We're Not Truly Free Until Christ Sets Us Free.

With all the BBQ’s, trips to the beach, and fireworks, it’s easy for the meaning of Independence Day to be forgotten amidst all the holiday plans and excitement. This 4^th of July has taken on a special meaning for me. I woke up this morning with a clarity I haven’t had in a while. Thinking over the course of my life, before and after God’s gracious call to salvation, I realize this is the freest I’ve ever been in my life. No doubt, there are still hurdles to jump over while being transformed into the image of Christ, but I’m thankful I’m not where I used to because it wasn’t a pleasant place.  

To be honest, Independence Day holds little meaning for me these days in its traditional context. Before Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, slaves didn’t have much to celebrate. America was free from British rule, but slaves would not be free until almost a century later. And that freedom came with many obstacles to overcome:  overt discrimination, racism, colorism, psychological, economic and social just to name a few.

It is not my intention to diminish the efforts and sacrifices of those who fought for freedom in the American Revolution. I am sure liberty from the British greatly aided the abolitionist’s objective in showing America’s hypocrisy in fighting for independence from England, yet perpetuating the brutal and dehumanizing institution of chattel slavery. Until God lavished His grace on me, I was still in great bondage despite the “freedom” I’ve experienced because of the American Revolution and Emancipation Proclamation. Although freedom to an extent is available in America, in many parts of the world humans are still enslaving other humans in the most horrific ways.

Slavery, after marriage is the oldest institution in history. When Adam and Eve surrendered their dominion of the world and the Garden of Eden to Satan through disobedience to God, they gave up their innocence, and their freedom to serve and worship their Creator. They also shoved the rest of the yet to be born human race into the chains and shackles known to us as sin (Genesis 3, Romans 5:19).  It is a condition we’ve been indulging in and fighting against ever since.

Sin as master is worse than the cruelest master of chattel slavery.  In fact, sin is what causes one human to believe he is has the right to own another human being. Like slavery, sin dehumanizes people and makes them less than what their Creator intended them to be.  Sin takes away one’s peace, soundness of mind, ability to love, and develop patience and self-control. Sin destroys any hope for the future.    

Slavery though it may break the spirit and body, doesn’t take away one’s ability to love, capacity for patience, kindness, or self-sacrifice. The Negro spirituals attest to the perseverance of the human spirit under tremendous burden.   The lyrics of a Negro spiritual titled “I’ve Got Peace like a River” reads

I’ve got peace like a river in my soul

I’ve got a river in my soul

I’ve got joy like a fountain in my soul

I’ve got a fountain in my soul

While slavery is a heavy and unjust affliction to endure, people still manage to rise above their circumstances if only in their minds and hearts. With sin no amount of human effort can change the nature of inherent sin.

Sin batters the mind, body and spirit. Just as the slave master’s whip leaves scars and has the potential to kill, sin scars, obscures the image of Christ in us, and ends in eternal separation from the one true God (Romans 6:23, Revelation 2:11).  

The human race is undeniably enslaved to sin; it’s a biblical fact. John 8:34 states “Jesus responded, I assure you: Everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin.” In addition, Paul says in Romans 6:20 “For when you were slaves of sin, you were free from allegiance to righteousness” Who or what can free us from such bondage? Where can we turn for help?

Written on the pages of the bible is the everlasting gospel.  Jesus, the foretold Son of God and Son of Man was cloaked in human flesh and bore the sins of the world on the cross.  He was laid in a tomb and resurrected on the third day. The bible states, “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh” (Romans 8:1-3). And, “That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).  Also John 3:16, Acts 10:43, 2 Tim. 2:8 and many other verses throughout the New Testament show us the way to redemption .

Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah is the only One who can truly free us (John 8:36, 14:6). Yet he doesn’t free us to offer us independence apart from Himself, but total dependence on Him for everything (John 15:5). Romans 6:18 reads, “You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.” Christ has set us free to willingly submit to Him (Galatians 5:1).

How can we celebrate our independence; independence from sin, eternal death, and anything else that positions itself to keep us in a state of bondage? We celebrate with thanksgiving, worship, and praise to the Almighty God who called us out of the domain of darkness into the kingdom of the Son He loves. We celebrate  with loving our neighbors, witnessing to the lost, feeding the hungry, caring for widows and the fatherless, clothing the homeless, obeying Christ, and giving glory to God for His everlasting salvation (James 1:27). 

So while we enjoy Independence Day this 4^th of July and the freedom afforded to us by various wars and proclamations, let us not forget that our most important independence was purchased over 2000 years ago by the Lamb who was slain before the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8).