Freedom! What a wonderful thing to experience. Freedom from religious persecution, freedom to live where we want and choose our line of work, freedom to read Scripture openly and preach it publicly, freedom from oppressive poverty and most importantly for us, freedom from king sin. In the ecclesial world we even enjoy relative freedom from the measure of racial bias and socioeconomic discrimination that exists in society.
If we have grown up in Canada or the States, the virtues of freedom have been extolled since our earliest days in school. Praise is heaped on those who gave their lives in war to preserve freedom.
Good for us
There is no question that liberty is a great blessing. The greatest of our freedoms, of course, is in relation to our sins and the consequent fear of death. If we have come to the Lord Jesus in humble repentance, if we are continuing faithful in him, we are made free. Forgiveness of sins is ours. Even if the grave should claim us, it will only be for a season until we experience the glorious liberty of the children of God at our Lord’s return.
In addition, we are greatly benefited by religious liberty. Compared to most societies that have existed, our situation is truly remarkable. In many places, we can stand in public areas challenging the doctrines of established churches and passing out literature that boldly proclaims the truth.
What about others?
We enjoy our freedom but what should be our attitude to the liberties other people want to exercise? In the kingdom, we know freedom of religion will not be permitted. Apostate doctrines will be exposed; the teaching of them will be forbidden. Compliance with certain religious observances will be mandatory and disobedience will be severely punished (e.g. Zech. 14:16-18).
But that’s in the kingdom. In this era, we do not have the God-given rights or powers to impose such standards upon society. Now the very freedom that permits us to preach the truth permits others to preach error and we simply have to put up with it.
Censorship
Yet what about artistic and literary works that some people call pornography? What about graphic portrayals of bizarre and obscene violence? What should be our position on these matters? If restrictions are passed affecting the freedom of others to speak and act or entertain won’t our own freedoms be impacted? Once censorship starts where will it end?
While we can not participate in the judicial or political systems where such decisions are made, we can and should have an opinion on this matter. In fact, we can offer some very useful input to the discussion because we know what others may not.
What kills a society
At the present time, God will tolerate a certain level of iniquity on the part of mankind without taking direct action. But there are limits and those limits exist in the areas of malicious violence and aberrant sex.
The flood came because “every imagination of the thoughts of [man’s] heart was only evil continually…and the earth was filled with violence…for all flesh had corrupted h is way upon the earth… the end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence…” (Gen. 6:5,11-13). Deceit, theft, oppression and violence are part of every society. But when a certain level is reached, God will wipe that civilization from the face of the earth. Those who encourage such conduct are as dangerous to the welfare of society as those who attack it with chemical warfare.
Sodom and Gomorrah are not just a Bible story, they are an example for all time of what happens when a society sinks to their level. “And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes [God] condemned them with an overthrow, making them an en-sample unto those that after should live ungodly” (II Peter 2:6). We serve the communities in which we live when we draw this fact pointedly to their attention. Those who rationalize gross sexual deviation as artistic freedom, or personal liberty are inviting the direct wrath of God upon society. They may not realize it, but we do, and we should tell them what we know.
True, any censorship applied by the courts or educational boards will be flawed, uneven and sometimes ludicrous. But if something is not done, the combination of free enterprise, the mass media and human lust will bring a repeat of the situation where all flesh have grossly corrupted God’s way. We should warn our acquaintances that when this condition prevails, the civilization is at risk of God’s inexorable judgment.
Personal censorship
Whatever the world does, personal censorship must be exercised in our minds and families. We are made of the same stuff as the world. If we are transformed by the living word of God, we will be repelled by any appeal to the carnal lusts. But such a transformation does not happen without deliberate effort.
In today’s world, it is all too easy to plug our ears with music that arouses sensual feelings and breaks down self restraint. At the flick of a switch, we can fill our eyes with portrayals of graphic desires and carnage which leaves nothing to the imagination. As the word can transform our minds for good, evil input can harden our hearts to sin.
The first line of censorship thus begins in our own lives and within our own homes. In addition, however, we should be ready to explain the value of censorship as exercised by society.
Possible objections
We may feel that one sin is as bad as another. True, if we are unforgiving, for example, society will tolerate us but God will reject us. Let us not confuse our personal accountability with God’s judgment upon the world at large.
And let us not miss the force of God’s warning by objecting that every earthquake and every hurricane is not a specific divine retribution for specific sins. It is true they are not. But this we know, that those communities which are particularly reprobate in the matters of violence and deviate sex will receive divine retribution.
Liberty is wonderful, but when liberty goes mad, it invites the wrath of God upon its perpetrators. We do well to speak out in this regard so that others may benefit from what we know of the judgments of God.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One