"Liberty" and the American Church

"I wonder if the Americans do not understand us at all because they are people who left Europe so as to be able to live out their faith for themselves in freedom? ie. because they did not stand fast by the last decision in the question of belief? I fancy that they would understand the fugitive better that the one who stays. Hence the American tolerance, or rather indifference in dogmatic questions." --Bonhoeffer

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Today, many of us look at our contemporary church and we think the brokenness is a newerish development. We look to the conservative resurgence of the 1970's and 80's and say to ourselves that we have seen the star of truth rise once again from the ashes of modern liberalism. We think that the lack of fire and life that has eroded the effectiveness of our evangelical denoms is because of cultural irrelevancy. But I would submit to you (via some thoughts and conversations the hubs and I have engaged in) that the current state of gospel laxity is really traced back to our roots.



While I admire the founding fathers and mothers for their tenacity and adventurous spirit and also their initiative in founding what we now today call America, I think they also layed a foundation for vapid Christianity that has weaked the gospel's effect in our nation for generations. Paved the way for easy belief-ism and cheap grace.

In the moments of trial and tribulation, the founders of the first settlements where either driven by monetary gain (ie, Jamestown) or religious freedom (ie. Plymouth). But what kind of religious freedom were they looking for? A religious freedom that chooses to become more and more self effacing like Christ himself was or a liberty that was really motivated by lack of persecution and struggle?

Our American heritage is really rooted in a liberty that says more "I can do what I want without anyone telling me otherwise" than in a more biblical liberty that says "I am free now to lay aside all my 'freedoms' and 'rights' whether inalienable or not and do what is sacrifical no matter the cost to myself." I look at the founders of our first settlements, the things we look at and abhor, like the Salem fiasco. Or the fact that most of the founding fathers were not evangelical at all: Jefferson was a deist, Washington was an Anglican who didn't even take communion after the war for independence, Adams was a Unitarian, Patrick Henry who admired the evangelicals of his day instead of following their lead simply borrowed their preaching style and gave it  a new direction in "give me liberty or give me death." These are just a few of the backgrounds of the men who formed and founded this great nation of ours (and it is a great nation!). I am certain that many people know even more about these men and women than I do, but the point is that their driving goal was not motivated by the truths of the cost of the gospel and the sacrifices inherent to the gospel or even the message of the gospel "God is reconciling all things to himself in a crucified and risen Christ". More realistically the message that our founders sought to bring forth was, "let me do my own thing and leave me alone while I do it!"

I think that Bonhoeffer was seeing something we don't see often because we are here, we have no basis of comparison. He saw for us that we had traded the comfort of the moment for the message of eternity. Why did he see this when so many others had missed it? Probably because he had seen the reformation church of Martin Luther trade the truth of the gospel for the lie of national socialism. He was seeing for the first time in many years that the gospel was a costly and wondrous thing, worthy of our bearing all things to grasp the treasure that we know can compare to none other.

Just as Jesus says “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure, buried in a field, that a man found and reburied. Then in his joy he goes and sells everything he has and buys that field."

If a man is willing to sell everything to attain the glories of the gospel message which inherently lead us to the kingdom, then why would he abandon all others to whom he could also share that message? And then for the remainder of his life to lobby and fight and vote for the right to be left alone and to leave others alone.

We find in the story of the American Church and even the Great Awakening is marked by darker truths. Jonathan Edwards, the father of the Great Awakening was actually fired from the very church that was the center of this great awakening AFTER this great awakening. Now does that sound like a great spiritual awakening? Or does that sound like cheap grace?

America is fighting a  harder battle than most other nations because we were founded upon the idea that people can live in a state of unpersecuted ease and still be a follower of the gospel, this is an anti-bible idea.

^{Phil 1:29} "For it has been given to you on Christ’s behalf not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for Him, ³⁰ having the same struggle that you saw I had and now hear that I have."

I have heard for years and years, pastors and deacons, bible study leaders and regular joes pray a  prayer that goes something like this "God thank you for the blessing of letting us live in a nation where we can worship without fear and persecution." So just as Bonhoeffer notes that the American church has more in common with the fugitive than the soldier, I submit that we have lived for hundreds of years thinking we were only given the gift of salvation on the cross? I submit that we were also given the gift of suffering, with which we were (like Job...and more importantly Jesus) given the opportunity to magnify His glory and testify against the liar who seeks to defy God and bring us away from His side.

I hope that you will begin to search your bible and history of the gospel and see where the truth that suffering isn't only good for the church, but also good for the message?