RIGHTS?! What Rights?
Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are not you my workmanship in the Lord?  If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you, for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.                                                                                                    1 Corinthians 9:1-2 (ESV)

So much, especially in these days, has been said about our rights as Americans and it has this minister-in-training wondering what that means to those of us who also claim Christ to be our Lord and Savior. I took a look at the opening paragraph of the Declaration of Independence to try to get a base line. Even if it was penned by Thomas Jefferson (a forefather who’s own personal Bible had been…altered) there was something to glean from it. It is the statement…”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.” So let’s run life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness through God’s word.

LIFE… “Thus says God the Lord—He Who created the heavens and stretched them forth, He Who spread abroad the earth and that which comes out of it, He Who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it: I the Lord have called You [the Messiah] for a righteous purpose and in righteousness; I will take You by the hand and will keep You; I will give You for a covenant to the people [Israel], for a light to the nations [Gentiles], To open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from the dungeon, and those who sit in darkness from the prison.” Isaiah 42:5-7 (AMP)

LIBERTY…“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” Galatians 5:1 (ESV)

THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS… “How blessed is everyone who fears the LORD, Who walks in His ways. When you shall eat of the fruit of your hands, you will be happy and it will be well with you.” Psalm 128:1-2 (NASB)

But if you take a look at 1Corinthians 9:19-23 (it’s under the title of “Paul surrenders his rights” in my Bible) we see that the apostle took a different slant towards his rights.

You see when we freely give up our rights for the sake of the Gospel it shows that we act from the principles of zeal and love, and can enjoy the Gospel’s comfort and hope in our soul. And even if Paul looked on the ceremonial law as a yoke taken off by Christ, he submitted to it, that he might work upon the Jews to do away with their prejudices and prevail with them to hear the Gospel so that they could be won over to Christ. Just like Paul, we should transgress no laws of Christ, to please any man. We must carefully watch out for any extremes, and against relying on anything but our trust in Christ alone. We must not allow errors or faults, so as to hurt others, or disgrace the Gospel. Matthew Henry thought the same thing.

So in closing this morning this needs to be said, that as Christians, claiming to be hearing and doing followers of God’s Begotten Son we really only have two “rights” to fall back on…

1…”You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your mind.”(Deut 6:5)

2…”You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Lev 19:18)

On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.

Daily Bible Reading: Exodus 7-8; Mark 16

Quote of the day: ”When we are willing to consider the active will of God for our lives, we come immediately to a personal knowledge of the Cross because the will of God is the place of blessed, painful, fruitful trouble!”—A.W.Tozer

Bible Memory: Teach my your way, O Lord, the way of your statutes; and I will keep it to the end. Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe with my whole heart. – Psalm 119:33-34