True Freedom

As we celebrate another Independence Day, Patrick Henry’s revolutionary words — “Give me liberty or give me death!” — ring with as much punch today as they did when he first declared them in 1775. Those words were shouted from St. John’s Church in Richmond, Virginia, during the Second Virginian Convention. St. John’s Church, as the stage for this freedom cry, makes perfect sense because Jesus Christ’s message of emancipation has always been proclaimed by the Church to a tyrannized and abused world.

Everyone who searches for true freedom (independence) can find it in Jesus Christ. It cannot be earned but only received through faith as God’s gracious gift. And because God freely gives it to us, he entrusts us to give it freely to others.

Hopefully, the list of New Testament Scriptures below will help remind us of our paramount freedom in Christ.

• So if the Son sets you free, you are free through and through. (John 8:36, MSG)
• I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. (John 10:10)
• Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin… (Acts 13:38–39)
• But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life. (Romans 6:22, NLT)
• 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… For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Galatians 5:1, NIV; 13–14, NLT)
• In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. (Ephesians 3:12)
• So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. (Hebrews 4:14–16, NLT)
• Live as free men, but do not use your freedom to cover up for evil; live as servants of God. (1 Peter 2:16)

May God bless your weekend with his true gift of freedom as you read and learn and inwardly digest his holy Word.