Give Us Free

Give us Free

John 8:32 “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

John 8:36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

On July 4th 1776, America declared independence from 156 years of British rule. IN the CONGRESS of JULY 4, 1776 the founding fathers signed The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen United States of America by declaring that: 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.

…In their bid for separation from Britain and their ruler, King George III, because of their Tyranny over the States, the American leaders complained that they were victims of political, economic, legal and moral abuses. Citing things like obstruction of Justice, harassment of the people to take away their possessions, protecting British soldiers who murdered Americans from punishment, cutting off trade, imposing taxes without consent, waging war against Americans, plundering the seas, ravaging the coasts, burning towns, and destroying the lives of the people.

Therefore… with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, the founding fathers of The United States of America pledged to each other their Lives, their Fortunes, and their sacred Honor to get their FREEDOM.

Throughout history humans have craved freedom. The Israelites in Egypt cried to God for their freedom until God sent Moses to Pharaoh’s palace to tell Pharaoh that God said “Let my people go!” In every civilization from Mesopotamia to Greece to Rome to Britain, to Africa to Asia people want to be free. Like Cinque in the movie La Amistad people have cried out: “Give us Free! Give us Free!”

The American Civil War was a war about freedom. The fight against Nazi Germany and its allies was a war for Freedom.

In the 1950’s and 60’s, the people of America demanded their Civil Rights from racial hatred and segregation, in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “Let Freedom ring.”

Since May 25, 2020 there has been a steady protest that erupted across America demanding justice over the merciless killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin. The City Streets have been filled with millions of protesters shouting cries for freedom from state supported tyranny. Like Cinque, we are still passionately shouting, “Give us Free, give us free, give us free. …” When it comes to personal freedom, the 2019 Legatum Prosperity Index ranked the United States of America as number 22 and Norway as the freest nation on earth. But Norway’s freedom came at the expense of more than 85,000 Africans captured, enslaved and shipped to the New World between 1660 and 1806.

But what is freedom? What exactly do we mean by free? The word free means an absence of bondage; unrestrained to engage in pleasure, like a citizen and not as a slave. To be free means to be exempt from obligation or liability, to be at liberty.

Excellent Constitutions, and laws designed to protect the freedom of people, learned scholars and outstanding Universities, strong human rights advocacy and vigilant media, are still not free humankind. In the eyes of God, being free means freedom from sin.

When asked, “what is America’s greatest problem? Some reply Racism. Racism is not just a skin problem, but it is a sin problem. When asked what is humanity’s greatest problem? Some say poverty. Poverty is not just an economic problem it is a sin problem. When asked what is the mankind’s greatest problem? Some say safety. Safety is not just a security problem it is a sin problem. When asked what is the world’s greatest problem? Some say, disease. Sickness is not just a Health problem it is a sin problem. Some say Human trafficking is the greatest problem. Human trafficking is not just a greed problem, it is a sin problem. Some say corrupt government is the greatest problem. That too is a sin problem.

Paul explains in Romans 6:18 to be free means to be saved from sin.

In Romans 8:2, Paul reminds us that we are free from the law of sin and death. “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.”

To be truly free is not to just have a constitutional guarantee but it means to accept and access the protection of that guarantee. Jesus gave the emancipation proclamation in John 8:36 when He declared “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”

John the writer of the fourth Gospel Account, was probably the youngest member of Jesus’ twelve disciples. He was a fisherman from an influential family. The early church Fathers named John the spiritual gospel. Matthew describes Jesus as the King, and Mark calls Him the servant. Luke says He is the Son of man, but John declares He is the Son of God. Mathew starts with His human ancestry declaring Jesus Christ as “the son of David, the son of Abraham”, but John begins with His eternality by saying “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” Mark begins with the “voice of one crying in the wilderness” but John begins with “the Light shining in the darkness.” Luke begins with birth of John the Baptist but John begins with the Creator of John the Baptist announcing that, “all things were made by Him and without Him was not anything made that was made.”