Many Adventists have a distorted view of religious liberty. Some associate the religious liberty ministry with “sky-is-falling” paranoia. Others think we should only be concerned with end-time events and not try to impact public policy today. Since Ellen White’s day, some have been convinced that we should welcome religious persecution as a necessary prelude to Christ’s second coming.

Those who hold these views make at least two major mistakes: first, they fail to grasp the profound spiritual dimension that is the foundation of religious liberty ministry; and second, they must be clueless about the real world issues we deal with on a daily basis.

Religious liberty work is not founded to protect us from last day events. The foundation instead is the core teaching of righteousness by faith which emerged during the Protestant Reformation. The reformers understood that the soul could respond directly to Christ, without interference from either church or state. In fact, the famous Protest of the Princes that gave us the name “Protestant” was based on the declaration that “in matters of conscience, the majority has no power.”

Early in our history, the Adventist Church founded religious liberty ministry by powerfully combining the renewed emphasis on righteousness by faith with the political advocacy of liberty of conscience. In 1888, A.T. Jones did more than stir the theological pot at the General Conference session—he testified in the U.S. Senate opposing a constitutional amendment that came close to making Sunday a mandatory national day of rest.

Religious liberty ministry has its foundation in Christ, and in the core Protestant principle that the soul is directly accountable to God alone. Does this mean that we ignore eschatology? By no means! God gave us prophetic insight for a reason: He expects us to plan and prepare for the crisis to come.

The best way to prepare for the future assault on liberty is to promote freedom now. We cannot know when the mark of the beast will come, but we can be ready. We can teach and preach that a loving God does not coerce the conscience. We can build relationships with clergy of other faiths. We can build bridges with our local civic and political leaders. We can effectively advocate for religious liberty bills in congress and in our state legislatures, and defend sound principles in the courts.

This is what the Adventist Church does through its organized ministry, and through the North American Religious Liberty Association. NARLA is a membership organization, and its success will depend on the willingness of individuals to join.

NARLA deals with critical, real-world issues that impact people’s lives. NARLA has advocated for international intervention in Darfur, Sudan, where millions of Christians and others are being persecuted, ethnically cleansed and driven out by Arab militias.

NARLA is working to pass the Workplace Religious Freedom Act in congress. Every business day, on average, three Seventh-day Adventists are fired for refusing to work on Sabbath, and others are never hired. Have you and your church done your part to help pass the Workplace Religious Freedom Act? It’s not too late. Everyone can send e-mail in support at www.religiousliberty.info, and can also phone congress.

Everywhere we turn, we are fighting for the rights of people today, in the real world, to hold jobs, to build churches, to train their children, to practice their faith. On the international scene, the Adventist Church is battling against religious persecution, and for the right to preach the gospel, to study the Bible, to change one’s faith. The battle is not future, it is very present.

If we don’t educate ourselves and care about the erosion of freedom today, what can we possibly do when the mark of the beast comes? If we wait for Sunday laws, it will be much too late. Now is the time to make your commitment to religious freedom.

In New Orleans, it was well known that the levees could not withstand a category four hurricane. Yet, instead of strengthening the levees, maintenance funds were actually cut. Are we adequately maintaining our freedom? I think not.

There are constant encroachments on our freedoms. Religious liberty is like the frog that has been tossed into a kettle of cold water. The heat is being turned up, but most of us don’t even notice, and won’t, until the kettle reaches the boiling point.

Your religious liberty department is implementing a formal certification program in local church religious liberty ministry, beginning with our annual retreat at Leoni Meadows, Nov. 18 to 20, entitled “Awakening the Beast: The Assault on Individual Conscience in America.” Please plan to be there!

We are committed to building an effective religious liberty ministry at the grassroots level. We are looking for team members. No experience necessary, just the commitment to protecting our freedom and to spreading the good news that a loving God gave His Son to die for us, rather than force us to worship Him.