Do We Follow God or Man?
READING TIME: 6 MINUTES
The following Presidential Proclamation was issued on January 15:
Excerpts: “On Religious Freedom Day, we celebrate our Nation’s long‑standing commitment to freedom of conscience and the freedom to profess one’s own faith. The right to religious freedom is innate to the dignity of every human person and is foundational to the pursuit of truth.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim January 16, 2019, as Religious Freedom Day. I call on all Americans to commemorate this day with events and activities that remind us of our shared heritage of religious liberty and that teach us how to secure this blessing both at home and around the world.” https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/presidential-proclamation-religious-freedom-day-2019/?fbclid=IwAR31RXIou-bVb2cZqlZzFlou_cfBFZc1O2c2jU6DIMNTXPIQi621dhbXC60
However, the problem with this from a Christian perspective is that we never do support the belief system of any other religion, but that of the Word of God alone! That of the One True Almighty God, Who sent us His Only Begotten Son to be the propitiation for our sins and not only ours, but the sins of the whole world. Religious freedom is an affront to the exclusivity of the Gospel, yet it would allow for people to believe this but at the cost of accepting another belief system, as though this can be put out into the world to deceive the masses! From a Christian viewpoint we can see religious freedom really is not fighting the good fight of the Faith like we are admonished to do within Scriptures and admonished frequently when faced with destructive false teachings and heresies.
God does not give His approval to sin so why would God give His approval for people to worship false gods? God is not the one approving of religious freedom. His Word says to worship Him alone and to have no other gods before Him. (Luke 4:8, Exodus 20:3.)
READING TIME: 6 MINUTES
The following Presidential Proclamation was issued on January 15:
Excerpts: “On Religious Freedom Day, we celebrate our Nation’s long‑standing commitment to freedom of conscience and the freedom to profess one’s own faith. The right to religious freedom is innate to the dignity of every human person and is foundational to the pursuit of truth.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim January 16, 2019, as Religious Freedom Day. I call on all Americans to commemorate this day with events and activities that remind us of our shared heritage of religious liberty and that teach us how to secure this blessing both at home and around the world.” https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/presidential-proclamation-religious-freedom-day-2019/?fbclid=IwAR31RXIou-bVb2cZqlZzFlou_cfBFZc1O2c2jU6DIMNTXPIQi621dhbXC60
However, the problem with this from a Christian perspective is that we never do support the belief system of any other religion, but that of the Word of God alone! That of the One True Almighty God, Who sent us His Only Begotten Son to be the propitiation for our sins and not only ours, but the sins of the whole world. Religious freedom is an affront to the exclusivity of the Gospel, yet it would allow for people to believe this but at the cost of accepting another belief system, as though this can be put out into the world to deceive the masses! From a Christian viewpoint we can see religious freedom really is not fighting the good fight of the Faith like we are admonished to do within Scriptures and admonished frequently when faced with destructive false teachings and heresies.
God does not give His approval to sin so why would God give His approval for people to worship false gods? God is not the one approving of religious freedom. His Word says to worship Him alone and to have no other gods before Him. (Luke 4:8, Exodus 20:3.)
Pres. Trump celebrates Diwali, a Hindu festival of lights.
Pres. Trump hosts Ramadan Iftar dinner.
Freedom of religion may as well be called coexist because even though you can do nothing about what others choose to do or believe, you are actually giving your yes to all other religions just so you have the right to have yours. It is as though we can all get along and just allow for error to go on in this world whereas in the past and biblical times people lost their lives for standing for the truth in the face of persecution.
Have you ever thought that the Antichrist, when he comes, would be championing religious freedom until he replaces it with worship of himself? Have you ever taken the time to realize how many antichrists are in this world today? And what do these all promote? Let’s not forget the Word of God that tells us that the Antichrist will use religion and politics as a mean to get his seat of worship from the world! Let us be led by the Holy Spirit and look to the Word of God as our instruction in righteousness and true liberty!
In Acts 4:18 we see Peter and John before the Sanhedrin told to stop preaching in the name of Jesus! Did this stop them? Did they go on a crusade for religious freedom? We see all these examples carried on preaching and teaching in the name of Jesus, despite the governing authorities at that time. We do not get into this idea that our freedom to preach Jesus comes from man at the expense of allowing false religions to run wild, we look to God. When we look to Stephen being stoned in the bible, did he say stop this persecution and pick up stones and throw them back and say give me my religious liberty to speak? No, he trusted Himself to God.
Again, many in this country hold to the fallacy that in order for us to maintain our freedoms as Christians we must tolerate all religions. But, realistically, that line of thinking says in order for us to have freedom to worship we will support someone else’s blasphemy of the one true God. And, this practice does not please God. Here are a few scriptures which I refer to as the “ancient Israelites practicing freedom of religion” and we know the end result of that.
1 Kings 11:4-8 For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. And Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and went not fully after the Lord, as did David his father. Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon. And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods.
Jer. 7:17-18 Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger.
Ezk. 20:30-31 Wherefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God; Are ye polluted after the manner of your fathers? and commit ye whoredom after their abominations? For when ye offer your gifts, when ye make your sons to pass through the fire, ye pollute yourselves with all your idols, even unto this day: and shall I be enquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live, saith the Lord God, I will not be enquired of by you.
Have you ever thought that the Antichrist, when he comes, would be championing religious freedom until he replaces it with worship of himself? Have you ever taken the time to realize how many antichrists are in this world today? And what do these all promote? Let’s not forget the Word of God that tells us that the Antichrist will use religion and politics as a mean to get his seat of worship from the world! Let us be led by the Holy Spirit and look to the Word of God as our instruction in righteousness and true liberty!
In Acts 4:18 we see Peter and John before the Sanhedrin told to stop preaching in the name of Jesus! Did this stop them? Did they go on a crusade for religious freedom? We see all these examples carried on preaching and teaching in the name of Jesus, despite the governing authorities at that time. We do not get into this idea that our freedom to preach Jesus comes from man at the expense of allowing false religions to run wild, we look to God. When we look to Stephen being stoned in the bible, did he say stop this persecution and pick up stones and throw them back and say give me my religious liberty to speak? No, he trusted Himself to God.
Again, many in this country hold to the fallacy that in order for us to maintain our freedoms as Christians we must tolerate all religions. But, realistically, that line of thinking says in order for us to have freedom to worship we will support someone else’s blasphemy of the one true God. And, this practice does not please God. Here are a few scriptures which I refer to as the “ancient Israelites practicing freedom of religion” and we know the end result of that.
1 Kings 11:4-8 For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. And Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and went not fully after the Lord, as did David his father. Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon. And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods.
Jer. 7:17-18 Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger.
Ezk. 20:30-31 Wherefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God; Are ye polluted after the manner of your fathers? and commit ye whoredom after their abominations? For when ye offer your gifts, when ye make your sons to pass through the fire, ye pollute yourselves with all your idols, even unto this day: and shall I be enquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live, saith the Lord God, I will not be enquired of by you.
Children sacrificed to Molech.
There is no place in God’s Word where we are promised an easy time in this life or that we will never face persecution for our beliefs. Rather, we are told in John 16:33 that in this life we will have tribulations, but to be of good cheer because Christ has overcome this world. In addition, 2 Tim. 3:12 says, “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.”
No matter what you might have been told, religious freedom is not a great tradition, but rather an affront to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
No matter what you might have been told, religious freedom is not a great tradition, but rather an affront to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.