INDEPENDENCE

                                        
                                                          INDEPENDENCE

    In the span of just under three weeks, we observe two basic cornerstones of the United States of America: Flag Day, and the 4th of July. The flag represents the symbol of our nation, and clearly represents the reason for the 4th of July observance. The U.S. Constitution is not only our manual for the operation of government, but for human rights. It may be the only recorded guideline of equality for any and all nationalities. The flag tells all people this is a nation of unity.

    Most people don't recognize that Christianity and our Constitution are symbiotic. They both state essentially the same truths and obligations. Both guarantee freedom. Christ offers us eternal peace and freedom, while the Constitution offers us earthly peace and freedom. These two holidays should provide us with an opportunity to celebrate all the tenets embraced by the flag and Constitution. Unfortunately, many citizens will not be doing that.

    Let's look at the flag. The stripes stand for the original 13 colonies that took the brave step to establish a great nation. The field of  stars represent the 50 states united as one. There are Christians who don't realize or understand the connection between Christianity and the Constitution. From the government standpoint, we are reminded that Patrick Henry advised that "united we stand, divided we fall." Christ taught there was one church, and all Christians are exactly that--one body in Christ. Gal. 3:28 tells us, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus." The problem in the organized church is man made rules that encourage denominational separation that creates competition to determine which is better than the others.

    That is not unique among religious faiths, but Christianity is the only faith following the Son of God. We should know both the Old and New Testaments, and the Four Gospels should be followed to the T. Christ did not teach hate, as some Christians are now doing. You should note carefully that the disciples had to continually write to and teach the people in new churches to correct problems and try to prevent denominational differences. And, this was before there were established denominations.

    An area of the Old Testament that is frequently misunderstood includes Proverbs. Ideas such as hate generally come from not realizing Proverbs 6:16-19 is advice, not religious instruction from prophets or priests. They were written by a king and others as    guidelines toward living  a holy life and being a good person. Christ's teaching is that God hates sin, not man. Look at John 3:16,  "For god so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,  that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting  life." God desires that people who commit these sins  repent and  receive salvation. Some Christians are promoting a veiled or open  hatred which is not only opposite of Christ's teaching, but divisive.

    Our Constitution has become perhaps the basis of more confusion and
misunderstanding than anything I have seen. The problem is the same as scriptural ignorance. There is no comprehensive research to know the entire document. People take a paragraph or two, and add an opinion; they then have a "personal" right to do something they desire. These attempts to subvert the full meaning are divisivand will destroy our nation. We are a nation that is a "melting pot", and not a nation that can permit the whims of individuals.

    The first problem with understanding the Constitution is that, for whatever reason, it is very difficult to get the "entire package" that includes the Constitution. To understand this document, you need to know the four parts of the package. They are: the Declaration of
Independence, the preamble, the Constitution, and the amendments. Most references do not include all four parts, and much of the  original documents have been abridged or are incomplete. This has made it easy for those who want to try and change original intent to something it should not be. We have an example of that in recent activities by some church denominations to change parts of the bible.

    To understand the constitution, you must begin with the Declaration of Independence. This is the document brought forth on July 4, 1776. This declaration tells the reason for the preamble, the Constitution, and amendments. The taxes without representation and the Tea
Party were not the Godly reason for the Constitution. They were just the motivational movements to spur action. They represented something everyone could understand--money. It was marvelous and God driven that these carvers of the Constitution could follow God's leading and place His principles over money. If you never learn anything more than the following quote from the Declaration of Independence, you will know all you need to know about why and how God created our nation. 

    In Matt. 22:37-40 tells us "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." The Constitution follows Christ's teaching exactly. Here is the part of the Declaration upon which our freedom "hangs." "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and  the pursuit of Happiness."

    The men who signed this declaration appear to be Christians, but a simple look at history shows us that 100 years and a civil war was necessary for the LIBERTY part of the Declaration to take place. It was all about states' rights, or so they claimed. This message is
not about politics, but facts and showing the parallel with scripture. States' rights was the reason for the closure of schools throughout the south in the early 1950s, which eventually spawned the civil rights movement. It was pure and simple bigotry.

     Worse yet, if possible, was the delay of women having the right to vote. That amendment didn't take effect until 1920. It took nearly 150 years before American women gained that LIBERTY included in the Declaration of Independence. The words are great, but the actions of the white men, supposedly Christians, were anything but Christian. Anyone can say these two failures have no bearing on present day actions, but that clearly is not true. During the
Second World War, Americans pulled together, as our leaders saw the need for women and non-whites to participate. Yet, here we are just 70 years later, with many Americans having a "loss of memory" about the importance of all citizens.

    The First Commandment is the basis of most religions, who have a variety of gods. The God of Israel and Christianity gives us the direction of spiritual life. Christ expanded that commandment to give us guidelines in treating our fellow man/woman. There is a sizable movement in our nation to ignore Christ's teaching, and those spearheading the movement are wolves in sheep's clothing we are warned about. Most have personal agendas, and many are
basing their proposals strictly on the basis of money. Fellowship is not for everyone. This is true in many Christian churches where some people are not welcome.

    Our nation has been in existence for approximately the same time period corresponding to the biblical rise and fall of nations. That is about four generations. It's rags to comfort, comfort to riches, riches to decadence and decadence to degeneration. We are on the brink of the fourth stage. If leaders and pastors who fly the colors of Christianity don't begin listening to the teacher they claim to follow, it'll be curtains not only for the United States, but the world.

    God has given us two golden examples about how to live and treat all people--the Civil War and World War II. Separation for ANY reason will not be positive for anyone in the long run, not
even those who cause it. Before you shoot off fireworks or your mouth, read the four parts of the Constitution. Then think We instead of ME. 

Rev. Walbear
   
    You see that this destruction of our Constitution is a similar pattern
followed by some Protestant denominations to change and rewrite
the bible. Satan never stops trying to lead us astray. No wonder there
are so many disagreements in the operation of our government.