Pastor’s Post
Even if you’re not a history buff, you’re no doubt aware that this year marks the 250th anniversary of the United States declaring itself an independent nation. Similarly, you very well may not have the entire Declaration of Independence committed to memory, but you’re probably familiar with this portion of it:
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.
Putting aside the debate about whether the Founding Fathers were trying to establish a definitively Christian government, I as a pastor and not a statesman want to highlight three points mentioned in the above phrase and evaluate them from a theological perspective.
We all deserve life.
Given that it’s a secular document, the reference in the Declaration of Independence to “life” as an unalienable right surely applies to physical life. At a basic level, it insists that all people have the right to live without the threat of harm to their physical well-being. But coupled with the right to “liberty,” it also implies that a person should be free to live as he or she desires.
Ironically, many have taken that second aspect to the extreme point of allowing it to trump the first. We’ve convinced ourselves that the most important thing in life is one’s own happiness at this moment. I can permanently alter my body—even in ways contrary to biology—if I’m not satisfied with it in some way. I can end my own life—either myself or with the assistance of a professional—if I decide that’s a “better” option than continuing to live. In some cases which have become far too common, I can even elect to end another person’s life if that life will have a negative effect on mine.
The Lord is unquestionably in favor of life. He’s the giver of all life, after all (Gn 1:20–31; 1 Sm 2:6; Jb 10:8–12; 33:4; Ps 139:13–16; Jn 1:1–4; Ac 17:24–28)! The Fifth Commandment, the Fourth Petition of the Lord’s Prayer, and many of Jesus’ miracles prove that God is also concerned with protecting and sustaining the life that He gives. And though He permits all living things to experience physical death since the Fall, His grace extends beyond temporal life.
Christ says, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (Jn 10:10). He’s speaking here, of course, about eternal life. The eternal life God desired for mankind from the beginning was stolen from us by Satan and sin. Since that time, the Lord’s greatest concern is that all men might be saved from the torment of everlasting death; the death Adam and Eve brought into the world through their first trespass and which we all since deserve. Jesus goes on to reveal how such deliverance is made possible: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (v. 11). The Lord’s decree that sin demands death couldn’t be annulled; it had to be fulfilled. But He doesn’t leave that burden upon our shoulders. Rather, He sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins (1 Jn 2:1–2). The Lord of Life died…for us, so that we might live forever (Jn 3:16; 10:27–28; Rm 6:23; Gal 2:20; Eph 2:1–7).
We all deserve liberty.
Like the previous case, “liberty” here should be understood first in the temporal sense. The most obvious goal for the Revolutionaries was the establishment of a nation free from what they considered the unfair and oppressive rule of a monarchy. (As an aside, contrast the American Revolution with the ancient Israelites’ request for “a king to judge us like all the nations,” and Samuel’s warning about what would happen if they proceeded down that path [1 Sm 8:4–18].)
Thoughts on the liberty of each individual at that time are certainly more complicated. Fully two-thirds of the men who signed the Declaration of Independence were current or former slaveholders. Despite plentiful debate about the legality and morality of slavery in the early years of America’s existence, slavery wouldn’t be formally abolished nation-wide until 1865 with the ratification of the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Division regarding the precise limits of liberty remains in our country. Some want increased government oversight in any number of areas while others want less. Most everyone concurs that freedoms of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition—rights enshrined in the First Amendment of the Constitution—should be preserved. That is, so long as our side gets to decide where the line is between “peaceful protest” and “riot” or “public discourse” and “hate speech.”
