Tag: Right to Life

OUR FIRST FREEDOM

Because this coming U.S. Independence Day (Saturday, July 4th, 2026) is the 250th birthday of our United States of America, I’ve decided to make it the topic of my June newsletter article.

Two and a half centuries ago in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, delegates to the Continental Congress declared independence from Britain, appealing to “the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God” and holding as self-evident the truth that we are “endowed by [our] Creator” with the “unalienable” right to life, right to liberty, and right to pursue happiness. As American Citizens and Lutheran Christians, we pause to give thanks to God for the remarkable blessings of liberty that we enjoy in this land of the free, and especially for the principle that stands as the primary foundation of American civics, society and culture: that is, The Freedom of Religion (our “First Freedom”).

The great First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution begins not with the freedoms of speech, press, or assembly, but with the freedom of religion and religious expression: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” Our founders placed religious freedom at the top of the list, first and foremost, because they understood that this right is the root from which all other liberties grow (including speech, press and assembly). When the human heart is free to respond to God’s call to righteousness and piety, the whole society flourishes. Remove that foundation, and even the best-written constitutions eventually become empty words. Religious liberty is not merely one freedom among many; it is the soil in which our American Republic was planted.

This truth resonates deeply for our Lutheran confession. Martin Luther taught that the gospel of Jesus Christ must be proclaimed freely, that faith is a matter of our human conscience transformed by the Word of God freely shared and heard, and that the Church and the State each have their proper God-given spheres. So, generations of Lutherans have not only valued the many economic opportunities afforded by our industrious nation but also the freedom to confess, profess and assemble “in accordance with the divine Word” (Augsburg Confession). Here, under the protection of our First Freedom, our congregations have been able to baptize, teach, worship, and serve, without fear of interference or forced conformity by the State.

Moreover, freedom of religion has shaped our national character far beyond the church doors. It fostered a culture that values the dignity of the individual, encourages free association and voluntary charity, and insists that government itself is under God (in a general non-sectarian sense). It has allowed people of every creed and religion (or none) to contribute their best gifts of citizenship while protecting all from coercion by the State in matters of the spirit. In a nation of diverse ethnicities and traditions, our First Freedom has been the principal foundation that makes “E Pluribus Unum” possible without tyranny of conscience and soul. In fact, every single totalitarian system (such as Marxism) always targets the free exercise of religion for destruction, because a people who look to a higher power and authority than the State is a people who cannot be subjugated. Therefore, we sing in My Country, ‘Tis of Thee…

My native country, thee,

Land of the noble free,

Thy name I love;

I love thy rocks and rills,

Thy woods and templed hills.

My heart with rapture thrills

Like that above.

As we mark this coming Semiquincentennial (or Quarter-Millennium as I prefer to say), let us commemorate this national anniversary with deep gratitude for our imperfect yet exceptional and laudable nation. Additionally, let us observe it with heartfelt prayer and good citizenship. For the Holy Scriptures declare: “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone… and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity” (1 Timothy 2:1-2). Consequently, giving thanks to God for the liberties we enjoy, we pray for our leaders and our fellow citizens. And we resolve to use our freedom rightly as it says in Galatians: “For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters, only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for sin, but through love become enslaved to one another… If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another” (Galatians 5:13-15).

On Sunday, July 5th, many congregations of the Church of Jesus Christ throughout our country will gather for worship with national songs and patriotic hymns. May these celebrations be marked by joyful thanksgiving, recognizing that “every good and perfect gift” — including the gift of our First Freedom under the Constitution of the United States — comes “from the Father of lights” (James 1:17).

May the Lord continue to preserve this First Freedom for generations yet to come, that the good news of Jesus Christ may be freely proclaimed and that we may serve our nation as Christ’s Kingdom Ambassadors in a world that still groans for the ultimate freedom from enslavement to death and decay (see Romans 8:18-23).

Together in Christ, Pastor Tim

REFORMATION HOPE IN CHRIST

Martin Luther, the great evangelical catholic theologian and Sixteenth Century reformer of the Church, lived in a time of colossal challenges and hardships. In addition to the many troubles Martin Luther experienced due to his efforts to increase Biblical literacy, promote Christian revival, and reform the entrenched corruption of the Church of Rome and the Holy Roman Empire, Martin and Katie his wife also lost two of their six children (probably due to the plague) during their life together: first their infant daughter (Elizabeth Luther) died at only 7 months old, and then years later their teenage daughter (Magdalena Luther) died at 13 years old. Moreover, Europe was under constant attack by the Turkish Ottoman Empire, and there was populist unrest and revolt all over the place.

Martin Luther lived in extremely uncertain times, and it’s very unlikely in the year 1523 that Luther could have foreseen with any amount of certainty how all of his work would ultimately turn out. In that early Sixteenth Century timeframe (a pivotal time of immense transition from the Late Medieval era to the Renaissance era), Martin Luther’s evangelical catholic reformation of the Church was not a steady and glorious march of gospel revival and spiritual restoration. Indeed, it was never smooth going. Rather, it was messy, and it had its share of radicalism and extremism. However, one thing was for sure, it was quite clear that something a lot bigger than one person, a lot bigger than even the great Martin Luther, was taking place.

Furthermore, all of this socio-political and religious turmoil wasn’t happening in a technological vacuum. For it was a time of new technologies such as the printing press. It was a time in which an innovator who was a mathematician, astronomer and Church canon lawyer, named Nicolaus Copernicus, published his great scientific work that kicked Planet Earth out of the center of the Solar System. It was also a time in which the map of the globe was growing increasingly extensive and detailed, being charted by the expanding empires of Portugal and Spain.

