A Fifth of July Realization

Galatians 5:1-6

July 1776 was a major turning point in the history of the western world at that time. The colonies of New England had just declared their independence from the most powerful nation in the world, Great Britain. I can only imagine the joy at the thought of a new found freedom, a freedom that had never been realized by any other nation in the history of mankind. Just like our Fourth of July’s are days filled with joy and celebration, I’m sure we have never felt the immense joy that they had realizing their utopian dreams were about to come to pass.

But then the Fifth of July comes and the sudden realization that this new found freedom was going come with a price. That price would be with blood, and over the next five years much of it would be shed. The road to freedom had to be won and that road was paved with the blood of men who sacrifice their lives, just as the price to maintain this freedom is at the same cost today. So freedom is not just won, it must be sustained if it is to last forever.

I think of this great moment in history and realize that our freedom in Christ is along the same lines. Our freedom from sin and the devil was one that had to be fought for and the price of that freedom was with blood. The blood of Jesus Christ! Peter said that “forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:” 1 Peter 1:18-19 There is no forgiveness or reconciliation to God without the shedding of blood. It is through Christ, the Son, that we realize our deliverance from sin and the freedom to be what God has called us be, which is his sons and daughters, and “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” John 8:36 This freedom comes about not through rebellion against God, but through repentance: acknowledging, confessing, and turning away from sin to God.

But just as our American freedom has to be sustained, we to have to “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.”Galatians 5:1 Our forefathers fought in the Revolutionary War to achieve this freedom. Britain was not just going to let these new found colonies defect and abort everything that they fought hard for to become one of the greatest empires in history. And the devil is the same way! He is “as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:” 1 Peter 5:8 He uses the battlefields of the mind and the flesh to draw us back into sin or legalism to keep us bound, making us think the we are unfit, unuseful, or unworthy of being a child of God. He is going to fight and we must be willing to fight the good fight of faith to overcome him. That faith works by love. We all will fight for what we love and cherish, and Jesus Christ is the one that we should each cherish the most. His love for man was one of which he laid down his life for. And our love for him should encourage us to lay down and surrender our lives to him and be willing to lay down our life for our brother.

Many men and woman have died for the sustaining of freedom in this country because of their love and patriotism. To see someone take a knee or raise a fist during the national anthem is not a statement of solidarity but one of division. “And a house divided cannot stand!” The only way to bring unity and move forward in this country is to go go back! We are to go back to the ideas, the Judeo -Christian ideas, that made America great and revive that Spirit of Liberty that was within the hearts of the founders of this great nation. It was God who was the founder of this country and we need to turn back to God. It sounds like to me that America needs to repent!

Meditate on 2 Chronicles 7:14 and ask God help you put into practice what it teaches.

Pastor Robby