I Am Free

I Am Free

Scripture: John 8:36; Galatians 5:1; Proverbs 3:5-6; Galatians 2:20

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

Galatians 5:1 says, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty with which Christ has made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.”

We are living in a time in the United States that is very disconcerting. I am not talking about the rise in unbelief in Jesus Christ as the Son of God among those who reject Him, but a rise in unbelief of His Word by those who say they are Christians. We are witnessing a time of unrest based on how Christians interpret the Bible and this unrest is fueling the spread of a gospel that is different from what is told in the Bible. It is no wonder that many people are confused about their relationship with Christ and what His death and resurrection means to all of those who accept Him as Lord and Savior. The title of my message this morning is “I Am Free.” Say it with me, “I am free!!!” Freedom is defined as “a state in which somebody is able to act and live as he or she chooses, without being subject to any undue restraints or restrictions.” The key words in this definition are “able to act and live as he or she chooses.”

I want you to think about something. In the United States we live in a state of freedom that we sometimes take for granted because we have experienced freedom all of our lives. We do not think about it, we just live as we choose and do whatever we want, when we want and however we want. But what if….

• We had to get special permission to visit another state?

• We were told by the government what our job would be?

• We were told who to marry and how many children we could have?

• We had only one choice on the ballot at election time?

• We were not allowed to disagree with the government?

• We could only live where assigned and could not relocate?

• We could not worship God freely and openly?

What if we lived in a nation where all of these “what ifs” were the way of life. We would say that we lived in bondage. We cannot discuss being free without discussing the fact that at one time we were in bondage. Bondage is defined as “the condition of being enslaved or forced into servitude; the condition of being controlled by something that limits freedom.” Often we think of bondage as a physical restraint, but it is much more than that. A person can be in bondage physically with restraints or due to a sickness or disease. A person can be in bondage mentally due to shame, fear, lack of knowledge, and guilt just to name a few. Everyone experiences spiritual bondage until they are set free by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. My point to this is that there can be no experience of freedom without first understanding and/or experiencing what it is like to be in bondage. It is only the person who has experienced true bondage who can fully appreciate true freedom.

Tomorrow we celebrate our nation’s Independence Day and some of the “what ifs” I mentioned earlier are the reason we can celebrate. The Fourth of July, also known as Independence Day or July 4th, has been a federal holiday in the United States since 1941. But the tradition of Independence Day celebrations goes back to the 18th century and the American Revolution. On July 2nd, 1776, the Continental Congress voted in favor of independence, and two days later delegates from the 13 colonies adopted the Declaration of Independence, a historic document drafted by Thomas Jefferson. The Declaration of Independence officially broke all political ties between the American colonies and Great Britain and set forth the ideas and principles behind a just and fair government. When the Declaration of Independence document was created, they wanted liberty from oppressive taxes, unjust military action, and many other cruel things that were being placed on and done to ultimately keep them in bondage.

When this nation was established, it chose to break away from Great Britain and become independent – to become free. In breaking away from Great Britain, they chose to establish a way of life that would guarantee everyone the freedom to choose. They would no longer be in bondage to unjust taxation, unjust military action, and the many other demands that had been placed upon them. They chose to be free of these restraints. Their desire for freedom is why we are able to be here today. I shared this brief history with you because tomorrow’s celebration is a reminder for all of us of what it means to live in a free nation. But I also wanted to set the stage for this message. You see, before we accepted Christ all of us were in bondage. We did not understand that we were in bondage because no one had told us about being made free. Once we had an idea of being made free in Christ, we chose freedom.