I forget which philosopher said that “Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it.” We learn from history—not to live in the past, but learn the principles that history has to teach us. We don’t live our lives in the past hoping that circumstances will return like they were in the “good old days,” because, quite frankly, we sometimes find that the good old days were not quite so good after all. We are reminded that the cure for many diseases were unknown in the “good old days.” We are reminded that the value of persons was diminished by social standing or cultural mores. We are reminded that transportation and communication, food and health care were not readily accessible in those “good old days.”
There are many things from the past that we should attempt to reclaim. Home and family seems like a good place to start. God and faith seems like another area where we need to learn the lessons that history has to teach us. God and faith established for our nation our moral values. God and faith give us a moral center and a sure foundation from which we govern ourselves. Patrick Henry said, “It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians, not on religion, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ.” Perhaps we need to learn that lesson again. Perhaps we need to learn that Jesus called us to be “salt and light” in the world. Being salt and light means that we do not have a faith that we can check at the door before entering public debate on social and cultural issues. The light that Christ calls us to bring to the world is a constant light, not to be turned on and off by an invisible switch every time we leave the church or our home. Perhaps we need to learn again there are no secular/sacred distinctions in the life of a Christian.
One week from today, we will celebrate our 228th birthday as a nation. We will spend some of this week preparing for the big day on the lake, or the big family reunion, or for the fireworks display that night. For others, time will be spent reflecting on our nation’s history, and the fight that has been, and even now, is being waged to protect the freedom we all take so much for granted. As we go through the next week, I want us to remember three lessons that every Christian citizen needs to learn.
First, freedom is never free. Freedom for our great nation has come at a great cost. Our brave men and women stand in harms way today in places like Iraq and Afghanistan. It seems that each morning the newspaper has one more story telling the story of an American soldier who has given his/her life for the cause of freedom. Think of the great cost in human life through two world wars, the Korean Conflict, the Vietnam War, and the Persian Gulf War. Mothers and fathers have lost sons and daughters. Spouses have been lost to one another. Children have lost mothers and fathers. The cost of freedom is truly inestimable, and unless and until, someone loses a loved one in the context of the fight for freedom, we can never know the ultimate cost.
The founders of our nation knew the great cost of freedom. Yet they willingly put themselves on the line for the idea of liberty that springs eternal in the human heart. Signing the Declaration of Independence became a death warrant for those who affixed their signatures. Fifty-six men signed the Declaration. Of those fifty-six, five were captured by the British and tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost sons in the Revolutionary Army. Another had two sons captured by the British. Nine more died from wounds or other hardships caused by the war. Carter Braxton was a wealthy trader and planter from Virginia. Braxton saw his ships sunk by the British Navy. He sold his home to pay his debts and died in poverty. During the battle of Yorktown, British General Cornwallis had taken over Thomas Nelson’s home for his headquarters. Nelson urged General George Washington to open fire on the Nelson home. Nelson’s home was totally destroyed, and he died in bankruptcy. John Hart was forced to flee from his home where his wife lay on her deathbed. His thirteen children were forced to flee as well. His property and his mill was destroyed. For over a year, Hart lived in the forest and in caves. When he was finally able to return home, he found his wife dead, and he never saw his children again. In a few short weeks, Hart, too, was dead from exhaustion. They knew the high cost of freedom.
No one can know true freedom without knowing Jesus Christ. The idea of freedom is but a lonesome dream in the heart of humanity absent its connection to the truth that Jesus Christ came to reveal. The concept of freedom in our democracy is rooted in the gospel of Jesus Christ. John Quincy Adams, our sixth president, said, “The highest glory of the American Revolution was this: that it connected, in one indissoluble bond, the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity.” And it is certain that no one knows the high cost of freedom more than our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He gave his life for our freedom from the slavery of sin and death. Jesus came to reveal to us the truth of God, and it is God’s truth that sets us free. The cornerstone of true freedom for the human heart, for our nation, and for any nation longing to taste the sweet nature of freedom lies firmly embedded in the example of Jesus Christ—self-sacrifice. True freedom is rooted in self-sacrifice, and Jesus Christ gave us the greatest example. He is our model, and the day we as individuals, and we as a nation fail to follow the example of Christ, that will be the day we begin to lose our freedom. Freedom cost Jesus his life.
Because freedom is rooted in self-sacrifice, we must realize that freedom will cost us as well. I am reminded what the Apostle Paul wrote to the Christians at Galatia: I myself no longer live, but Christ lives in me. So I live my life in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me (2:20). Freedom costs us our very lives, as we become disciples to the truth, the truth revealed in Jesus Christ. We no longer live, but have given our lives to follow the one who gave all for us. Paul again reminds us in 1 Corinthians 6:20 that we have been bought with a price. The price was the precious blood of Jesus Christ. We must never forget that fact, for if we do, we forget the second lesson every Christian citizen must learn: Independence means dependence.
