Leveraging the first amendment for the gospel

We live in a great nation founded on the principle that we are all created equally by God.

Throughout our nation's history, men and women have taken great risks and made tremendous sacrifices for our freedom.

At the heart of this freedom is the First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of free speech and freedom of religion.

Christians, please be wise in how we steward this freedom. We must leverage this freedom for the Gospel.

America is a broken nation.

When we do not see the world through the Gospel, we respond to our world's brokenness in ways that do not honor Jesus.

We lash out to those who disagree with us. Our opinions and critical spirit drive our speech, actions and outlook.

We argue over politics, education, laws, abortion, gay marriage, violence, gun control, economy, religious freedom, racism, immigration, international relations, etc.

...And we fail to reflect Jesus

The heart of our message must come from our love for God, our love for people, our obedience to Him, and our desire to see people come to Christ--not from a heart of anger, hatred, bitterness, and criticism.

The Gospel must drive what we say.

In Matthew 5, Jesus said His followers are to be the salt of the earth and light of the world. How are you being salt and light? Are we living in a way that points people to Jesus? Are we sharing the Gospel with others?

Even with our nation's shortcomings, because of our freedoms, Christians in America have a great opportunity to share the Gospel. We have great freedom to fulfill the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20). Christians must leverage our freedom to bear a powerful Gospel witness in our community, nation and world.

We must leverage our freedom so that people hear the Gospel louder than our political views and what we don't like about the world.

Do our words, attitudes and actions lead people to believe that being a Christian means we align with a certain political party? 

Does the world see Jesus through us or do they see anger, frustration, and a critical spirit?

The Gospel changes the tone of our message and centers it on Jesus--that salvation is through Christ alone and that He is the only true hope in this world. 

In Christ, we are no longer controlled by sin and death. Instead, we experience love, joy, peace, power, healing and eternal life. Let us use our freedom to fulfill the Great Commission and reach our nation and world with the Gospel.

Let's do it!