Self-evident truths
Self-evident truths
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
Remember hearing these words around the Fourth of July? These words are part of the fabric of freedom, woven by the founding fathers of our country into the Declaration of Independence. These self-evident truths are what Americans live for—what they are even willing to die for—in order to preserve and protect.
Today, though, I would like to use these time-honored words out of context. I’d like to use these secular words for a sacred purpose. As we use the freedom of religion, guaranteed to us by our Constitution, what religious truths do we consider to be self-evident? From a godly perspective, how are all men equal? In God’s sight what are our rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?
Yes, we all are created equal. No, I don’t mean equal in size. Some of us are built a little closer to the ground than others. We don’t all have the physique of a pro athlete or the figure of a supermodel. In many ways, we’re not all equal.
Yet, despite obvious and less obvious differences, we are all equal in that every one of us is born sinful. It may not be, at first, so evident. But it doesn’t take long for all of us to reveal our inherited inner craving for what is forbidden. And, because God demands complete perfection in thought, word, and deed, we’re all equally guilty before him, all equally deserving of everlasting death.
This truth may not be self-evident; it may even be largely ignored or publicly denied. But it is self-evident to us, not only because we know it’s true in our lives but also because it’s what God plainly reveals in his Word. That makes it self-evident to all who by faith count God’s Word as the truth.
And so, by nature sinful and destined for death, we don’t have an inalienable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Then, as if out of nowhere, comes another truth that is not self-evident. A perfect life and an innocent death—not ours but the Savior’s—liberates us from our sentence of death and makes us eternally happy.
This truth can only be perceived and received by faith in God’s Son, our Savior, Jesus. This is the saving truth we’re privileged to proclaim: God’s pardon for sinners, the eternal peace of sins forgiven.
Remember hearing these words around the Fourth of July? These words are part of the fabric of freedom, woven by the founding fathers of our country into the Declaration of Independence. These self-evident truths are what Americans live for—what they are even willing to die for—in order to preserve and protect.
Today, though, I would like to use these time-honored words out of context. I’d like to use these secular words for a sacred purpose. As we use the freedom of religion, guaranteed to us by our Constitution, what religious truths do we consider to be self-evident? From a godly perspective, how are all men equal? In God’s sight what are our rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?
Yes, we all are created equal. No, I don’t mean equal in size. Some of us are built a little closer to the ground than others. We don’t all have the physique of a pro athlete or the figure of a supermodel. In many ways, we’re not all equal.
Yet, despite obvious and less obvious differences, we are all equal in that every one of us is born sinful. It may not be, at first, so evident. But it doesn’t take long for all of us to reveal our inherited inner craving for what is forbidden. And, because God demands complete perfection in thought, word, and deed, we’re all equally guilty before him, all equally deserving of everlasting death.
This truth may not be self-evident; it may even be largely ignored or publicly denied. But it is self-evident to us, not only because we know it’s true in our lives but also because it’s what God plainly reveals in his Word. That makes it self-evident to all who by faith count God’s Word as the truth.
And so, by nature sinful and destined for death, we don’t have an inalienable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Then, as if out of nowhere, comes another truth that is not self-evident. A perfect life and an innocent death—not ours but the Savior’s—liberates us from our sentence of death and makes us eternally happy.
This truth can only be perceived and received by faith in God’s Son, our Savior, Jesus. This is the saving truth we’re privileged to proclaim: God’s pardon for sinners, the eternal peace of sins forgiven.
Tags:
