ARE YOU FREE INDEED?

Every year on July 4th we are reminded of the great freedom we enjoy in this country. Thank God for the freedom in this country. But what freedom did the early settlers fight and sacrifice their lives for? Did they imagine that in less than 300 years later in the name of freedom we would kill nearly 50 million innocent babies? Or that the freedom to speak God’s truth, and prayer would be taken away from the public schools? Did they imagine that sexual perversion would be promoted by the entertainment media? Or that the institution of marriage, family values, raising children would be attacked? I don’t think they had any idea of how far we would be removed from true freedom to do what is right?

We are proud of all those who have laid down their lives and are still laying down their lives to protect our freedoms. We boast about America being the greatest nation on the earth, but what makes America great and different than rest of the nations? Where does the greatness of America lie? Does it lie in its military might? Or in it’s political power? Or in the hands of a few wealthy people?

French writer Alexis de Tocqueville, after visiting America in 1831, said, "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 America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great!!

According to Tocqueville, What makes America good? is it’s the Church of Jesus Christ and the people whose lives are transformed by the saving power of Christ. On this day as we celebrate our freedom let’s give some thought, we might be freed but how free are we indeed? Let me talk about what the Bible has to say about “True Freedom,” the privileges of freedom, the responsibility of freedom and the cost of freedom. What is freedom? John George Diefenbaker, the 13th Prime minister of Canada has profoundly defined freedom, he noted, “Freedom is the right to be wrong, not the right to do wrong.” There is a lot of truth in it isn’t it?

I. THE PRIVILEGES OF FREEDOM:
For the citizens of America either born here or neutralized there are numerous privileges. Here one is free to pursue his or her dreams. You can work and live any where, move freely in and out of the country, express your views freely, attend Church freely without someone pointing a gun to our head, and enjoy the fruit of the land. Don’t we all enjoy these privileges? Similarly in the Bible we learn about numerous privileges that are available for the citizens of God’s Kingdom. Jesus explained who gets to enjoy these privileges by using the parable of the shepherd and his flock. The Bible says, “We all, like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way.” Isaiah 53:6

The description of men being compared to sheep comes over and over again in the Bible. I think the description of us being sheep befits us. We sometimes blindly follow other people in doing wrong things without questioning. We imitate wrong and harmful habit patterns of others without any discretion.

For example, the macho guy on the Marlboro cigarette Ads. In 1950’s & 60’s millions of people were influenced to smoke cigarettes by looking at those cool Ads. Interestingly all the three characters who appeared in Marlboro advertisements - Wayne McLaren, David McLean and Dick Hammer - all died of lung cancer, thus earning Marlboro cigarettes, specifically Marlboro Reds, the nickname "Cowboy killers".[12] McLaren testified in favor of anti-smoking legislation at the age of 51. This is day light robbery! How many innocent people continue to be deceived and are being led astray by the power of media? Which I believe is largely controlled by Satan.

Jesus referred to Satan as to a thief in the parable where he compared himself to a gate for the sheep and a good shepherd. “I tell you the truth; I am the gate for the sheep. All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.”

The parable has full of contrasts: Satan is out there to deceive people, to steal their joy, peace, health, to destroy families, relationships and societies and eventfully kill those who follow him. Where as Christ came to give life and life in abundance. That is true freedom. Only in Christ one gets to enjoy the privileges of true freedom. What are those privileges? They are eternal security, peace of mind, protection from the enemy and God’s presence and provision In Ephesians 1:3, Paul noted several privileges “praise be to the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” The apostle Peter echoed the same words In II Peter 1:3“His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us.”

II. THE RESPONSIBILITY OF FREEDOM:
Freedom is sweet; it offers a lot of privileges but also calls for responsibility. If all you want is only freedom but never accepts responsibility then it is both dangerous for you and to those who are around you. Dr Francis Schaeffer explains the dichotomy between freedom and form, “During 1920-1980 there was an attempt to have absolute freedom. The attempt was to throw off anything that would restrain one’s own personal autonomy. If there is no balance between form and freedom, then the society will move into either of two extremes. Freedom without a proper balance of form, will lead to chaos and to the total breakdown of society. Form, without a proper balance of freedom, will lead to authoritarianism. In other words if we only have freedom no form then we have anarchy, on the other hand if we only have form and no freedom then you have dictatorship. What we need is a balance between form and freedom.

