Radio show for April 28, 2017 – There is no separation of Church and State
Welcome to the Newheart Commentary of the Lifting Us Up in Liberty Program
A familiar saying is: “if you tell a lie often enough, you’re bound to believe it.” One lie in particular has harmed, even damaged our country for generations. Here is the lie: Church’s can’t speak out on political issues; “separation of church and state” you know!
Here is the truth: Amendment Number I to the Constitution of the United States says quote “Congress SHALL MAKE NO LAW RESPECTING AN ESTABLISHMENT OF RELIGION OR PROHIBITING THE FREE EXERCISE THEREOF…..” (End quote)
[bctt tweet="if you tell a lie often enough, you're bound to believe it"]
Where did this lie then originate? We must learn to do our own homework in searching for the truth. It’s not hard to find with today’s technology. In 1802 President Thomas Jefferson wrote a letter in response to the Danbury Baptists in Connecticut. They were concerned they might lose their religious liberty by their state legislature. Jefferson wrote “…..I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should “make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise there of,” “thus building a wall of separation between Church and State.” This wall of separation is to PREVENT THE GOVERNMENT from opposing and silencing the church.
We are being lied to all the time! A former pastor of mine used to say “a text without a context is a pretext.” In other words, know the FULL CONTEXT OF WHAT YOU ARE READING & HEARING; WHAT PRECEDES IT AND WHAT FOLLOWS IT. Know your Bible. Know your Constitution. Know the truth! We as a Church are to hold the STATE ACCOUNTABLE TO GOD. THE CHURCH HAS THE POWER OF GOD’S TRUTH. And, God’s truth is more powerful than man’s word!
Listeners, we are the church! We have the constitutional right and a Biblical responsibility to speak out against abuses. Yes, Romans 13:1 says “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.”
However, in the book of Acts, Peter and John were threatened with violence and imprisonment when they disobeyed corrupt religious and civil authorities when they were told to stop preaching. Peter, and the other apostles said in Acts 5:29 “WE MUST OBEY GOD RATHER THAN MEN.”
It’s time to stand up. It’s time for the church in America to wake up. It’s time to speak up and be truthful in all things. Corruption is rampant in our government, our culture, and sadly some of our churches. We are to be salt and light. Ephesians 4:15 says “we are to speak the truth in love.”
Come and hear the full context of liberating gospel preaching at Liberty Christian Fellowship Church this Sunday with Pastor Earl Wallace.