Freedom

We have freedom now, because Christ made us free. So stand strong in that freedom. Don’t go back into slavery again. Galatians 5:1 (ERV)  

250 years ago, 13 colonies declared their intention to pursue independence and establish their own united government to create a nation where it would be possible for people to experience “... life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” This new nation would be a grand experiment of new ideas and would require a great wrestling of what it means to be truly free. We still wrestle with that today, and so it is an ongoing experiment, a noble one, one that will always need adjustment and refining.  

2,000 years ago, Jesus Christ, the Son of God entered this world and declared a different kind of freedom - “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” Jesus came to set people free – people from all walks of life, no matter who they are, where they were born, the color of their skin, what they have done, or what they have not. Rich, poor, educated, uneducated, young, old, male, female, with no discrimination or restriction – only that we receive and believe Him. His freedom is complete and freely given.  

His freedom is both internal and eternal. Internal in that He frees our hearts from enslavement to sin so that we may live freely. Eternal in that this freedom will never end, not even at death. His freedom is complete. That is what is means to be “... free indeed.”  

One of the greatest things about living in a free nation is our ability to follow Jesus in freedom. That is a great blessing from God. We are able to choose to worship, to gather together as a church family before our God without interference. It is for this freedom that many have given their lives. We have our lives of freedom, because others have given up their lives to make it possible. Their sacrifices have helped ensure our freedom to walk freely with Christ. Christ’s ultimate sacrifice makes that walk with Him in freedom possible. His death set us free! 

This 4th of July, we take a day to celebrate 250 years of freedom. Each and every day we can celebrate the freedom we have in Christ in a nation that gives us that freedom. We are truly blessed and truly free, truly free indeed.  

Join us this Sunday, July 5, as we dive into how to live truly free in Christ and as we experience the freedom we have to worship together freely in the land of the free.