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John Leland: The Preacher Who Defended Religious Liberty · Traveler’s Tales

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  Freedom can become so familiar that we forget how costly
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  it was to secure. We gather for worship without
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  government permission. We open the Bible without fear.
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  We preach Christ publicly, send missionaries around
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  the world, and share the gospel with our neighbors. For most of
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  us, those freedoms have simply always been there.
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  But they were not always guaranteed.
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  In the early days of America, the question of religious liberty was
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  still being settled. Churches could receive government
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  support. Citizens could be taxed for religious purposes.
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  And men of conviction were asking an important question: should
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  government have the power to control matters of faith and
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  conscience? Among the strongest voices answering that question
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  was a Baptist preacher named John Leland. Leland believed
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  deeply in religious liberty, but his conviction rested
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  on something even deeper. He believed in the sufficiency
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  of Jesus Christ. The gospel did not need the
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  sword of government behind it. The church didn't need political power
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  to make Christ effective. God's Word was powerful,
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  the gospel was sufficient, and Christ was fully capable of
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  building His church. That conviction helped shape
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  a nation, but more importantly, it gives us something
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  to consider in our own generation.
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  Welcome to Traveler's Tales, produced by Enjoying the Journey. I'm your
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  host, Greg Dowdy. Today, we meet John Leland,
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  preacher, evangelist, defender of religious liberty,
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  and a man who reminds us that while we should be grateful for the freedoms
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  we enjoy, our confidence must always rest in
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  the God who gave us the gospel and not in the government
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  that gives us the freedom to preach it. John Leland
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  was born May 14th, 1754,
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  in Grafton, Massachusetts. He was converted to Christ at
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  the age of 18 and soon gave his life to preaching the gospel.
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  He married Sarah Devine in 1776,
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  and together they raised a family, all the while Leland traveled extensively
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  as a Baptist preacher and evangelist. For a number of years, his ministry
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  took him to Virginia, where he pastored small Baptist congregations and
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  preached throughout the region. His ministry was remarkably
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  fruitful. During his years in Virginia, Leland reportedly
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  baptized more than 1,200 converts and preached
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  thousands of sermons. But John Leland became known
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  for more than his preaching. He became one of the strongest
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  Baptist voices for religious liberty in America.
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  At that time, the relationship between church and government was
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  very different from what many Americans know today.
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  In several colonies and states, particular churches received government
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  support. Citizens could be taxed to support religious institutions,
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  and religious practice could become entangled with political
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  authority. But Leland believed there was a serious spiritual
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  danger in that arrangement. He did not oppose Christians participating in
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  government. He did not believe Christianity should be removed from public life.
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  His concern was something entirely different. Leland believed
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  the government should never attempt to do the work that Christ had
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  entrusted to His church. He expressed his conviction
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  simply when he said, True religion can and
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  will prevail best where it is left entirely
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  to Christ. Think about that statement.
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  Leland believed Christianity did not need to be propped up
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  by the power of the state. Because Christianity possessed
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  a far greater power— the power of Christ himself.
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  Leland understood something that Christians must never forget: that you
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  cannot legislate a person into loving God.
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  Government may restrain certain behavior. Laws establish
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  boundaries for society. But no law can
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  regenerate a heart. A government can compel
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  outward conformity, but it cannot produce inward conversion.
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  It can require someone to enter a church building, but it cannot make
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  that person worship. It can encourage religious
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  behavior, but it cannot produce repentance. It can
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  only influence conduct, and only God
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  can change the heart. That is why Leland opposed
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  the idea of using the government to force people into religious practice.
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  Jesus never instructed his followers to compel people with
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  the sword. He told them to carry the gospel.
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  The weapons of our warfare are not carnal.
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  The gospel advances when the truth is proclaimed, when Christ is exalted,
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  when the word is preached, when believers are praying,
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  and when the Holy Spirit is working in human hearts. And there
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  is an important application for us today. We must
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  be careful that we do not expect political power to
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  accomplish spiritual work. Christians should
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  certainly pray for those in authority. We should seek righteousness
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  in our communities. We should be salt and light wherever God
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  places us. We should stand for truth and exercise
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  every liberty God has given us. But our ultimate confidence
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  must never rest in an election, a political party,
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  a court decision, or a government leader. Jeremiah 17:5
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  warns, cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his
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  arm. The arm of flesh cannot accomplish the work
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  of the Spirit of God. The gospel must be proclaimed.
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  John Leland did not merely argue for the freedom to preach
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  the gospel; he used that freedom to preach it.
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  He traveled, he prayed, he opened the Scriptures, he preached
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  Christ, he pleaded with sinners to come to the Savior.
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  And perhaps that is one of the great lessons his life leaves with us.
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  Religious liberty is most valuable when we actually
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  use it for the gospel. It is possible
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  to passionately defend our freedom to speak about
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  Christ while rarely speaking about him.
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  We can be grateful for the freedom to worship while taking worship
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  for granted. We can celebrate the freedom to carry
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  a Bible while seldom opening it.
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  We can thank God that no one is stopping us from sharing the gospel
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  while allowing fear, busyness, or indifference
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  to stop us instead. John Leland fought
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  for religious liberty because he believed the gospel deserved to be freely
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  proclaimed. The question for us is this: What are
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  we doing with the freedom we have? Proverbs 14:34
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  says, Righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin
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  is a reproach to any people. We should desire
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  righteousness for our nation. We should pray for revival.
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  We should pray for leaders who honor what is good and
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  restrain that which is evil. But righteousness ultimately
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  begins in individual hearts. The greatest need
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  of our nation is not better politics; it is transformed
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  people. Homes need Christ. Our communities
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  need the Lord Jesus. Our neighbors, our children,
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  Our nation needs Christ. God has
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  entrusted the message of Christ to His church.
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  John Leland reminds us that the hope of God's people must never
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  be found in the power of the nation. The hope of the nation is found
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  when God's people faithfully point others to Christ.
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  So today, thank God for religious liberty.
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  Defend it. Use it wisely. Pray for those who
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  govern. Stand courageously for biblical
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  truth. But never confuse political influence with
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  spiritual power. Our confidence is
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  still in the Word of God. Our message is still the
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  gospel of Jesus Christ. Our mission is still to make
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  Christ known. And our power is still
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  the power of God. Every word of God is pure,
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  He is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.
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  John Leland lived in a generation that was deciding what place
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  government would have in matters of faith. His answer was clear:
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  leave the work of Christ in the hands of Christ and let the
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  people of Christ faithfully carry the gospel to the world.
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  More than 200 years later, that is still a truth worth
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  remembering, and it is still a mission worth giving our lives
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  to. Traveler's Tales is produced
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  by Enjoying the Journey, a ministry that seeks to preach the
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  gospel, teach the word of God, and reach this generation for
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  Christ. Visit us at etj.bible to
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  learn more about the ministry of Scott Pauley and also find a vast
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  array of free resources that will help you follow God's word and find
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