Freedom!
Today July 4, 2021, is a day that all Americans celebrate in honor of the Declaration of Independence. This holiday commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, by delegates from the 13 colonies. On July 2, 1776 the Second Continental Congress voted for independence from Britain and two days later on July 4, the Congress approved the final draft of the Declaration of Independence, which had been written by Thomas Jefferson and edited by John Adams and Benjamin Franklin.
Especially important now because much of our history is not being taught as it should. This history is all but gone from the minds of young people. If you do not believe me—take the test yourself—did you know what this day was all about? Another test, just start asking young people you meet what Independence Day is all about. We have a responsibility to be sure our children never forget the sacrifices made so they will be able in the future to enjoy, as the song says, “the land of the free and the home of the brave”. Few today can fathom the amount of blood spilt by both men and woman—the real cost for your freedom. Most of the world has no clue what it is like to have the kind of freedom we enjoy in this country. Ronald Reagan once said, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.” I couldn’t agree more, if we let history be forgotten, we will surely lose our freedom in the future. Americans in in 2021 have never known anything but freedom and the danger in this is that more and more are taking freedom for granted?
Something similar also has happen in the Lord’s church and with another kind of freedom that is, “Spiritual Freedom”.
The Jews were given such freedom and commanded to teach their children the history of the exodus from Egypt (Duet. 6:6-9). They forgot, and eventually were punished and lost their freedom. The Lord’s people all around the world enjoy freedom from the bondage of sin. In the world fewer and fewer people know anything about this freedom which is in Christ. Just like the Jews did long ago today too many Christians have become indifferent toward the faith, too many have grown up in the church and have lost real understanding of sinfulness. Fewer understand what the blessing of spiritual freedom is, and even fewer know how close they are to losing it.
How does it work? Every child born into the world is born free from sin, therefore free spiritually. But truth is that at some point in our lives we all sin (Rom. 3:23) and become slaves to sin. Jesus said, “whoever commits sin is a slave of sin” (John 8:34), and that is when we become servants of sin and slaves of Satan. Peter wrote of false teachers who taught destructive doctrines who promised liberty but: “. . . they themselves are slaves of [a]corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into [b]bondage” (2 Pet. 2:19), no longer free!
What Did it Take to Free People from Bondage?
Blood! But not just any blood. Only the blood of One. Peter wrote, “18 knowing that you were not redeemed with [g]corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Pet. 1:18-19). Only the blood of the Lamb of God—Jesus—has the power to free mankind from the bondage of sin. It was Christ that was committed to die on the cross that our sins may be forgiven (Acts 2:38, 22:16). Christ’s mission was the salvation, the deliverance of man from the grip of the devil. Of Jesus John wrote, “He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). God’s Son had a crystal-clear mission, seek and save His people from sin: “for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). Yes, the very name of Jesus means Savior (Matt. 1:21).
Jesus proclaimed a message to the Jews, “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32) and at verse 36, “. . . if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed”. This is a fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy, “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound” (Isaiah 61:1), which Jesus repeated to the Jews in the synagogue in Nazareth concerning Himself (Luke 4:18).
Because of the redemptive work of Christ on Calvary’s cross, Paul could rightfully tell Christians that having, “been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness” (Rom. 6:18). But this freedom is ours only if we will obey “from the heart that form of doctrine” (Rom. 6:17). What was that doctrine? The Gospel of Jesus Christ which was, “. . . the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 1:3). Paul called it the gospel of Christ saying, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel [a]of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith” (Rom. 1:16-17). The gospel is God’s power to save us and all who refuse to obey it will remain in bondage to Satan and sin. It is your choice, you can be free only by obeying the gospel.
Most people think of liberty as a rule: “You can do as you please!” Many denominations prove this day after day when they believe they have a license to do anything and practice anything in the name of Christ. Most teach using the name Jesus allows freedom to attend “the church of their choice”, instead of the church which Jesus built and paid for with His blood (Matt. 16:18; Acts 20:28). Liberty to change worship, to change how sins are washed, liberty to ignore the scripture and the commands of Christ who is the head of the body, the church (Col. 1:18, 24). Liberty to refuse baptism for the remission of their sins and replace it with salvation by faith only, even in light of the scripture which state otherwise (James 2:24). But the Lord’s people are commanded, “have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather [a]expose them” (Eph. 5:11).
Listen to James concerning the limits of our liberty. “But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does” (James 1:25). Yes, “. . . the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death” (Rom. 8:2), thus, we are free to do what the law of Christ authorizes us to do. Anything more or less will plunge us again in bondage to sin (2 John 9, 2 Pet. 2:20).
As nations must act to defend and preserve liberty, so also must Christians. Teaching the word of God to both young and old is the best defense against the influences that would destroy souls. Each and every first day of the week Christians assemble to remember what Christ did on the cross (Act 20:7), to worship God in spirit and truth (John 4:24). Preserving the identity of the church is a battle that is spiritual and fought every day of the Christian’s life (Eph. 6:10-20). Paul warned the Corinthians to “take heed lest (they) fall” (1 Cor. 10:12). So, as America celebrates its freedom, let’s celebrate ours as members of the body of Christ, serving God faithfully, preserving our freedom!
In Love
David Scarpino