Tuesday, July 3, 2018
John 8:34-36 Jesus replied, "Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."
TRUE FREEDOM
This week we remember how the original American colonies declared themselves independent from Great Britain in 1776. At the same time we should also recall that they did not seek independence from one another. Rather, they knew that they needed to take action-- and to fight-- as one nation and not 13 separate entities. As Ben Franklin said to representatives of all the colonies, "We must all hang together . . . or we shall surely all hang separately."
Furthermore, the signers of the Declaration of Independence did not declare themselves independent from God but appealed to divine authority in stating the reasons for their actions. What our founding fathers fought for was liberty under God and under law, not liberty from God and freedom to do whatever they pleased and to declare it right.
The convenient killing of the unborn, the encouragement of death for the old and infirm, sexual freedom at the expense of threatening lives with a deadly virus-- these are products, not of true liberty, but of selfishness disguised as personal human freedom.
But how does a person get free from selfishness?
There is a way, a way to true freedom, opened to us by the life and death of God's own Son. Only through faith in Jesus the Son of God and in His victory over sin, death and the Devil are we set free from slavery to sin and Satan. Yes, "If the Son sets you free, you are free indeed."
On the Fourth of July, we do well as Americans to celebrate with fireworks and parades and picnics the freedoms that we have as citizens of our nation. As Christians we ought to every day celebrate with our lives the freedom that is ours in Christ.
