Free Indeed

Leviticus 25:10
“And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubilee unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family.”

The bold, underlined part of that verse is the ONLY inscription on the Liberty Bell in Independence Hall. We all agree it stands as a major representative symbol towards our American spirit of liberty and freedom.

In remembrance, Memorial, of those who fought and died for that divine ideal, I write today. This week, we celebrated Memorial Day as a nation, and, I pray, that there were reminders in your own life and heart about the sacrifices of God and man that were painfully paid for us to enjoy the little remaining freedom we have.

I greet you in authentic and perfect liberty as one who The Son has truly set free.
“Culture is religion externalized.  And atheistic cultures most always turn into statist cultures. They make the state god. Atheistic cultures end up as statist totalitarian hells or hedonistic sewers – or both. America is both. Christian men and Christianity produces something far different, however. Or at least should. Christian men understand and cherish liberty more than all other men. And why is that? It is because liberty is rooted in our religion – unlike the religion of the atheist.”

– Pastor Matthew Trewhella

1 Corinthians 7:23 paraphrase is “You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men.”

A radically different, yet major symbol, recognized the world over is the cross of Calvary. I acknowledge that many would not immediately articulate it as the most infinitely powerful guide-marker of genuine freedom. Just as with many things in our world today, they would be dead wrong.

Our desire should overwhelmingly be that we are determined to not be enslaved by sin or men. That should also translate into an ardent resolve to not be enslaved by the state, which is a reflection of the control of sinful man. A passion to not be subjugated by the state is rooted in our foundational theology. In fact, it is rooted in the most priceless realities of our Christian faith – namely, the Finished Work of Cross. Jesus has completely and eternally redeemed us – neither the state nor sin can ever own us again! We are His… We are free!

We are a free people today NOT because we are American or because humanity has progressed into a more democratic society. No, Beloved. We are free ONLY because we have been first liberated by the resurrected Lord of Heaven and Earth. The blood that flowed at Calvary was the divinely liberating expression of a God who despises (even unto death) the devastation of slavery. Man’s inhumanity to man is best displayed in oppressive systems and situations rooted in the fall of mankind from the Creator’s intent. Be it a government, an addiction, depression, a sickness/disease, or poverty… these legitimate miseries weaved their way into our culture through the first man, Adam, bowing his knee to enslavement.

These slave-masters will be militantly extricated from our hearts and society when liberated people rise up with the freedom force that Heaven possesses because the Last Adam, Jesus, The Son of God, The Son of Liberty, The Redeemer, The Liberator… has walked out of the tomb of human failure and into the Throne Room of empowering grace.

Humanity went from losing the race, to becoming enslaved into the human race, to being gloriously liberated into the Grace Race!

James 1:25
“But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.”

I pray that you are fixated and actively engaged in the perfect, divine, and eternal laws that guide true freedom today. I know that, as your heart becomes more anchored to these pillars of redemptive truth, you will mightily experience the blessings associated with that liberated life. Remember (memorialize) the atoning benefits of freedom that belong to us because of the Blood of Christ and the self-less sacrifices of our soldier-warriors who have defended and preserved them.

I love you greatly!
Steve