America. The land of the free, and the home of the brave. Many fought for the independence of this country where we enjoy the freedom to worship God at will. Not everyone in this great wide world has the opportunity to experience this privilege. Let us stand united, thanking God for the incredible blessing of religious freedom lest we take it for granted.
The Bible tells us that spiritual freedom lies in Christ. It cannot be taken away by man or government. Romans 8:1-2 says, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” Praise the Lord!
Yet if Christ frees us from sin and death, Romans 6:22-23 says that we become His servants. “But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” But wait – how can we simultaneously be both free and servants? Isn’t that a contradiction?
I Corinthians 7:22-24 explained it nicely for me, “For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord’s freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ’s servant. Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men. Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God.” Christ purchased us by His blood, making us His servants by definition.
So our servanthood isn’t one of oppression; instead, it means we belong to God’s family. “Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: but when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ” (Galatians 4:3-7). How wonderful to discover that being a “servant” of Christ is merely referring to our joyous task of “serving” Him out of love, as a fellow child of God.
Freedom, both political and spiritual, doesn’t come without sacrifice. Christ gave His life for us, and we may also be called on to give up our time, money, or even life for the sake of the spiritual freedom of others. Isaiah 61:1 says, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound…”
As we live in the Land of the Free, let’s look forward in anticipation to our heavenly Home of the Brave.
“…where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” II Corinthians 3:17
Jessie Chamberlain
Family Radio Staff