Today we celebrate the birth of our nation - a nation which god has blessed like few others in history. a nation whose foundations stem from Christianity and the word of god.

Many would like us to disregard this fact yet the evidence is overwhelming concerning this. Let me share a few documented quotes from some of those who founded this great nation:

T. Jefferson( written to the Danbury Baptists, addressing their fear that the government might interfere with their freedom of religion) - the first amendment has erected a wall of separation between church and state, but that wall is a one directional wall; it keeps the government from running the church, but it makes sure that Christian principles will always stay in government.

Not that all of our leaders were true men of God, but among them, as among the people of the United States, there was a consciousness of right and wrong based on Christianity and the word of god. this "Christian consciousness" caused the desire for freedom & liberty to be one of our highest ideals. we became known as the country where a man & a woman could be free.

One of our greatest monuments is a monument to this ideal ... our "statue of liberty." On this monument is the inscription from poet Emma Lazarus - "give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breath free."

The cry of freedom is as strong as ever. sadly though we are turning our backs upon the very source of that freedom that made us great. We still want freedom, but we want it our way, with no strings attached. The cry of freedom today means no one (including god) telling us what to do. Freedom to do what we want, when we want, how we want. Unfortunately the end result of this is the exact opposite of freedom. We become slaves to our passions and we will experience the fruits of those seeds we have sown.

Soon after the terrible events of 9 11 the daughter of Rev. Billy Graham was being interviewed. She was asked why God would allow something like this to happen? She said for years now we have been saying that we did not want God or his principles in our nation. Since we have rejected his guidance, I guess we also reject his protection that he has given this nation.

The cry of freedom today seems to mean doing anything we want. We hate being told something is wrong or a "sin."

This attitude is nothing new. It has been around a long time. God’s word, the bible, talks about such an attitude.

For when they (false teachers) speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error. While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage.

Doesn’t this sound familiar? Isn’t this the exact attitude that is in our country today? (see italics above)

This attitude leads to the worst kind of slavery.

True freedom, that which people long for, will never be attained in "doing whatever we want." true freedom comes only with Jesus Christ. Jesus came for that very purpose - to set mankind free, release us from the bondage of sin. In Jesus’ first public appearance Jesus made this fact very clear.

(Luke 4:17-21 nkjv ):and he (Jesus)was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. and when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written: "the spirit of the lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set a liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the lord." Then he closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. and the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, "today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."

Jesus came to truly free mankind. free us from that which enslaves us - sin.

Jesus announces that he is here to heal the 5-fold damage that sin brings.

Jesus said these words to those who believed him (v.31).

The Greek word for "believed" used here and in most of the new testament means to trust in, rely on, and adhere to Him.

He says those who did this would know the truth. Who is the truth?

(john 14:6 nkjv) Jesus said to Him, "I am the way the truth and the life.

they would know Jesus (the truth) and they would be free!

Free from what? I found 4 things the bible teaches Jesus will free us from (I’m sure that there are many more than these).

What does that mean? We don’t have to sin. We are not under sins power & dominion anymore. Jesus has set you free!

In setting us free from sin he also freed us from it’s consequences (last part of v.2 "and death").

Sin brought death -

Look at the last part of verse 23! Jesus freed us from the fear of death ... that dread of knowing we will someday (who knows when) die!

A person can say what they want and speak very proudly about not really caring what happens after this life, but deep down every person without Christ fears death.

However, for the man or woman who has accepted the sacrifice which Jesus made for all of us on the cross the following is true:

(I Cor. 15: 54-57 nkjv) so when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has but on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory." "O death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory? The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law." But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our lord Jesus Christ.

Paul is drawing a contrast between the 2 states of man - man without Christ and man with Christ. Before we knew Jesus we tried to rule life by the written code of the law and there is something in us that answers to the seduction of sin. Paul says that when we were "in the flesh" (our human nature apart from and unaided by god) the very fact that a thing is forbidden lends a certain attraction to it (remember Adam & Eve). But, when a man is with Christ his life is ruled by love, not by law. Our motivation changes. In Christ we have died to the law, died to that which we could not keep anyway, and have been married to Jesus. We serve God, not to try and earn points to make it to heaven, but because we love Him! He already paid the price for our sin and set us free from the burden of the law.

In Christ our relationship changed. We no longer have to do the things that please God... we want to do them! Just as when you got married you did things for each other because you want to, not because you have to. You do things out of love. This is the relationship we have in Christ.

This freedom from the law also is a freedom from "religion".

By this I mean the idea that somehow through some effort of our own we are able to achieve a righteousness which will make us acceptable to god. it is what every religion except Christianity is based on – "I can be good enough." "I can do enough to be acceptable to God." Religion of this sort appeals to our pride, which is of course the original sin. This type of religion also puts a person in bondage. People are required to do a variety of works, depending on the religion, to try and win god’s approval. the apostle Paul fought this idea all throughout his ministry. The gospel, the "good news", which Jesus brought said we could never do enough to stand before God blameless. What we could not do - Christ did!

(Galatians 5:1, 4-6 nkjv) stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage ... you (those who think they will gain right standing with God by obeying the Jewish law) have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. For we through the spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. for in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.

This leads us to our final point -

This last point is a little different... it is not something Jesus has freed us from, it is something He has freed us to do.

The fact that we have been freed from the law and false religion does not mean we are free to do whatever we like. such a thing would result in our bondage and slavery to sin again.

Paul understood that this new liberty that Christ brings us could be viewed as an opportunity for the flesh, he tells the Christian how to use this newfound liberty-" through love serve one another."

Here is the secret to it...

(Romans 6:12-14 nkjv) therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to god as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to god. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

Present yourselves to god each day. He is with you to help you. Make your walk with Jesus real and alive. When you fail him (and you will) confess your sin and move on as the Bible tells us to (I John 1:9).

It sounds like a contradiction - we are truly free when we serve Jesus Christ and one another- but those who practice this know it to be true.

The only truly free person is the person who believes in, trusts in, clings to, and relies on, Jesus Christ.