What new kind of world was emerging out of all this? Which aspects of all this great change were good and righteous and constructive? Which aspects of all this change were destructive, unrighteous and demonic? How was God’s Holy Spirit calling, gathering and enlightening his Church for such times as this?

Today, 500 years on from Martin Luther in 1523, in this Year of our Lord 2023, we the modern-day Church of Jesus Christ find ourselves living through a similarly pivotal time of colossal challenges. We are still trying to help our youth climb out of the developmental stagnation they endured resulting from the unprecedented “stay at home” directives, requiring them to do school and learn, to build relationships and develop life skills, all from their bedroom desks on laptops and tablets. And sadly, we are still contending with old radical ideologies that have been repackaged for our digital era, causing great harm in their wake.

Additionally, the tried and true principles of life and liberty, of family and faith, and so on, are all under tremendous pressure. New technologies and discoveries are wiring us up and plugging us in (whether we like it or not) for both good and ill. Our technology can be used to keep us informed and connected, but this technology is also used to keep us propagandized and contained.

So yes, something new is emerging, and the world is changing at a lightning pace. But the question always remains: Which changes are good and Godly, healthy and constructive, and which changes are not?

I believe God is still calling and shaping us, his Holy Church, to be faithful witnesses within the world that is presently emerging, no matter what the cost to us might be. We just need to be enlightened and shaped by God’s grace and truth, first and foremost, and to be ready and willing to answer God’s call.

Forever secure in God who is “our refuge and strength” (Psalm 46:1) we can be bold in our witness of the good news of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. For as Jesus declares to his disciples of all times and places, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).

Together in Christ, Pastor Tim

BUILDING BRIDGES IN JESUS’ NAME

In the Beatitudes of Jesus Christ in Matthew 5:1-12, our Lord Jesus very plainly states that his believers and followers will be persecuted because of our faith in him.

“Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.”

Matthew 5:11

And after Jesus states this, he goes on in Matthew 5 to specify the particular aspects of following him that will get us into trouble within our world. He specifies things like being salt and light, which means being active witnesses to his gospel within our world. And he highlights that his followers will be observant of the Ten Commandments, listing the following: that his followers will value human life within a world that devalues it, that we will honor and uphold the covenant of marriage within an adulterous world, that we will be keepers of our word within a deceitful world, and he adds that we will be merciful within an unforgiving world, that we will love all people as children of our Heavenly Father, and that we will prayerfully seek to build bridges even with our enemies.

Many despised Jesus for his ethics of inclusivity and bridge-building. He was absolutely despised for his insistence that all people are to be treated as children of God and they must be regarded equally as such: Hebrew and Pagan, Jew and Roman, male and female, countryman and foreigner, so on and so forth. However, when building bridges between very different people according to his grace and truth, Jesus essentially warns us in Matthew 5:11 that IF YOU BUILD BRIDGES THEN YOU WILL OFTEN BE MISUNDERSTOOD FROM BOTH SIDES.

When we follow Jesus by building bridges between different people, especially people of different points of view, the simple truth is that we should expect to be persecuted, reviled, and have all kinds of evil uttered against us. And this is especially true when we follow Jesus by building bridges of understanding, coexistence and cooperation in all areas of human life (ethnicity, religion, politics, sexuality, culture, etc.). So, we ought to be prepared for this rejection and condemnation.

In particular, within today’s religiously diverse society, how are we as Christians to be reconcilers and bridge builders? How are we to be true to our own spiritual inheritance while we seek greater understanding with other religious groups? How are we to understand our own religious faith and spirituality in relation to non-Christian groups? Is there a positive and constructive perspective on this issue that glorifies God and benefits everyone?

For me, “non-Christian” does not mean “un-Christian” or “anti-Christian.” And for me, God is like a great body of water connecting all the various ports and harbors that occupy God’s shoreline. These various harbors are the various religions, and the various piers (on which we dock our individual boats) are the various traditions within each religion. Consequently, there’s a Judeo-Christian harbor that Jews and Christians share (although we have different piers in this shared harbor). There’s also a Muslim harbor, a Hindu harbor, a Buddhist harbor, a Sikh harbor, and so on. So, in this metaphor we are all connected by the Great Water (God), but we each occupy a unique and special place on it.

Therefore, we can explore God’s diverse Oneness from our own safe harbor (“Judeo-Christian Harbor”) and from our own particular dock in this harbor (“Christianity Pier”). So, as with all the various peoples of faith, we can sail out on the great water of God to explore, discover and grow in understanding and wisdom. We can visit other harbors, and we can fish the Great Water (as fishers of people for Christ), but we come home to our own safe harbor when we are tired from our journeys and are in need of our spiritual home port.

Our Christianity Pier and Judeo-Christian Harbor are our secure jumping-off point into the Great Ocean of God. The doctrines of our Christian Faith are wonderfully and gloriously true — especially the tri-unity of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, as well as the Incarnation, Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus the Son of God. So yes, God is truly revealed in these wonderful doctrines of Christianity, but God is also much more than is revealed in these doctrines.

Therefore, we travel out to sea for religious exploration and discovery, and for fishing for people out at sea, but NOT for religious conquest of other ports. For me, I enjoy going out into the beautiful Ocean of God and exploring, and I seek to fish for people in Jesus’ name, but I don’t raid the other harbors and ports like some kind of spiritual pirate. Simply put, we witness to Christ Jesus best in this bridge-building way, and it will bring upon us misunderstanding, condemnation, and even persecution, but Jesus gives to his persecuted believers the following promise:

“Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Matthew 5:12

Together in Christ, Pastor Tim