Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (emancipation from bondage, freedom). 2 Corinthians 3:17 AMP
The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America declares that:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness;…”
The framers of our Constitution recognized that God alone was the Author of life, of freedom, and of man’s free will. Liberty is the very essence of the Gospel.
Since God is the one who gives men freedom, there is no government that can legally give it to you – it is not theirs to give. Governments may claim to control your freedom, and therefore give or take it away, but they do not have that right. What kings and governments do is to put people into bondage and when they loosen up the restrictions, they call it freedom. Alternatively, they give you “freedom” inside their own controlled, narrow boundaries. None of this is true freedom.
In God’s eyes, the role of government is only to protect the freedoms of the people and restrict the freedoms of (imprison) those who seek to rob others of their freedoms by killing, stealing, or otherwise destroying. All the laws that they pass should be to allow people to freely conduct business and live their lives as they choose. In a world where every person was a true follower of Christ, there would be no need for laws, because everyone would govern themselves and their behavior by the laws of God. Everyone would love their neighbor and seek their best interests. No one would enslave or oppress another, and no one would be enslaved or oppressed.
Laws are made for lawless men. If you transgress the law, you become subject to it. If you are entirely submitted to the commandment of God, then the law is not applied to you. No one has the right to oppress another or to enslave another. God gave us no commandment to have slaves; however, when men, in their ignorance to the Gospel and the truth, took slaves, He gave commands for proper treatment of slaves. He even provided a Year of Jubilee – for the release of slaves. The fact is that slavery is a curse brought on by rebellion and disobedience to God’s laws. As long as men curse God, slavery will continue. The only hope is another Year of Jubilee and Jesus is that Jubilee! You do not have to wait fifty years – you can have it now!
Here are some examples of the way that some people impose slavery upon others: to physically enslave men; to oppress and keep them in ignorance; to force them against their free will; to deprive them of compensation, or appropriate compensation, for work done; to prevent proper home life and training of their children; to fetter (restrict or restrain) the intellect; to make some dependent on others; to promote any inequality in rights contrary to the laws of God.
We see this slavery at work in our nations today. Banks and corporations keep people in slavery through debt. Their goal is not to help people find financial independence, but rather to keep them in debt and dependent on the system. When governments support people by helping them to own and run their own businesses, and by helping and encouraging them to earn their own living, then they are doing something good. However, when governments give people handouts on a continual basis, people become dependent on the government, and therefore are owned and controlled by them. The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender (Proverbs 22:7 AMP).
People are enslaved through lack of education. In school, they are not taught what they need to know but only what the government wants them to know. This is happening in so-called “free” countries, and not just in ones ruled by dictators. If people do not know their history, they are doomed to repeat it. People know everything about the pop culture or their favorite athletic team, but nothing about what they really ought to know in order to stand up against tyranny. Governments enslave people when they hide things from the people; when they are not transparent and open; when they receive bribes to decide things in the interest of a few at the expense of the many.
When you cannot choose your own vocation, and someone tells you what job you will do, then you are enslaved. Around the world, there are many people who are overworked and underpaid and whose lives are controlled by the companies for whom they work. This is a form of slavery. Many people are so completely enslaved, even today, that they have no control even over their own bodies, and they are bought and sold as slaves.
Governments impose slavery upon the people, when they insist that they are the only ones who have the intelligence to govern and that everyone else is too ignorant to govern or even to question their decisions. It is a form of slavery to undermine the family. When the government has more control over a child’s life than the parents do, then that nation is enslaved. Governments impose slavery upon the people when they take control of the Health Care programs and decisions, and they begin to decide who may live or die. When governments can abort babies and prematurely kill old people, and handicapped or infirm people, then that nation is enslaved.
The main reason people are enslaved, is because they are ignorant of the word and the will of Almighty God. My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6a NKJV). The reason that the Constitution of the United States of America, and the Bill of Rights, are such powerful documents is because they are based on the principles of the Word of God. As long as men acknowledge God in this nation, our country will stand strong. However, when men dishonor God, the guiding principles of our founding documents will no longer be able to stand, and the nation will fall to tyranny and darkness. It is left up to those of us, who walk in the light, to stand up for the truth and to bring others into the light, so that our people and our nation might remain truly free.
