This weekend we celebrate our freedom and liberties and the birth of our nation. Many of us are aware that in our American history and the story of our nations beginning as the 13 colonies of England. The Intolerable Acts of King George. The Boston Tea Party in revolt to the taxes. And finally, the company of brave Congressional leaders who put forward the Declaration of Independence. And they did that knowing when they signed their names it would be an act of treason. This is reinforced at the end of the Preamble to the Declaration. To use their own words, “With a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.” Here we are 249 years later celebrating our freedom as a nation! We have much to celebrate and give thanks to God concerning our freedom both physically and spiritually.
The bible speaks a great deal about freedom. In biblical history the second book of our bible, Exodus, is the story of the Israelites crying out for deliverance from Egyptian captivity. And God hearing their cries for freedom after 400 years. God raised up Moses as the deliverer of his people who led them out of Egyptian captivity. This Exodus event would foreshadow and greater deliverance that would come through Jesus Christ. That is what Jesus is describing in John 8. One greater than Moses is here!
Yet as we look at our own history, we see that many other countries and people groups have cried and fought for freedom. The Lord only knows how many wars; how many battles have been fought in the cause of freedom. And today fighting is still happening in nations and cities from Ukraine to N Korea to the Middle East and Africa. Many conflicts may not be recorded in the annals of history of people crying out for freedom. So, I wondered about where this universal call and quest for freedom originates? And why is it so valuable that we are willing to die for it. Everyone wants to live freely. So where does this desire for freedom arise? So the first point today concerns:
The Creation of Freedom
We could say freedom is innate or instinctive in the human person. We all have a desire to be free and live freely. I think our desire for freedom is part of being created in the image of God. So, freedom comes from how God created us. From the very beginning God made us free moral agents. God gave us free will to choose. So, our freedom comes from our creation and is instilled in our DNA. We were made to live freely.
We are thankful that God did not make us like robots or machines to operate at His command. I am amazed at Artificial Intelligence and the use of robots today. You can get one that looks like a human anywhere from 30 -100 thousand dollars. But God created Adam and Eve and gave them freedom to choose. But we see from the beginning that freedom has limits and boundaries. There are things God told them not to do, even though they had the freedom to act outside those limits.
Of course, the problem is they misused their freedom and made the wrong choice and went beyond the boundary that God established by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And the great irony is that by exercising their freedom to choose, in their disobedience to live beyond the boundary God established, they lost their freedom. The consequence was they became enslaved to their own desires and lost their true freedom and their relationship with God. They did not lose their freedom to choice or free will. But they lost their ability to will or choose the right things. Theologically, we call this the Fall of humanity. Now we live under the curse and now we operate in our natural and unregenerate state as slaves to sin and unrighteousness. So we moved from being created in freedom to misuse that freedom and lost freedom to become captive to our own sinful nature. Our freedom has been lost or what we might call:
The Concession of Freedom
From Adam and Eve forward we have lost our freedom and became enslaved or driven toward sin or a movement away from God. Now I am making a distinction here between what I call spiritual freedom and political or social freedom. We celebrate our political freedom on July Fourth. But we must recognize that though we live in the freest nation in the world and we celebrate our liberties such as free speech and freedom of religion and free press. At the same time our prisons are filled and there remains much division among people and depression and mental anguish are prominent from sea to shining sea. In large measure, though we live in a free land and can make free choices, we remain captive, even as Adam and Eve who conceded their freedom even through the free choices they made!
A great example of this is what I read a couple Sundays ago in Romans 7 which speaks about the principle of sin that prevents us from doing the good we know that God desires for us to do. Paul identified he had freedom to make choices and have the right intentions but the principle of sin within him prevented him from carrying out God’s will. It is such a relatable story that identifies our human condition that is often filled with inner conflict that brings feelings of guilt and remorse and even helplessness.
Another example is the story of the Prodigal Son told by Jesus in Luke 15. Many see this story as one of the greatest in the bible. You will remember that the younger son wanted to leave home and take his inheritance early. He left home and spent all his inheritance on drunken and riotous living. Herein, we see a sad picture of someone who wanted freedom without restraint or responsibility. In essence, he wasted his freedom along with his inheritance. But in the name of freedom, or his understanding of freedom, he became destitute. Many see this story as one of the greatest ever told because in essence it is the story of every one of us here today. We may not have gone to the gutter as this young son did. But all of us have made bad choices we call sin. The scripture even declares that we are dead and trespasses and sins.