God gives us freedom of choice but at the same time he sets up boundaries and expects us to act responsibly. Remember that he told Adam and Eve that they were free to eat fruit from any tree in the Garden except from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It is freedom with responsibility and accountability. In Ecc 11:9, “Be happy young man while you are young and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment.” If you just follow only the top line of this scripture you tend to think, great, God is permitting me to enjoy any and everything in my life but there is a warning at the bottom. The bottom line is that we have to give an account of all the wrong things we do.

It rather seems unfair isn’t it? As if with one hand God gives freedom and with the other he curbs the freedom. Why would he do that? Wouldn’t it be better if never gave us freedom in the first place?God is a loving father and he wants what is best for his children. But it is the enemy who twists everything and makes us believe that which is wrong and harmful for us, as the very best for us.

God has given us a free will, with that we can either choose to obey him and worship him or reject him and continue to live in rebellion. Paul addressed the Corinthian believers two times how they can misuse their freedom when it comes to two of the most natural appetites: food and sex. “All things are lawful for me but not all things are profitable. Everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial. We are free to eat anything but eating certain things are not beneficial and especially over eating is not profitable.” (I Cor 6: 12-18; 11:23)

For me I realized that many things may be permissible but that not all of them are beneficial for me. I learned this the hard way since I started having gout attacks a few years ago. Particularly eating beef seems to trigger this for me. If I ignore the warning signs and don’t watch what I eat I suffer the painful consequences. In the same way regarding sex outside of marriage, you are free; not many would stop you from having pre and extra marital relationships. I have a warning though especially to you teens and young adults; yes you have got all those powerful hormones and feelings kicking. However how you channel this high powered energy in you will have a huge impact on your future.

Blowing sound teaching to the wind in this vital area can land you in bondage in more ways than one. Sexual immorality can cause not only STD’s and AIDS but more than that it tends to emotionally hamper you in ways that you are not aware of until later. It takes courage and strong determination to live pure lives when promiscuity seems to be the norm all around us. Let’s take note of Paul’s advice, “Everything is permissible but not everything is constructive.” (I Cor 11:23). Be mindful of Peter’s warning, in I Peter 2:16, “Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.” Freedom without responsibility can be dangerous.

III. THE COST OF FREEDOM:
Do we have any clue of how many lives were lost and how much blood was shed in order to obtain our freedom from the tyranny of the British Empire? We are enjoying the freedom in this great and beautiful land of America but sadly we take this freedom for granted without realizing at what cost it was obtained. We are indebted to all those who have sacrificed their lives in fighting for our freedom and all those who are still sacrificing their lives to protect our freedoms. May the Lord protect our troops and bless their families.

Do we have any clue of how much it costed God in order for us to obtain freedom from the bondage of sin and slavery to Satan? In the OT God required the blood sacrifices of animals in order to wash away the sins of his people. Aaron the high priest was commanded to not to enter the Holy of Holies inappropriately otherwise he would die. So it was a life and death matter when it comes to bringing sin offerings before GodOnce a year on the Day of Atonement Aaron was to offer an animal for his sins first and then another animal for the sins of Israel.(Lev 16) Similarly our great high priest Jesus Christ offered his sinless body as an atonement for our sins.

The writer of Hebrew so clearly writes what the blood of Christ can do to sinners like us. Hebrew 9:12-14, “He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.
The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more then will the blood of Christ who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death so that we may serve the living God.”

In the OT the animal sacrifice was repeated year after year, but Christ shed his blood once for all and for all of mankind. What a powerful truth this is. Christ’s blood, even after over 2000 years is still powerful to not only cleanses us outwardly but also inwardly. It is powerful to forgive anyone no matter whatever sins they may have committed. Though we may be living in a free country yet inwardly it is possible that we are not yet free.

The apostle Paul recognized that he was a prisoner to his sinful nature within. He was desperate to be set free so he cried out, “Wretched man I am, who will set me free from the body of this death. Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 7:24-25)

Are we greater than Paul to think that we never have to cry out to God for him to set us free? Maybe you say “I have blown it so badly, I have missed the mark and I don’t know how to change. You may have fallen in some of the areas that were mentioned today. That doesn’t mean that you have to remain captive to your sin and guilt. You can repent today, make a U-turn and have a fresh start. With God’s grace you can abstain from harmful desires and habits. He paid the price for you through his blood sacrifice my prayer is that we are sufficiently impressed with this awesome God for as it says in Hebrews 10:26 “for those who have known the truth but continue to sin there is no sacrifice is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.” May this day of Independence be your day of freedom from sin and guilt? Remember freedom also comes with responsibility. Amen.