Scriptures on Freedom
This week on the 4th of July, the United States celebrates our independence. It was on July 4, 1776, that our nation signed the Declaration of Independence which states that God always intended for human beings to be free exclaiming, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
However, Jesus came to give us more than just physical freedom and liberty. Jesus came to give us freedom from death, sin, and/or anything that enslaves us. Because of Jesus, we can declare independence from sin or anything that holds us captive.
True Freedom
I love the way this article from Focus on the Family articulates what true freedom is…
“Jesus was not setting us free to do whatever we wanted; He was freeing us to do what we ought to do. He was liberating us to walk in relationship with God and to be the kind of people He created us to be. This spiritual freedom is what I call “inside freedom” — the ability to obey God and choose His will for our lives.
And this is the freedom that sin had long denied us.
Jesus shocked the Pharisees, the spiritual leaders of His day, when He stated, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin” (John 8:34). Jesus was asserting that we are all under the power and control of a natural tendency to sin; we can’t get away from it by ourselves.
Sin brings a penalty that, by ourselves, we can’t escape either. The Bible says, “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).
How do we find freedom from the penalty and power of sin? That comes through accepting Jesus Christ’s death on the Cross as the payment for our sin. As we submit to Christ, sin loses its power — Christ’s power takes over. As we choose to trust and follow Him, our sinful habits, thoughts and attitudes lose their control. Guilt disappears, and peace of mind dominates. Right habits become the norm. That’s freedom — true freedom!”[1]