The Apostle Paul wrote “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.” (Gal. 5:1).

There is no doubt that the yoke Paul was referring to was that of sin but, it also included much more. It also included freedom from manmade religious doctrines that are contrary to the word of God. It also includes governmental doctrines and actions that are contrary to the will of God. Our Founding Fathers understood it to mean governmental actions that impeded on this God given liberty as well. President James Monroe wrote “I will now add what I do not like. First, the omission of a bill of rights, providing clearly, and without the aid of sophism, for freedom of religion, freedom of the press, protection against standing armies, restriction of monopolies, the eternal and unremitting force of the habeas corpus laws, and trials by jury, in all matters of fact triable by the law of the land, and not by the laws of nations.” He also echoed President Thomas Jefferson in his stand against our nation maintaining a standing army.

Nations can gather armies in the event of war but that is not the same as maintaining a standing army. And yet that is what we see happening in the United States right now. An article in Epoch Times August 23, 2022, titled America’s Standing Army has this quote –

“The IRS has stockpiled 4,500 guns and 5 million rounds of ammunition in recent years, including 621 shotguns, 539 long-barrel rifles, and 15 submachine guns, according to the in-depth report “The Militarization of the U.S. Executive Agencies.”

The article goes on to list all the governmental agencies that have stockpiled weapons and ammunition and concludes with –

“Mind you, this de facto standing army of bureaucratic, administrative, nonmilitary, paper-pushing, nontraditional law enforcement agencies may look and act like the military, but they aren’t the military.

Rather, they’re foot soldiers of the police state’s standing army, and they’re growing in number at an alarming rate.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the number of federal agents armed with guns, ammunition, and military-style equipment, authorized to make arrests, and trained in military tactics has nearly tripled over the past several decades.

There are now more bureaucratic (nonmilitary) government agents armed with weapons than there are U.S. Marines. As Forbes reports, “The federal government has become one never-ending gun show.”

This nonmilitary army is being used to stifle freedoms guaranteed by our Constitution and it is partnering with social media giants like Facebook and Twitter to put a clamp on free speech and dissent.

Paul asked the Galatians, “Who hindered you from obeying the truth? This persuasion does not come from Him who calls you. A little leaven leavens the whole lump.” American Christians are in danger of swallowing the little leaven that leavens the whole lump as they sit by and watch the Biden Administration hire 87,000 more IRS agents armed with weapons. American pastors, who are commissioned by God to be His spokesmen for the truth, should be sharing this truth posted by the Epoch Times article –

“While Americans have to jump through an increasing number of hoops in order to own a gun, federal agencies have been placing orders for hundreds of millions of rounds of hollow-point bullets and military gear. Among the agencies being supplied with night vision equipment, body armor, hollow point bullets, shotguns, drones, assault rifles, and liquid propane gas cannons are the Smithsonian, U.S. Mint, HHS, IRS, Food and Drug Administration, Small Business Administration, SSA, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Education Department, Energy Department, Bureau of Engraving and Printing, and an assortment of public universities.

Add in the Biden administration’s plans to grow the nation’s police forces by 100,000 more cops and to swell the ranks of the IRS by 87,000 new employees (some of whom will have arrest and firearm authority), and you’ve got a nation in the throes of martial law.”

Why do these agencies need all this military equipment unless it is to force unconstitutional edicts upon us? Surely lawlessness has not become so bad as to warrant these extreme governmental reactions. America has enjoyed the freedom given to us by God in response to the prayers and confessions of God-fearing Pilgrims, Puritans, and founders. They fought to maintain these freedoms for us, and we must also join the fight to preserve the freedoms given to us.

The ultimate source of our freedom is Jesus Christ and the Word of God. But we must embrace them and live them out and that means in our hearts, our fellowships, our society, and our government. The freedom of Christ must be all inclusive.