Eternal Independence

Today, we celebrate Independence Day, marking the 248th anniversary of America declaring its independence from England on July 4th, 1776. This event was marked by these famous words: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Americans were now able to escape from the laws and rules which were oppressive and hindered their lives. They were now able to establish new laws under their land.

As we've seen in the chapter 12 and 13 of Exodus, the Israelites found their freedom from Pharaoh and Egypt. They marked this Passover on the 14th day of the month Nissan and God delivered them in the early hours on the 15th. They were not freed by the Lord to do whatever they wanted. They were being freed to fulfil the covenant that the Lord made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They were now declared as a nation and God was going to give them the land He promised Abraham. They were going to be set apart for God, as God declared them as His firstborn son. God will later establish the laws and statutes which will set them apart from the other nations.

I declared my own independence on July 7, 1966, when I received Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. This independence was freedom from the bondage of sin. I can declare: that all men were created equal in the eyes of God, we all have the opportunity to receive His gift of salvation, resulting in eternal life, liberty from the bondage of sin, and the pursuit of holiness (being more Christ-Like). Romans 6:17-18 tells us, "But thank God that, although you used to be slaves of sin, you obeyed from the heart that pattern of teaching to which you were handed over, and having been set free from sin, you became enslaved to righteousness. As Colossians 1:13-14 says, "He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son he loves. In him we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

While people often think that freedom is the ability to do whatever you want as long as it doesn't hurt anyone, true freedom is found in Christ, which allows us now to choose to live his way. Our independence is from the bondage of sin and we become dependent on Him, which is the best thing for us.

The American Revolution was for freedom, a certain kind of freedom, but the Gospel brings real freedom; eternal life, true liberty, and ultimate joy.

The colonists had to fight for their freedom, often spilling their blood. Our freedom came at the expense of Christ and His blood. The Gospel message is our own Declaration of Independence. We must continually remember and proclaim it.

Pastor Bryan