The United States, in breaking away from England, made its Declaration of Independence, yet even that document expressed in deep theological terms that those founders were placing their trust, not in themselves, but in their Creator. It was God to whom the founders ascribed sovereignty over his creation, and in so doing rooted their independence firmly in their dependence upon God. This idea has been embraced and reaffirmed through subsequent generations of leaders in our nation. The motto ascribed to our currency expresses it wonderfully, even though there are some in our nation who would have us remove the words “In God we trust.” Francis Scott Key, as he arranged the verses to the Star Spangled Banner captured the concept of independence being rooted in dependence. The second stanza of that song reads:
Oh, thus be it ever when free men shall stand
Between their loved ones homes and the war’s desolation!
Blest with vict’ry and peace, may the Heav’n rescued land
Praise the Pow’r that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust!”
Likewise, as Christians, we acknowledge our dependence upon Christ who bought our freedom. Again, hear the Apostle Paul:
Now the Lord is Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, he gives freedom (2 Corinthian 3:17).
For the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you through Christ Jesus from the power of sin that leads to death (Romans 8:2).
Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you have obeyed with all your heart the new teaching God has given you. Now you are free from sin…(Romans 6:17-18a).
Paul reveals the key of our dependence—obedience. Isn’t that what Jesus said? “You are truly my disciples if you keep obeying my teachings” (John 8:31). Our obedience in following the way of self-sacrifice and love brings us into true freedom, and we are completely dependent upon Christ for that. But what are those things that bring us freedom? Strength, hope, mercy, grace. We are dependent upon Christ for all these elements in our lives, but most especially we are dependent upon him for the very salvation of our souls. Phillips Brooks, great preacher from another century, said it best: “No man in this world attains to freedom from any slavery except by entrance into some higher servitude. There is no such thing as an entirely free man conceivable.”
I think we can carry it one step further, though. We are not only, in our independence, dependent upon Christ, but we are also dependent upon one another. The Christian faith is a faith rooted in community. Our faith is nothing without the community of other believers. Our nation, too, grew strong through the members of a thousand communities binding together to strengthen those communities, and build bonds that would last for future generations. Independence means dependence.
The third lesson every Christian citizen needs to learn is that liberties are limited. There is no such thing as a license to sin. Let me paraphrase Paul this time in writing to the Romans. In essence he says, “I can do anything I want to do. It is completely legal. But I limit what I do out of deference to others. I don’t want to make a brother or sister stumble. I am not bound to obey anyone for any reason, but I become a servant to everyone so they can come to know Christ” (1 Cor. 8 & 9). Paul was living the essence of self-sacrifice. He brought his life into submission to the needs of others. He thought of others ahead of himself. Placing others ahead of ourselves limits our freedom.
The Apostle Peter echoes this idea: You are not slaves, you are free. But your freedom is not an excuse to do evil. You are free to live as God’s slaves (1 Peter 2:16). Take for instance, our freedom to drive an automobile and go anywhere in these United States. We can go anywhere our whims make choose to take us, but we must obey the driving laws or we will receive a speeding ticket. Stop signs are at intersections for a reason, and to disobey a stop sign is to place ourselves or others in harm’s way. So our freedom is limited by the interest of others.
Liberty is also limited because it can lead to bondage. Peter, in referring to false teachers in the early church said, “They promise freedom, but they themselves are slaves to sin and corruption. For you are a slave to whatever controls you” (2 Peter 2:19). There is a plethora of voices clamoring for attention in our world, each seeking to draw people into their web of deceit. Buy this car, or this home, or this vacation. They tell us we deserve to be treated in a certain way, to possess certain things, to live certain ways, and to not receive anything they offer is to limit our capacity to enjoy happy lives. But those voices can lead us into the bondage of materialism, thinking joy and contentment will be found in possessing more. So it is also with those who battle addictions. They have the freedom to abuse alcohol, gambling, drug addictions, sexual addictions, and so many other addictions facing our nation, but they are simply trading the freedom Christ gives for the bondage of substances that will ultimately destroy them.
I think, also, liberties are limited because they demand responsibilities. There is a great paradox in the way God has created his universe. It is at one and the same time, to use the words of Dorothy Sayer, extremely elastic and extremely rigid. It is elastic because it includes a large measure of freedom for the creature; it is rigid because it includes the provision that, however created beings choose to behave, they must accept responsibility for their actions and be willing to endure the consequences. We can never enjoy our rights as Christians and citizens until we are willing to accept the responsibilities that go with them.
As we look to celebrate the birthday of our nation, let us remember the words of the Frenchman Alexis de Tocqueville who visited America in 1831. When he completed his tour he wrote these words:
“I sought for the greatness of the United States in her commodious harbors, her ample rivers, her fertile fields, and boundless forests—and it was not there. I sought for it in her rich mines, her vast world commerce, her public school system, and in her institutions of higher learning—and it was not there. I looked for it in her democratic Congress and her matchless Constitution—and it was not there. Not until I went into the churches of American heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. American is great because America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great!”
This is indeed a great nation, but if we are to remain a great nation we, as Christian citizens, must learn three great lessons from history: Freedom is never free, independence means dependence, and liberties demand responsibilities. Amen
