reasonable laws and rules that facilitated their needs and desires of life.

The first public step was the Declaration of Independence. It expressed their desire to be free of the shackles of a king that had no regard for them and their desire to be free. The document states a truth that cannot be denied though many try. It says,

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,^[74] that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, …” There it is, the right of the people to be free and to insure that freedom, the Constitution became the supreme law of the land for government. Every facet of the Constitution is for the control of those who are elected or appointed to positions in the government and it was never intended that it be used to control citizens or create laws that would give the government control of the people.

Yet, over the years, those in political office have twisted, subverted and maligned the Constitution in order to bring about laws and rules that do nothing but decrease the freedom of the people, which more and more places them under subjugation of the ruling class elected by the people suffering ever increasing bondage due to the elected ruling class.

Not only will knowing the truth of Jesus which brings salvation, but knowing the truth of our founding will help people begin the long journey back to the ideals of both the Declaration and  the Constitution. Only by following the provisions of those two documents can we, as a people of the republic, be free of the tyranny of federal government demands that have come due to those elected not following the Constitution.

Whereas obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ brings freedom from sin to all who will follow him, obedience to the Constitution brought freedom to the founders and the people of the republic for many years. However, that freedom is disappearing due the constitutional violations committed by the government.

Since God gave us salvation in Jesus Christ and set us free from the bondage of sin, no longer is it necessary to keep rituals in the hope of pleasing God. The Constitution, in like manner, is designed to keep us free from the dictates of government that require the people to spend time and money to figure out various ways to limit, if not stop entirely, the bondage the politician and bureaucrats visit upon us. So far it seems we are not winning the battle to remain free.

As with salvation, Christ makes us free. Indeed, not only are we free in Christ, we as people of a republic can once again be free politically by following the Constitution as the founders intended.

© 10-31-2011 DEC                                      

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