Here in the United States, the country will celebrate the 4th of July. This day commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776—when the United States declared its intention to break away from Britain and become its own nation.
One of the founding ideas by the men who wrote the Declaration of Independence was their conviction that everyone had individual rights, along with equality and the concept of democracy. Over the last couple of hundred years, this nation has enjoyed freedoms and rights which most other countries in the world have not experienced. God blessed the United States because of His promise to Abraham who had throughout his entire life displayed the righteousness, faith and confidence in God.
While we have freedoms today, these freedoms are slowly but surely being taken away. This is because the United States at large and the other English-speaking nations have all but rejected God. They are not following after God and His Commandments as their forefather Abraham did. They all make excuses and refuse to truly obey God because they have used this idea of Freedom wrongly and are reaping the consequences that God has laid forth in Scripture.
As Christians who uphold the Truth and attempt to live by the Words of the Bible, we need to realize that we are NOT free to do whatever we please. Unlike the world at this time, we are being judged by the standard of keeping the Ten Commandments and, by extension, showing Godly agape love.
What is fascinating to me is that the world is seeking freedom, and if they could truly understand and see, they would find that true freedom comes from obedience to God’s Ways which, when followed perfectly, produce true love, peace and freedom.
Paul wrote in Galatians 5:1, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.” This whole chapter goes on to iterate true freedom and what its effects are. Essentially, it boils down to using God’s Spirit which provides the best way to obtain true freedom.
One of the things that I admire about the Apostle Paul was his undying love for the people in the Church. He spent a lot of time and effort attempting to help these people. In 1 Corinthians 9:19-23, he talks about how his freedom was used—not for himself but for the good of everyone else: “Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings” (New International Version).
That is the ultimate use of one’s freedom—to spend one’s self for the good of others. Christ Himself stated that this is the highest example of love that any of us can give (John 15:13: “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends”). Christ also did this in laying down His perfect life for us and took on our sins. While we may not lay down our lives in the way that Christ did, we have opportunities to lay down our lives in greater service for the good of those who are in the Church—a selfless approach that brings true freedom.
As we live our lives and grow in the use and application of God’s Spirit, we should begin to see that these ways of thinking and acting are not even for ourselves or others, but for the opportunity to glorify God and honor and show love to Him. This is exactly what Christ was pointing to when He said that the greatest two commandments are to “…love the Lord your God with all your heart… and love your neighbor as yourself” (compare Matthew 22:37-40). One of the most important things we must realize is that our freedom is not to be used in self-serving. Paul wrote to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20: “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit [which] is in you, [which] you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
Our freedom is a beautiful thing. But we must realize that our freedom required a price—the death of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:18–19). With this in mind, we can and should continue on in living this new life that we have been given so we can bring honor and glory to God as is fitting, because this is part of what we have been called to do (Ephesians 2:10).
True freedom can and will ONLY be found through submitting our lives more and more fully to our Creator and Sustainer.