Ezekiel 18:25-32 “Yet you say, ‘The Lord isn’t doing what’s right!’ Listen to me, O people of Israel. Am I the one not doing what’s right, or is it you? ²⁶When righteous people turn from their righteous behavior and start doing sinful things, they will die for it. Yes, they will die because of their sinful deeds. ²⁷And if wicked people turn from their wickedness, obey the law, and do what is just and right, they will save their lives. ²⁸They will live because they thought it over and decided to turn from their sins. Such people will not die. ²⁹And yet the people of Israel keep saying, ‘The Lord isn’t doing what’s right!’ O people of Israel, it is you who are not doing what’s right, not I.    ³⁰“Therefore, I will judge each of you, O people of Israel, according to your actions, says the Sovereign Lord. Repent, and turn from your sins. Don’t let them destroy you! ³¹Put all your rebellion behind you, and find yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O people of Israel? ³²I don’t want you to die, says the Sovereign Lord. Turn back and live!

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So we’ve got this amazing new idea that we formed our government on called freedom–at least it’s a new idea compared to the history of government on our planet.  The only problem is that a government run by the consent of the governed really depends on the governed being willing to govern themselves–in other words practicing self control so that the official government simply has to provide a safe environment for private contracts.  But when people stop taking responsibility for their government and themselves, then the government naturally tends towards tyranny.  Fortunately we’ve got a long way to go before we have that kind of government, but at the same time we have a lot less personal freedom than we did even 100 years ago.  So the question is will we the people allow our freedoms to erode completely over the next decades or will we wrestle back control from the “ruling class”?

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They say that the only sure things in life are death and taxes.  What a crazy thought!  You were born into this world, and all you can really count on is that the government will take your money and you will die.  Sounds pretty hopeful.  Doesn’t it?

What if I told you that you can be sure of something in life that really is hopeful?  Would you be interested?

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