So what does Scripture teach about liberty? Admittedly, there’s disagreement amongst scholars about how to answer that question. There’s no denying that servitude was widely accepted throughout all the times and places recorded in the Bible, and nowhere do the Scriptures outright condemn slavery as evil. In fact, Exodus 21:1–32 provides a series of regulations concerning slavery, Jesus spoke numerous times of masters and slaves (δοῦλος; often translated “servant” in our modern Bibles; [Mt 10:24–25 (Jn 13:16); 13:27–28; 18:23–33; 21:34–36 (Mk 12:2–4); 22:2–10 (Lk 14:17–23); 24:45–51; 25:14–30 (Lk 19:13–22); Mk 13:34; Lk 12:37–47; 17:7–10; Jn 15:20]), and Peter and Paul both instruct slaves to be obedient to their masters (Col 3:22; 4:1; 1 Tm 6:1; Ti 2:9–10), even to the point of suffering unjustly if necessary (1 Pt 2:18–21). At the same time, Paul writes: Were you a bondservant when called? Do not be concerned about it. But if you can gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity (1 Co 7:21), and urges Philemon to welcome back Onesimus, no longer as a slave but as a beloved brother (Phm 16).
What can be definitively stated from Scripture about slavery and liberty relates to the condition of our souls. Peter says that we’re enslaved to whatever overcomes us (2 Pt 2:19). In our natural, pre-Baptismal state, we were therefore enslaved to the world (Gal 4:3, 8–9) and sin (Jn 8:34; Rm 6:16, 20–21). While these things may seem alluring, they provide nothing of real value and lead to emptiness…to death. Yet we’re powerless to release ourselves from their grip. There’s nothing we can do, nothing we can give to acquire our freedom.
Christ, however, achieved what we can’t. As His arms were stretched out upon the cross, He tore apart the chains of sin and death which held us tight (Rm 6:17–19). When He placed His name upon us in Baptism, He bound Himself to us, along with His righteousness, so that we can enjoy eternity with Him (Rm 6:22; Gal 4:4–7).
We all deserve happiness.
I dare say happiness is the chief idol among us. Our lives are driven by what we think will make us happy. How do we accumulate and use our wealth and possessions? How do we allocate our time? With whom do we associate when given the choice? These questions are frequently pondered with an eye toward what we hope will bring us (and/or maybe those we care about) satisfaction with far less attention given to the needs of others or the will of God.
Oddly enough, this is probably the easiest of the three to address Biblically because the simple fact is nowhere does God promise us happiness. You might recall, for instance, the Sunday morning Gospel text we recently heard when Jesus said to His apostles, “Whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me” (Mt 10:34). No mention of happiness there. That comment, of course, is borne out in the lives of the apostles and countless other Christians who have suffered for the faith. It’s borne out in our own lives, too. That’s not to say that Christians don’t experience happiness; that their lives should be constantly somber. But there’s no guarantee of happiness, and if we evaluate our lives or our faith via our happiness, we’re sure to be disheartened.
What the Lord does promise, however, is something better than happiness: joy! The Lutheran Study Bible defines joy as “a result of God’s grace toward believers” and identifies its appearance in the Scriptures 57 times. (That doesn’t include terms that also express joy such as “praise” or “rejoice.”) Joy differs from happiness in that it isn’t based on anything earthly. Earthly things are fleeting. True joy is the assurance that we’ve been chosen by God; that He cares for us in body and soul; that He’s reconciled us to Himself through His Son (Ps 51:7–12; Jer 15:16). Those realities are eternal (Ps 4:7). Simply put, God is our joy (Ps 43:4).
Along with that, joy is closely related to the Christian concept of hope—confidence that the Lord’s blessings to us will continue throughout this life and into the life to come (Rm 15:13; 1 Pt 1:8–9). We hear repeatedly in the Scriptures that joy is ours because we know that our souls have been delivered from everlasting death (Ps 16:9–11; 30:3–5; Is 12:2–4; 35:10). Joy like this prevails even in the midst of worldly trouble (Ps 119:105–112; Lk 6:22–23; Jn 16:19–24; Jas 1:2–4).
I’ll be the first to say we should be immensely grateful for the rights and privileges we enjoy in this country, but our devotion to any worldly power must be limited. As history has consistently demonstrated, even the greatest empires eventually fall. But by the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ, we’ve been promised citizenship in a heavenly kingdom wherein life, liberty, and joy will have no end. That’s definitely something worth celebrating.