In the US, the first amendment to the Constitution protects our freedom of speech. Throughout the years, various court rulings have defined precisely what is free speech and has led to the legal principle that even “inflammatory speech is protected as long as it is not incitement to imminent violence”. [1] Our founding fathers and many courts have recognized there is a difference between what one says and actually acting upon those statements.
So why do we Christians have such a difficult time recognizing that fact? We say that salvation is only through belief in Jesus and his death for our sins. Do we really think we will be saved just by saying we have a certain belief?
___________________________
[1] Emily Belz, “Clamping down on speech”, World, February 21, 2015, pp. 50-52.
