July
6, 2003am Give me Liberty
or Give me … Gal.
5
By Ronald E.
George Jr. at the Fayetteville Baptist Church
Our
Mission is to live our lives every day,
So
that others can see Christ living in us.
"Is
life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and
slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take, but
as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!"
-Patrick
Henry
Fourscore
and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation,
conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are
created equal." -Abraham
Lincoln
"Freedom
is that instant between when someone tells you to do something and when you
decide how to respond." -Dr.
Jeffrey Borenstein
"People
demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which
they seldom use." -Kierkegaard
"As
human beings, we are endowed with freedom of choice, and we cannot shuffle off
our responsibility upon the shoulders of God or nature. We must shoulder it
ourselves. It is our responsibility."
-Arnold
J. Toynbee
WE,
therefore, the Representatives of the UNITED STATED OF AMERICA, in GENERAL
CONGRESS, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the World for the
Rectitude of our Intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good
People of these Colonies, solemnly Publish and Declare, That these United
Colonies are, and of Right ought to be, FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES; that they
are absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political
Connection between them and the State of Great-Britain, is and ought to be
totally dissolved; and that as FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES, they have full
Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and
to do all other Acts and Things which INDEPENDENT STATES may of right do. And
for the support of this Declaration, with a firm Reliance on the Protection of
divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes,
and our sacred Honor. --From the last paragraph of the Declaration of
Independence.
Gal. 5:13 (KJS) For,
brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only [use] not liberty for an
occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. 14 For all the law is
fulfilled in one word, [even] in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as
thyself.
Gal. 5:13 (NIV) You, my
brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the
sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.
14 The entire law is summed
up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself."
Liberty
is:
- The
condition of being free from restriction or control.
- The
right and power to act, believe, or express oneself in a manner of one's
own choosing.
- The
condition of being physically and legally free from confinement,
servitude, or forced labor. See Synonyms at freedom.
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Liberty
or Freedom
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Function:
|
noun
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Definition:
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freedom
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Synonyms:
|
alternative,
authorization, autonomy, birthright, choice, deliverance, ,
emancipation, enlightenment, exemption, free speech, immunity,
independence, leisure, liberation, license, opportunity, permission,
prerogative, privilege, release, rest, right, self-determination,
self-government, sovereignty, suffrage, unconstraint, autonomy.
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Called
to liberty.
Free from the British Crown. Free
to exercise our right to be free. This
is freedom to choice.
Given
freedom.
So don’t go back. Use
the opportunity you have.
Now
we are free.
We are free from sin, free from the control of the flesh,
free from foreign control, free from death, free from Hell, and free
from the grave.
Free
to choose.
How can you choose if you don’t have a choice? You do.
Free
to be.
You are free to be who God wants you to be. Choose God.
Free
to serve
Free
to love.
Free
to live.
What
do you want to be today? Go with
the Lord.