Paul was afraid to
speak. The religious folks wanted him
beat and imprisoned, if not killed. The local courts heard the case against
Paul, but they dismissed the case because the complaints were about religious
laws, not civil laws. As far as the
government was concerned, if Paul wanted to say that Jesus was God, well, that
was of no concern to the city of Corinth.
And so the gospel spread. The freedom to speak religious ideas without government
interference helped Christianity spread from cult status across borders and oceans.
Not to be missed was that
though Paul was afraid to speak, he overcame his fear because the Lord told
Paul, “Do not be afraid; keep on
speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you and no one is going to attack and
harm you, because I have many people in this city.” (Acts 18:9-10)
What should the church
celebrate at the birthday of the United States? That the famous ‘wall of
separation’ still protects the ‘church’ from the ‘state’. The President cannot make a rule telling me,
as a Minister of God, what I may or may not preach. The Congress may not pass a
law restricting the manner in which any religion practices its faith.
The phrase originates with
Thomas Jefferson’s writing, “Believing with you that religion is a
matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to
none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of
government reach actions only, & not opinions, 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 thereof,' thus building a wall of separation between
Church and State.” (Source:
Wikipedia, quoting Jefferson’s letter to the Danbury Baptists, 1802)
Do not be afraid to speak,
friends. Love God. Love your Neighbor. Praise the Lord! No one can stop you
from speaking the Truth.
The Wall is still standing. Now,
that is something worthy of fireworks.
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