As someone has stated, there is always free cheese on a mousetrap. So, we actually concede freedom by our own misguided understanding of freedom through the free choices we make. At the end of the Romans 7 Paul asked a very pertinent question…Who shall deliver me from this wretched state? (Romans 7:24) Catch that word…Who shall deliver me? Who shall set me free? The answer: Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
The OT prophet Isaiah spoke about the coming of Jesus. This was 700 years before Christ came. Note what he prophesies concerning Jesus. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me… for he has anointed me… to do what? Let’s read it:
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
Because the Lord anointed me
To bring good news to the humble;
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
To proclaim release to captives
And freedom to prisoners (Isaiah 61)
The coming of Jesus was primarily to set us free from our bondage to sin and all its consequences. Jesus came to set us captives free.
The gospels relay the stories of Jesus preaching and healing those who were crippled and blind and infirmed. He was setting people free from their sins…those condemned as the woman taken in adultery. He set her free. He was bringing release to the captives!
Yet the ultimate deliverance would come through his sacrifice. Herein we see another great aspect of freedom. And I think this is why we value freedom so much:
The Cost of Freedom
Think about our nation’s history and the sacrifices that brought us our freedom.
Some of the more famous sacrifices that we know about are the patriotic cries of those like Patrick Henry, “Give me liberty or give me death.” Patrick Henry delivered that speech on the rights of the colonies before the Virginia Assembly at Richmond on March 23rd, 1775.
Another American patriot that is often celebrated is Nathan Hale, who said, “I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country.” He said that September 22, 1776. He was hanged for spying on the British troops.
Those who signed the Declaration suffered greatly.
Five signers were captured by the British, imprisoned, and subjected to torture.
Twelve signers had their homes looted, burned, or confiscated. Many lost their fortunes and livelihoods in the process.
Nine signers died in battle or from the hardships of war. Others lost wives and children, who were killed, jailed, or left destitute.
Many signers faced bankruptcy and poverty due to the war and the destruction of their property. Indeed, they pledge their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor.
In our nation’s history perhaps no greater conflict in the name of freedom was World War 2. This past month we remembered D-Day and those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our nation and our freedoms in the Normandy invasion that was a turning point in the war.
A few years ago, I was traveling in Dothan Al. I was driving by a business that had a huge American flag. It was one of the largest flags I have ever seen. The wind was blowing, the flag was waving beautifully from its giant mast. I just happened to be listening to a song by Twila Paris entitled, What Did He Die For? Here are the words of the first line,
He was 21 in 1944.
He was hope and he was courage on a lonely shore.
Sent there by a mother with love beyond her tears.
Just a young American who chose to rise above his fears.
And as I watch him struggle up that hill
Without a thought of turning back
I cannot help but wonder.
What did he die for when he died for you and me?
He made the sacrifice so that we could all be free.
I believe we will answer each to Heaven
For the way we spend a priceless liberty.
Look inside and ask the question
What did he die for when he died for me?
Those incredible lyrics remind us that we value freedom because of the sacrifices of those who died so that we can live as a free people. The song has a second part which speaks more spiritually and eternally about Christ walking up another hill (Calvary) and making a sacrifice so we all might be free. He brought us deliverance from sin and death. It is free to us but cost him everything. As Isaiah also prophesied, He was wounded for our transgression. Bruised for our iniquities. (Isaiah 53)
Understanding the cost of freedom should make us both value it and guard it to the highest degree. But also use it in the most responsible manner.
Victor Frankl, most noted as a Holocaust survivor, and writer of the text, Man’s Search For Meaning, noted that we have a Statue of Liberty on the East Coast. But we also need a Statue of Responsibility on the West Coast. Certainly, he was not just talking about California, but the entire USA. I think Frankl was correct. We need freedom constrained with responsibility which certainly echoes what Paul teaches in Galatians.
Paul writes, Christ set us free…BUT do not use your freedom as a cloak of maliciousness. Do not spend your freedom in unwise and selfish living. Do not live in cheap grace, using God’s gift to do whatever you please…. But just the opposite… to do what pleases God. Just make sure that you don’t use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom. ( Galatians 5:13 Message)
I want to close with the statements I made in the newsletter article this past week.
Jesus was sacrificed to set us captives free. This is clearly made real to us when we celebrate Holy Communion which we will receive today. The Communion ritual states, (pay particular attention today to the words), “He freed us from captivity to sin and death”. And Jesus freed us for “joyful obedience”. We say those words and are reminded that we are no longer to live to ourselves, but to live for him who died to set us free (2 Cor 5:15). And whom the Son sets free…is freed indeed! Alleluia!
We have much to celebrate with our freedom as a nation and as the people of God purchased by Christ’s sacrifice. Despite our struggles at home and abroad, of all people on the planet, we should consider ourselves most blessed. Let us pray.