Greetings Flag Branch members and friends and thanks for taking the time to join me, Pastor Jordan, for some Fine Points from Sunday’s service and message “Freedom From Religion”.
In the movie “The Godfather”, he was approached with a problem the one with the problem didn’t see how he could fix. When asked how he was going to fix the problem, the godfather said he was going to make this certain person an offer he couldn’t refuse.
In order to get people to comply with their wishes, people have and will use violence including war to force people to do what they want. They make people offers they can’t refuse. This is also the history of humanity.
Those who can and will use whatever means at their disposal to get people to do what they want including following the dictates, practices and beliefs of a religion. And while all religions may not have evolved, been initiated or created for this purpose, religion is and has been used to control the behavior of others by others.
Because religion has this controlling aspect, there are some that say all religions and the gods of these religions were created, made up and invented for this purpose. Whether it is a religion or something or someone else, everyone is under some measure of control.
In so much as a person can’t do whether he or she wants, they are under control. The eternal God who made heaven and earth and is the Father of Jesus Christ who He proclaimed has made an offer and issued an invitation to humanity to be placed under His control. His offer is one of salvation, the deliverance from death.
Jesus describes this control as an easy yoke and light burden. Many people have mischaracterized this yoke and burden and don’t understand it. But it is an offer and invitation people are free to refuse. The God who made the offer also made it such that people are free to refuse it.
While some other religions may have been and are forced upon others, Christianity was never intended for that purpose though it has been and is currently being used in this fashion. In fact, there are those who claim and hold to the Christian faith who are still attempting to force people to comply to so-called Christian values, beliefs and practices. They are engaging in what are being called culture wars.
But the author and finisher of the Christian faith never instructed His disciples to engage in a war with the culture. He made the offer on behalf of the Father and has instructed His disciples to do the same. Nothing more or nothing less. We are not to fuss and fight with others over their response to the offer. God left it completely up to them to accept or reject His control or yoke over their lives.
God intends for people to have freedom from religion. He wants them to have absolutely no part of His offer if this is what they choose. The sooner the true believers in the Church of the living God realize and accept this, the sooner we will find ourselves out of these wars to control the behavior of people by people who want to control them.
This is the way the One true God structured the world. He gave humanity the freedom from religion. He gave them the freedom to be under the control of all the other things they are under the control of except Himself.
They are free to reject His offer of salvation through His means of control. And when they find themselves without a resting place for their eternal souls, it will be because they never heard of, believed in or accepted His offer and invitation of life under His control.
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Click the SS Daily Bible Readings for an excellent devotional and preparation for the upcoming Sunday School study. Don’t forget to leave a comment or question down below. As always, remember to fear God and keep His commandments.
Pastor Jordan
