“So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty” (James 2:12). Our Author of Liberty is Christ. He is the truth about anything you can find to inquire. Jesus is the only way that any of us can be made free indeed (John 8:32, 36).

July Fourth is on Saturday this year, and thanks needs to be given to the Author of the liberty. We have been given great privileges to live where we can buy, sell and trade in our livelihoods. Most importantly, we are in the “sweet land of liberty,” where we can worship God more freely in churches that honor and praise Christ over all.

Our liberty and spiritual truth is not to do just what we each desire, but what Christ seeks for us. America started out with the Bible-loving liberties, which we all need today. She began with the same that we still need now. None of us need to go against God, His Word and truthfulness. All those are what we need in our lives every day. They are foundations that
show us how to love and follow Christ.

We do not need sin anywhere in our lives, “for sin is the transgression of the law” (1 John 3:4). James tells us that when lust had conceived, “it bringeth forth sin, and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death” (James 1:15). None of us need the sin and its death, but rather to be forgiven and free to go forth to do right for Christ.

Old Satan has a desire to ruin everything about Jesus, so then we, as Christians, must oppose his effort. First, the foundation for Christ to live in our lives must be sought. From the very first days in America, she started with the Mayflower Compact on Nov. 11, 1620 to establish a legally binding form of self-government. We need to follow the Godly laws today. We need to follow our Godly given desires to follow only Christ. First John 2:6 says, “He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he (Jesus) walked.”

Our youth need to start early in life to be trained properly. Efforts to learn the Pledge of Allegiance and loyalty to our Christian flag and other prayers are important. Quickly as we can, we each need to begin to memorize Bible verses. Years and even decades later, we will find these Bible memories coming back to our minds to help us tell others how they may be saved eternally through Christ. We each then must learn to stand in our position of being saved through salvation in Jesus Christ alone.

Today, we are seeing a blurring of right that is washed away by wrongs that are desired. The truth is that the evil, anti-Christ choices are still as wrong as ever and need to be opposed and stood against. No parents can rightfully go along with the things that youth insist everyone is doing. It is settled that we will do what is right, regardless of what the world system is allowing or enticing for youth to do. The Bible teaches us so that we can wisely know what is needed in our lives as we study.

Some of the changes of the American world are disturbingly becoming larger. One of the largest of all is our ignorance of Bible truth. The reading of the Bible on a daily basis is needed by each and every one of us, even if we could have others, the elderly, read to in the Bibles because we cannot do so ourselves.

We secondly now see a vacuum of Bible knowledge brought into our schools. With a large Bible ignorance among our youth comes shocking results. The younger people have rejected too much of what God shows and how we each so fully need Christ in our lives, with joy and thanksgiving.

The third rejection we have seen be so strong among our youth is called “post-modernism.” It is a “modern” path of rejecting the Bible truth, and with “humanism,” gradually changing away from the truth and moving closer to our relative feelings. This soft destruction eventually tries to destroy the truth. It seeks to create a “virtual reality” that pretends to be playing the game in truth. The devil tries to play along, but actually seeks to destroy anyone’s forgiveness of sin and then get them into Hell.

We need to walk each day into the Bible truth that our nation has promoted since the early days. Everyone has their own right or wrong decisions to make, but we are told: “Let him that is taught in the (Bible) word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things. Be not deceived, God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. (Galatians 6:6-8). There is a life right and wrong (Romans 1), and we must know and then walk in the truth with Jesus.

America, we must evaluate our national lives. Ten wrongs that Woodrow Kroll wrote about are: There are really no valid authorities to go by in our Nation of America. There are no rules to really believe or go by. Styles are more important than real substance actions. Your morality is not more important than your choice. Tolerance is the greatest virtue. Words have no meaning of good or bad intention. The Holy Bible is oppressive to our personal lives. Truth is not at all as important as is our entertainment. Your images show you what to have. Lastly, do all you can, so you can get what you believe and want for yourself.

These 10 are a sad and selfish list of things that seek to satisfy and make the thinker happy. The truth is that we will not be happy. We will be unhappy with what the world provides and yet completely happy in Christ when we receive Him into our hearts as personal Savior.

America stands for the right ethics to work (six days per week) and to vote for the godly people who can lead and glorify our nation. We need to guard against the devil and to fight for the truth, in all of our lives, those things which are right in the Bible.

We can pray Psalm 119:45-46: “And I will walk at liberty: for I seek thy precepts. I will speak of thy testimonies also before kings, and will not be ashamed.” Whoever will walk in real liberty with God will find real joy day after day.

James 1:25 says: “But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.”

Happy Independence Day!

R.D. “Bob” Hottle is a retired schoolteacher, farmer and pastor of the Anchor Baptist Church.