Freedom

July 4

Read; 1 Peter 2:13-17, Romans 13:1-7

Freedom.

It is a powerful word and one that we celebrate today on the fourth of July. There is a certain tension that exists though, because as followers of Christ our citizenship is in someplace greater than… other than… different from “this world”. Ephesians 2:19 lays this out: “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God…” In Christ, we have been brought into a citizenship within the Kingdom of God. We have been made a member of God’s very household. We are no longer “strangers of aliens” to God - no longer people who belong to a different / foreign land… no - we have been brought in and welcomed… we have denounced our former citizenship and been given a new one!

Jesus makes quite clear the distinction between these two “kingdoms”… these two potential “citizenships”. When speaking with Pilate, he declares: “, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” (John 18:36) And yet, the Kingdom of God is indeed “near and at hand”. (cf. Mark 1:15) I think this is what creates so much confusion for us a believers. Because our citizenship - the Kingdom we belong to - is not based on a geography and it exists simultaneously with another kingdom (a failing kingdom ) known as the kingdom of man or “of this world”. So how do we put these ideas together? What does this mean for us on this 4th of July holiday? How do we celebrate as God’s people? I think there are a handful of really encouraging biblical ideas for us to hold close today.

1 Peter 2:13-17 gives us a very practical road map to follow:

“Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.”

So, on this 4th of July, remember this:

1.) Jesus indeed loves freedom and has actually brought us the freedom we long for in CHRIST. Jesus came to set us FREE.

“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” (2 Cor. 3:17)

“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery… 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. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another. (Gal. 5:1,13-5)

2.) The freedom we have IN CHRIST goes beyond / supersedes any freedom that is given to us from the kingdom of this world… the kingdom of man… the earthly system. It does not hinge on the “government” the way that we think it does.

3.) The freedom we have entrusted to us by the government / the kingdoms of this world is actually given by God THROUGH these institutions. God is the one who sent them!

“… or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good.” (1 Peter 2)

“Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings…” (Daniel 2:20,21)

“The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will.” (Prov. 21:1)

“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.” (Rom. 13:1)

1 Peter 2:16,17 Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.

4.) The GREATEST FREEDOM we have in Christ is a freedom from SIN. The government cannot take that freedom away from us… the kingdoms of this world cannot force us to sin. This is the primary FREEDOM that Jesus is concerned about. This is the FREEDOM that we celebrate most… a freedom from our “old selves”, a freedom from “meaningless-ness”, a freedom to forgive, a freedom to be generous, a freedom from our previous “master” which was sin and death.

“Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God… Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” (1 Peter 2, Gal. 5)

We live in an amazing country. God has been kind to us as a people. We enjoy a great deal of freedom and that freedom actually traces its roots back to Christ. Jesus is deeply committed to freedom. May we give thanks to the Lord for his gifts. Let us enjoy this freedom unashamedly and boldly. May this 4th of July - a Holiday linked to an earthly kingdom - be a reminder of what is true and to be celebrated always: We are citizens of a different land… a “far country”… an everlasting “land of the free and home of the brave”…a Kingdom that is not of this world. We honor and celebrate those places that the Lord has brought us but never seek to anchor our deepest and greatest hope in the fleeting things of this world. The fragility of a man-given freedom is obvious and all around us; the robustness, sureness, and unfailing nature of the freedom granted us in Christ is eternal… unstoppable… and not subject to any government. Happy fourth of July! May we as the people of God do “good and put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using our freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.” Godspeed. Love you guys. - JDP