“We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up” (Romans 15:1-2).
What I consider to be one of the greatest documents ever written by man includes the phrase, “. . . 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.” Of course, these are taken from the Declaration of Independence. Thomas Jefferson and those who approved this document very much had the rights of a free people at the forefront of their thoughts, and they wanted to protect those rights above all else. The ratification of the U.S. Constitution 11 years later followed by the adoption of the Bill of Rights put many of these rights in writing.
For almost 250 years, the American people have proudly embraced our rights, willing to fight and, if necessary, die for these rights. Gradually, we have extended the rights under our Constitution to more and more Americans, to blacks, Hispanics, women and most recently to people with different sexual orientations. Under a secular society, it is only proper that we should declare all Americans and those living in our nation will enjoy the same rights as anyone else in our nation.
The American Ideal of freedom and rights and equality have been spread throughout the world, and all people look upon this ideal with favor. We may not always agree with our government, and the world may look with disfavor upon those who lead us and our national policies, but few have ever looked upon our dreams with derision. As Americans, we have rights that cannot be taken away from us.
And yet . . .
What about American Christians? What about any and all Christians? Do we have rights? More to the point, should Christians stand firmly to protect their rights, resisting efforts to curtail our rights?
The short answer is, “Yes, and No.”
Yes, Christians Have Rights
In the United States, everyone has certain rights that are protected under the Constitution. Many of these rights are stated in the Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments that were ratified shortly after the Constitution itself. The First Amendment is fundamental to the rights of people of faith or no faith, allowing us the freedom to worship God (or not) as we see fit. This amendments prevents the government from interfering with religion, denying the establishment of a state religion, no matter how many in that state may be adherents of one particular religion, and denying the prohibition of the practice of religion, no matter how few in that state may be adherents of one particular religion.
Christians are covered under the First Amendment. Because of the existence of this amendment, no one has to pay a state tax to support a particular religion. This was the custom in the various nations from which so many of us immigrated, and was one of the main reasons we left our homelands to come to America. Because of this amendment, we are not all required to become members of the state church. Because of this amendment, we are free to worship as we see fit, or not to worship if we so choose. The idea behind this amendment is that the matters of the soul are none of the business of the State.
So, yes, Christians in America have rights.
No, Christians Do Not Have Rights
While the Declaration of Independence speaks of God-given rights, the Bible does not. The relationship between God and man is one of grace and mercy from God that is received by faith from humanity. In no part of the reconciliation achieved through Jesus’ sacrifice at Calvary is there even a hint at rights given from God to us.
Yes, there are gifts from God. Among other things, by His grace, we are, made children of God (John 1:12-13—here, the word “right” is a word better translated “power and authority”); we are enabled to enter directly into His presence (Hebrew 10:19-23); we are set free to be free (Galatians 5:1). There are so many more blessings that come to the children of God. The one thing no person, Christian or other, has a right to do is stand before God with the declaration, “You owe me.” We have no standing to demand God honor a right or privilege that is uniquely our own. All we have has been given us by Him. We have no rights before a sovereign God. However, we do have the privilege and joy to stand before the world and profess all the grace that God has shown us as well as the mercy. We can demonstrate our love for God in response to His grace by the way we relate to each other in daily living.
The Christian idea of reflecting the love God as expressed through Jesus Christ, empowered by His Spirit which enables us to know and do God’s will, is paramount to our faith. The love that Christ demonstrated was modeled with humility and service, placing ourselves at each other’s disposal. So, in a larger sense, Christians surrender our rights when we accept Christ as our Lord.
“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in the very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant” (Philippians 2:5-7a).
“I have set you an example, that you should do as I have done for you” (John 13:15).
In Romans 14 and 1 Corinthians 8-10, Paul deals with rights in the way we relate to one another through the eating of food offered to idols. In both passages, Paul’s position is that the stronger Christian is to consider the weaker Christian in all decisions made.
The stronger Christian may believe that it’s okay to eat meat offered to an idol since the idol is merely stone or wood, an inanimate object, and the meat offered is nothing more than meat. The weaker Christian, on the other hand, concludes that the idol in and of itself may be inanimate, but it represents a pagan god, and the food offered to that pagan god is therefore tainted by the association with the pagan worship. I was once told that there are two ways of looking at the Bible. There are those who say if the Bible doesn’t forbid it, then we are free to indulge. There are others who say that if the Bible doesn’t permit it, then we must abstain. The similar idea is present here.
Paul’s point in both matters—what’s permissible, what’s forbidden—comes down to let each Christian follow his or her own conscience. However, Paul insists that if what I practice causes harm to another’s Christian growth or commitment, then it is better for me to abstain from that practice, at least while around that other Christian.
Paul writes, “Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible” (1 Corinthians 9:19). He also writes, “’Everything is permissible’—but not everything is beneficial. ‘Everything is permissible’—but not everything is constructive. Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others” (1 Corinthians 19:23-24).
Paul’s point is that there are more important things than standing up for one’s rights. There are always others to consider, and standing up for my rights may be detrimental to my witness and to someone else’s growth in Christ. To the Romans, Paul wrote, “Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall” (Romans 14:19-21).
Conclusion
It’s a wonderful thing to live in a free society, where our rights are protected and encouraged. However, for the Christian, the freedom that comes in Christ is the freedom not to stand for one’s rights, but the freedom to serve, the freedom to encourage, the freedom to consider others as well as, or more than, myself. In American, Christians need to protect the freedom of worship and speech, and we must protect that right for all people, whether we agree with them or not. Our message is one that can survive and thrive in the marketplace of ideas. But as Christians we need to yield ourselves to Christ rather than stand for our rights if to do so would cause a brother or sister to stumble.
Remember the Golden Rule (Matthew 7:12), and remember that we are blessed if we are peacemakers (Matthew 5:9). We have a ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:16-21). With Christ as our example, and mindful of these things, we can find a life free of rights rather liberating.
© 2017 Glynn Beaty