True Freedom

As a child, I looked forward to our Fourth of July celebrations. We enjoyed picnics or cookouts with family and friends at the lake, the park, or the beach. My parents taught us to respect our flag and be grateful for the freedoms we have in America. We learned that freedom isn’t free. People paid a price for our freedom, and we should remember their sacrifices and be thankful for our blessings.

In school, we studied the Declaration of Independence, and I even memorized the preamble to this powerful document. That was years ago, but last week I read the Declaration of Independence again. As I studied the following words from the preamble, I pondered the powerful truths they express.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Our Declaration of Independence was adopted on July Fourth, 1776. It states the principles on which our government, and our identity as Americans, are based. Many of the 56 brave men who signed this important document suffered for their courage to take a stand for freedom. Throughout history, people all over the world have fought and died for freedom.

However, the greatest sacrifice ever made to obtain freedom for others was made by the Lord Jesus Christ, the perfect sinless God/man. He left his home in heaven to be formed in the womb of the virgin Mary.

To understand how important this event is, we must remember that the God of the Bible is a triune God, made of three persons existing as one God. In I John 5:7 the Bible states, “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.”

John 1:1-3 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.”

In addition, John 1:14 explains that “the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”

Why would one person of the trinity choose to humble himself and become a man? Jesus was still God, but in the miraculous incarnation Jesus took the form of a man to become God in the flesh. He willingly did that so he could suffer and die as the perfect sinless sacrifice for the sins of mankind.

The Bible makes it clear that God is Holy. That means he’s perfect. He’s never thought or said or done anything wrong. He’s also Just. He must punish sin. Man is sinful, and our sin must be punished. Thankfully, God is loving and merciful. He loves us so much that he made a way for our sin to be forgiven.

In Romans 5:8 the Bible says, “But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” What amazing love!

The Bible explains this great love more fully in John 3:16-17. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”

When the Lord Jesus died for our sin and rose again, Jesus provided freedom for us from the eternal punishment for sin. He also provided freedom from the power of sin in our daily lives. Through the death and victorious resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, God even makes it possible for us to have a future home in glory, free from the very presence of sin.

All those who have believed the truth of the gospel and received the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior from sin have discovered true freedom that only comes through a personal relationship with Christ.

In John 8:32 the Bible says, “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” As this passage continues, John 8:36 says, “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”

Have you discovered this truth from God’s Word and received true freedom? If you have, you can thank God today. If you haven’t received Christ as your Savior, it’s not too late.

In John 1:12, the Bible says, “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:”

That’s true freedom, my friend.