Give me liberty or give me death!
As we once again celebrate Independence Day, if we carefully listen, we can still hear the echo of Patrick Henry’s revolutionary words, “Give me liberty or give me death!” Fittingly, he delivered those words at St. John’s Church in Richmond, Virginia during the Second Virginian Convention in 1775. I say fittingly because liberty (freedom) is the radical message held out by the Church to an oppressed and tyrannized world.
Jesus said he came to bring abundant life (freedom). We can’t earn it, we can only receive it. And because we receive it freely, we give it away freely.
As you have figured out, my message this week is on independence and liberty and freedom, but rather than trying to write a biblical explanation of these, I’m going to let Scripture speak for itself. Take your time reading and reflecting and letting the message and truth sink in.
- I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts. (Psalm 119:45)
- The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners. (Isaiah 61:1)
- The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. (Luke 4:18–19)
- So if the Son sets you free, you are free through and through.(John 8:36, MSG)
- The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. (John 10:10)
- But now that you have been set free from sin and become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. (Romans 6:22)
- Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death… And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” (Romans 8:1–2, 15)
- Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. (2 Corinthians 3:17)
- It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery…You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Galatians 5:1, 13–14)
- In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. (Ephesians 3:12)
- Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are — yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:14–16)
- Live as free men, but do not use your freedom to cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. (1 Peter 2:16)
I know that I’ve doled out a heap of Scripture, so please read them over and over again, even memorizing them (some), until the message and meaning liberates your heart and mind.
