Happy 250th Independence Day!

Here in Pennsylvania, there is much to celebrate. Fireworks, parades, family gatherings, the FIFA World Cup, and even Union Pacific Big Boy have made this a memorable summer.

As grateful as I am for the freedoms we enjoy as Americans, Independence Day also reminds me of a much deeper freedom.

Long before the Declaration of Independence was signed, long before the American Revolution, and even before the ideas of Greek democracy, humanity longed to be free.

That desire was not an accident. God placed it within us.

The question has always been: Where is true freedom found?

The Apostle Paul answers that question in Galatians 5:1 (ESV):

“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.”

Paul is not speaking primarily about political freedom. He is speaking about something much greater.

He is speaking about the slavery of trying to earn God’s acceptance.

Every religion built on human effort asks the same question: Have I done enough?

Have I obeyed enough?

Have I been good enough?

Have I earned God’s favor?

The gospel gives a radically different answer.

Christ has already done what we never could.

As Paul continues in Galatians 5:13 (ESV):

“For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.”

Christian freedom is not permission to ignore God’s Word or redefine His truth.

Rather, it is freedom from the impossible burden of trying to save ourselves.

God’s law is good because it reflects His holy character. Jesus did not abolish it; He fulfilled it perfectly.

The law was designed to show us how to live together in a community.

The law teaches us what pleases God, but it cannot forgive sin. Just read the 10 commandments. Not once does it say do this to be saved, or be forging, or go to heaven.

Forgiveness requires payment. All the OT sacrifices were God’s way of dealing with our sin until the ultimate payment in Christ would be made

Every one of us has accumulated a debt we could never repay.

That is why the cross is such glorious news.

Paul writes in Colossians 2:13–14 (ESV):

“And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.”

Because Christ has paid our debt, those who belong to Him no longer have to live asking:

• Have I disappointed God beyond His grace?
• Have I done enough to earn His love?
• Have I somehow lost His favor?

The answer is found at the cross.

Christ has already accomplished everything necessary for our salvation.

That does not produce careless living. Rather, it produces grateful obedience.

As 1 John 5:3–5 (ESV) reminds us:

“For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”

That is freedom.

Freedom to rest in Christ’s finished work.

Freedom from striving to earn what has already been given by grace.

Freedom to joyfully love God, obey His Word, and serve others through the power of the Holy Spirit.

As we celebrate America’s Independence Day, may we also rejoice in the greater freedom that belongs to every believer:

“For freedom Christ has set us free.”

The audio and song can be found at https://youtu.be/STAUUYJJ99Q