AMAZING LIBERATION!

We celebrated the 249th birthday of our great United States of America just two days ago! How blessed we are; this is the greatest nation on earth, now and that has ever been! As the famous Lee Greenwood sings, "I love this land." Not perfect, but our freedoms are still unsurpassed and our national blessings are unmatched! I'm sure there is much agreement on these very true statements. However, our beloved nation is continually rocked by events, happenings, and even some people, that make the majority of Americans embarrassed and even fearful. We find many of our community, state and national politicians are corrupt, power hungry and demonstrate a degree of godless beliefs, values and behavior. Our governmental system has experienced brokenness. Sin, violence and immorality all run rampant. Riots occur regularly and the city streets are literally set on fire. Our police, first responders and military are disrespected by many. Some of those in leadership are committed to open borders and allowing illegals to pour into our country unvetted and receive benefits that even some of our citizens do not receive. Well, I could go on and on, but we all get the point and are aware of what is happening these days.

In spite of all the negative, we still love our country, stand up for our flag, thank God for our freedoms and our privileges, respect authority and pray for all our leaders. Our Independence Day, July 4th, is the day we specifically celebrate our freedom from tyranny. We know our freedom was PURCHASED by the sacrifices and blood of those who were willing to die to provide freedom for those who would live after them! How grateful we ought to be!

Now, I want to turn our attention to the greatest freedom of all. It is not national, physical, social, material, or political. This freedom I'm talking about here is SPIRITUAL! And you see, the freedoms that are national, physical, social, material and political can end in a moment. Nations conquer other nations, sickness and accidents happen, financial losses occur, friends and family lose interest or even turn against us, and political alliances change. And, for sure, death ends all of those freedoms. We can't take any of those temporal freedoms with us when we die! But SPIRITUAL FREEDOM lasts now and forever; for eternity! We can take it with us when we die and we will IF we have committed our life to Jesus Christ! "So if the Son (Jesus) makes you free, you are free indeed" (John 8:36). This truth signifies that real and lasting freedom comes only from Jesus Christ, who liberates individuals from the bondage of sin. This liberty is not merely this worldly or external, but it is a profound spiritual liberation that totally transforms our relationship wth God and enables a life of righteousness. As our forefathers fought and died to obtain our national liberty, Jesus fought the devil, evil, temptation, and demonic activity to set us spiritually free through His grace, love, mercy, forgiveness, and salvation! Jesus died to pay a debt HE did not owe to free us from our debt we could not pay! And He was resurrected triumphantly over death and the grave to give to us eternal life in heaven. This is OTHER-WORLDLY Freedom and that's what I call AMAZING LIBERATION!

Let's ponder this spiritual, internal, and eternal freedom more. The Scripture is clear that Jesus has made the way open and available for our spiritual liberation. "For you were called to freedom. . " (Galatians 5:13). "It was for (the purpose of) Freedom that Christ set us free. . . ." (Galatians 5:1). Let's consider WHAT we are set free from.

1) Free from SIN and its BONDAGE. This means we are liberated from the presence, reality, power and the consequences of sin. In Christ, we are free from the control of sin and the desire to sin. We can still choose to commit sin, but we can also make the choice to not sin! ". . .I am writing these things to you so that you do not continually sin" (Present tense in the Greek New Testament), which means you do not live a life of continuous sinning). "But if anyone sins (Aorist tense in the Greek New Testament means a Point Action - a non-habitual sin, rather, a sin committed once in a while), we have an Advocate (lawyer who pleads for us in the heavenly courtroom) with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous" (I John 2:1)

2) Free from CONDEMNATION. Sin and rebellion against God not only kill, but condemn. Jesus' mission was clear, "For God did not send His Son (Jesus) into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him" (John 3:17). The Apostle Paul wrote, "Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1) Jesus said to the woman guilty of adultery, "Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more" (John 8:11). Notice this truth: Jesus forgave her and did not condemn her, but He also instructed her to "Sin No More." We see Jesus' generous mercy and His purpose to be a compassionate Savior who offers grace in place of deserved judgment.

3) Free from GUILT. A person who does wrong things normally senses the personal guilt attached to it. In Christ, our wrong doing is forgiven and our guilt regarding it is taken away! "Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of (God's) sight! Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt. . . ." (Psalm 32:1-2).

4) Free from ETERNAL JUDGMENT. Because of Jesus and His sacrificial death, our deserved judgment for our sin was itself judged at the Cross! "For he who believes in Him (Jesus) is not judged. . . ." (John 3:18). ". . .we have confidence at the day of judgment" (I John 4:17).

". . .he who believes Him (God the Father) who sent me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death (eternal) into life (eternal)" (John 5:24). Christ came from heaven into our hell to take us out of that hell and place us into the realm of His eternal life!

5) Free from RESIDENCY IN HELL. There are only two places of eternal residency once this earthly life is over, and it will at some time be over for all of us. No one will escape the clutches of death at which time we will pass from this life into eternity. Jesus taught, "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction (hell), . . .For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life (heaven for eternity). . . ." (Matthew 7:13-14). The Church or The Bride of Christ will be wed to the Groom, Jesus, and together they will celebrate the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Jesus) (Revelation 19:7 and 9). Only those who have trusted Jesus by personal faith in His death and resurrection will reside in heaven; all others will reside in hell for eternity. Don't take my word for it; here are the words of Scripture, "And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life (the book that lists the names of the redeemed followers of Jesus), he/she was thrown into the lake of fire" (Revelation 20:15).

An old hymn written in 1917 comes to mind: Here are some lyrics:

"Once I was bound by sin's galling fetters, Chained like a slave, I struggled in vain. But I received a glorious freedom, When Jesus broke my fetters in twain.

Freedom from all the carnal affections; Freedom from envy, hatred, and strife; Freedom from vain and worldly ambitions; Freedom from all that saddened my life!

Freedom from pride and all sinful follies; Freedom from the love and glitter of gold; Freedom from evil temper and anger; Glorious freedom, rapture untold!

CHORUS: Glorious freedom! Wonderful freedom! No more in chains of sin I repine! Jesus the glorious Emancipator - Now and forever He shall be mine!

So now, let's consider some of the additional blessings regarding what we have been set free by Jesus to enjoy.

1) ABUNDANT LIFE here and now. Jesus said, "I came that you may have life, and have it abundantly" (John 10:10). He came to give us life in all its fulness; not only physical existence, but also a spiritual well-being and a close, abiding and fully satisfying relationship with God. It is both about quantity (eternal life) and quality, encompassing joy, peace, purpose, fulfillment, and a deep and growing connection with God, here and now. It's a life lived in full accordance with God's will, empowered by His Holy Spirit, and bearing the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).

2) VICTORY OVER OPPRESSIVE BURDENS. Jesus told us, "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavey-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light" (Matthew 11:28-30). He told Martha on one occasion, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about so many things. . . ." In essence He told her she didn't need to let "things" bother her. (Luke 10:41-42) The Apostle Paul exhorted, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication (a heartfelt request for help or mercy from God) with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6-7). So, Quit your worrying and fretting; trust God completely and learn to practice Philippians 4:6-7! Learn to "choose the better things" as Jesus told Martha (Luke 10:42).

Eddie James sings this contemporary Christian song:

"I wanna clap a little louder than before; I wanna sing a little louder than before, I wanna shout louder than before.

I wanna lift my hands higher than before, I wanna love you more than before, I wanna worship deeper than before.

CHORUS: No more shackles; no more chains, no more bondage, I am Free!

Hallelujah!

Thank God, we can be Free Indeed!