Independence Day

Galatians 5:1 , “It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.”

On July 4^th America celebrates what is known as Independence Day. A day when a nation was freed from the rule of a king and which the great experiment of self-government was launched. This was the freedom that a nation fought for. Free to do and choose and live and be and own property without being confined by the whims of an individual or elite class. In England all property was owned by the King or the Royals. In America everyone was free to own property. Power was not concentrated in the federal government, but it was concentrated in the property owner themselves. People were free to do with the property what they wanted. The man was truly the king of his castle. They elected people to run cities and address the common interest of the property owners. They elected state officials to address the common issues of the cities and counties, and they elected federal officials to address the common issues of the states. The feds could not interfere with the states, the states did not interfere with the cities, and the cities did not interfere with the individual’s liberty to do with his property what he wanted. America was free for freedom’s sake on this day in 1776. It was a nation of individual first.

Likewise Christ fought a battle of independence for us. Not independence from a manmade government, but for independence from a Law of sin and death.

Rather than thinking of God as a King or political leader, think for a moment of God as a power source. Consider God as the Giver of Life. And as the Giver and Taker of life, the one Who is able to kill both body and soul in Hell (Matt 10:28), He was the enforcer of the Law of sin which is death. And it is this very law that Christ set us free from.

When Christ left the earth he left believers in the same spiritual state the baby America experienced politically. Christ left Christians with the power and ability to directly govern their own spirit. He undid the Priesthood. He removed the separation between us and God and gave us direct access to The Power of Life. The freedom Christ gave was freedom from doctrine. Freedom from the law. It was freedom from needing another contaminated human being the only access God on our behalf or to speak for God on His behalf. Christ removed the spiritual man king and set in motion forever the individual as now able to govern His own soul and spirit. Christ set us free for the sake of freedom. Sanctification ever since has never been about circumcised or non-circumcised. The freedom is not having to worry about washings or eating or not eating or wearing or not wearing. The freedom that we were set free for is that observing holidays and rituals is no longer a mark of holiness, sanctification, or salvation. Except for perhaps Baptism.

It was for FREEDOM He set us free. Let that ring in your heart today. Let that influence your life. Let that cast aside judgments of other. Let the freedom of soul and spirit that Christ came to give you allow you to allow it in others. But do not allow that same freedom to justify ungodly behavior. Do not allow that freedom to follow self and Satan thinking it is a freedom from consequences.

I heard a statistic of the ultra-high levels of belief within the prison populations of the US that there is life after death. The report was a condemnation of Christianity in that it unjustly assumed crimes were being committed for earthly pleasure, knowing there is forgiveness, and then eternal life. Peter clearly addressed this in 1 Peter 2:16, “Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God.”

Don’t be subject to the yoke of slavery again. This great country called the United States daily returns to the slavery of an elite political class at the cost of individual liberty. So too Christianity has subjected itself to the slavery of leadership and surrogates. Allow the spiritual freedom Christ gave us to go to God. Allow the freedom to follow Christ is whatever form or fashion He instructs. Allow freedom to reign in you.

God bless you, and God bless America.