RELIGIOUS LIBERTY

One of the fundamental human freedoms —if not the most fundamental human freedom —is the privilege of each person to explore truth about the divine and to live in light of his or her determinations. Obviously, different people will make different determinations regarding what to believe, whom to worship, and how to live. This is a choice God has offered to all people, for from the beginning God has given men and women the freedom to decide whether to worship him.

Around the world, scores of men and women from many faiths, including many of our brothers and sisters in Christ, live today without this fundamental freedom. Millions of people are presently denied the opportunity to even explore truth that will affect their lives on earth and for eternity.

Government coercion is one of the greatest restrictors of religious liberty around the globe. This is most clear in communist and Islamist states, where countries adopt an official religion (or nonreligion) and require their citizens to conform to corresponding beliefs. Societal pressure follows closely on the heels of governmental regulation as family, friends, religious fanatics, community leaders, and criminal mobs intimidate, threaten, harm, or kill men, women, and children who profess certain faith. Such pressure accounts for much Christian persecution today.

Surrounded by this global reality, and driven by our love for God, we must act. We must pray and work for our persecuted brothers and sisters around the world. When one part of the body suffers, the whole body suffers (see 1 Corinthians 12). Moreover, in a country where even our own religious liberty is increasingly limited, our suffering brothers and sisters beckon us not to let the cost of following Christ in our culture silence our faith.

PRAY

Ask God to:

• Prepare Christians in our own culture to respond boldly and humbly to increased governmental and cultural opposition.
• Work in the lives of rulers in our own country and around the world so that there is more freedom given to live and speak according to the truth of the gospel.
• Strengthen persecuted believers around the world to persevere in faith and to continue to bear witness to Christ, regardless of the consequences.

PARTICIPATE

Prayerfully consider taking these steps:

• Contact your state government representatives about instances here and abroad where religious liberty is being denied.
• Support and/or get involved with a ministry that speaks on behalf of believers who live in persecuted contexts.
• Consider how you or someone you know might get involved on the issue of religious liberty, either legally or politically.

PROCLAIM

Consider the following truths from Scripture:

• Matthew 5:11-12: “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.”
• Proverbs 21:1: “The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will.”
• 1 Peter 2:23: “When [Christ] was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.”

For more (and more specific) suggestions, visit CounterCultureBook.com/ReligiousLiberty.