HoHum:
244 years and one day ago, Declaration of Independence was signed
IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776. The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
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... We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
Friends, the Declaration of Independence has been and continues to be the model for freedom around the world. America is the longest surviving democratic republic because of the principles that are recorded in this document. There is the reason that over 200 years millions of immigrants have come to our shores. The American dream is fundamentally about the principle of freedom! But make no mistake the American dream of freedom was birthed by those who were seeking religious freedom, people who had been persecuted and driven from their homes came to America to freely practice their religious faith. Find several references to God in this document and it is evident that these men traced their rights to freedom, not to a human government or an earthly monarch but to the Creator and Supreme Judge of the universe. We could learn lessons from their acknowledgments.
I. The Prescription for Freedom (Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples)
Jesus offers real freedom to every person. This freedom begins by believing in Jesus. Notice in Vs. 31 “To the Jews who had believed him”- Jesus is speaking to those who had declared a measure of faith in him so Jesus continued to help them make steps to be genuine disciples of his. Not enough just to believe “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder.” James 2:19, NIV. Starts with an assent to the truth but then there has to be an acceptance of the truth. I believe it is good to exercise but if I never exercise, what good is my belief? “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” James 1:22, NIV. Many believe in Jesus but how many are really his disciples- his followers?
To what teaching, to what truth is Jesus talking about here? Really not talking about all of his teachings, not to the whole body of Scripture. Notice these believers reaction to Jesus’ words in Vs. 33- They are thinking of political freedom. Speaking politically, they have a poor understanding of their history. Since their freedom from Egypt, they were enslaved during the time of the Judges, the Exile in Babylon, and the current Roman domination of their land. Speaking spiritually, they forget that their political situation is the result of their spiritual condition. Because they did not follow God and sought after other gods, the Lord caused them to be enslaved. They had other gods before the one true God and the Lord’s jealousy caused them to be enslaved as a nation. Jeremiah considered why all of the bad things were happening to the nation of Israel. God says- “Yet my people have forgotten me; they burn incense to worthless idols, which made them stumble in their ways and in the ancient paths. They made them walk in bypaths and on roads not built up. Their land will be laid waste, an object of lasting scorn; all who pass by will be appalled and will shake their heads. Like a wind from the east, I will scatter them before their enemies; I will show them my back and not my face in the day of their disaster.”” Jeremiah 18:15-17, NIV. Interesting that they also tried to kill Jeremiah when this was said much like they tried to do to Jesus at the end of John 8:59- picked up stones to stone him.
Vs. 34 lets us know that Jesus is talking about sin. It is the slavery to sin that we all need to be set from from because, “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). We will experience the truth that sets us free when we are able to admit our enslavement to sin, at which point, The son shall make you free indeed- vs. 36. “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” 1 John 1:8, NIV. This is what these Jews were doing, we are Abraham’s descendants, so we are exempt from the penalties of sin. We are in a different class than others and accepted by God. We are good enough to get to heaven. “Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.” Romans 10:3, 4, NIV. No, we are all sinners, all are unrighteous. These truths are self evident, no one has kept God’s law, not even one.
How does this set us free?
II. The Person of Freedom (Then you will know the truth)
Freedom comes through a person- “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.” Galatians 5:1
“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” John 8:36, NIV.
a. The truth proclaimed
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14, NIV.
b. The truth personified
“For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” John 1:17
“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6, NIV.
““What is truth?” Pilate asked- John 18:38, NIV. Jesus was talking about truth and Pilate asked this question not wanting a reply because Pilate turned away and started talking with the crowd. Many hold this same view today- no such thing as ultimate or absolute truth. What is true for me might not be true for you and what is true for you might not be true for me. Everything is relative. David Hall has this poem called try truth- The urgent question of the ages, Indeed, of all eternity, posed by the philosophical sages is worth our scrutiny. Pilate asked it on that day, when facing Jesus eye to eye, “What is truth?” Then turned away, without hearing God’s reply. And thus it is the same today Each of us must make a choice, to hear the truth that God will say then also to obey His voice.
III. The Promise of Freedom (The truth will set you free)
ILLUS: Back in the 80's Ann Landers wrote about her experience as a newspaper "answer lady." People would write to her with their problems and ask advice on how to deal with their children, their spouses, their bosses, etc. In her book, Landers explained that one of the most difficult things that people struggled with is guilt and shame. "I've received letters brimming with self-recrimination - letters that prove no punishment is so painful as the self-inflicted kind. Here are a few examples: 'I let my boyfriend go too far. Now, when he sees me, he looks the other way. I'm so ashamed of myself I could just die.' 'I threw a dish towel in my mother-in-law's face. She was trying to be helpful and I lost my temper. I hate myself.' 'I got caught cheating in a history exam today. All the kids know about it. I feel rotten.'
No matter how many freedoms our nation gives us, it cannot give us the freedom from the shame and guilt imposed upon us by our sins.
Hazel Felleman wrote a poem about this:
"I wish there were some wonderful place Called the Land of Beginning Again
Where all our mistakes, and all our heartaches And all our selfish griefs
Could be cast like a shabby old coat at the door And never be put on again"
a. From the penalty for sin
There is a place called the land of beginning again and it is the place that Jesus has bought and paid for with His own life's blood and we can have a title to a plot. Accept him by belief, then repentance, confession and baptism. When we do we will be freed from the guilt and shame of our sins, we will no longer be under the penalty of sin but we will have the peace that only Jesus can give. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23, NIV.
b. From the power of sin
Addictions- we love our sins but they often enslave us. “Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey--whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.” Romans 6:16-18, NIV.
A Russian countess accepted the Lord Jesus as her Savior and was open about her new faith. The Tsar was displeased and threw her into prison. After 24 hours with the lowest in that society, in the most miserable conditions imaginable, he ordered her brought into his presence. He smiled and said, “Well, are you ready now to renounce your new faith and come back to the pleasures of the court?” To his surprise, the countess said, “I have known more real joy and more real happiness in one day in prison with Jesus than I have known in a lifetime in the courts of the Tsar.”
