Freedom; Our Country!

July 3, 2025

Freedom; Our Country!

Freedom is desired by all but experienced by too few. 

+There are too many places in our global community where people are oppressed by government policy.  +There are too many places that people are exploited by economic or political strategies. 

+There are too many places that people are limited because of their ethnicity or their skin color or gender.

+There are too many places that people are impeded because of their cultural practices or their birth place.

+There are too many places that people are controlled because of their religious beliefs or spiritual practices.

+There are too many places that people are harassed because of their network of friends and/or associates.  

Freedom is desired by all but experienced by too few. 

This was just as true in first century Israel and Judea as it is in different parts of our global community today.  The people with whom Jesus spent time, preached his sermons, and healed their illnesses, did not know freedom.

The nation of Israel was occupied by the Roman military under the oppressive rule of the Emperor in Rome.  Governors and Kings in Israel were appointed by the Emperor and given great latitude to carry-out Rome’s inhumane demands.  Executions were common place, public, and revolting.  Taxation was extraordinarily oppressive and extreme and frequent violence was sanctioned by Rome to collect those taxes.

So when Jesus came with a message of freedom, the people heard it as freedom from an oppressive government as well as freedom from the power of sin, release from the control of addictions, and liberation from the confines of the past. 

During the next five weeks, I invite you to consider the things that bring us true freedom. 

When speaking about freedom, we are immediately confronted with a start irony; i.e., true freedom comes when we are surrendered and submitted to the things that honor God.

In I Peter 2:16 the Apostle Peter writes; “As servants of God, live as free people…”  Those who have surrendered all of their heart, mind, and soul to Jesus as Savior and have submitted their life to Jesus as Lord will live as truly free people.  The freedom Jesus promises is dependent upon God’s grace rather than upon our circumstances. 

The promise of freedom through a growing relationship with Jesus is true for individuals as well as for families, communities, and nations. 

Tomorrow (July 4^th), our country will celebrate Independence Day.  Independence Day remembers and celebrates the ratification of the Declaration of Independence on July 4^th, 1776.  That document declared the United States would no longer be under the rule of Britian.  The declaration established the United States as its own country.  Independence Day celebrates our freedom as a country.

In I Peter 2:16-17 the Apostle Peter writes; “As servants of God, live as free people, yet do not use your freedom as a pretext for evil.  Honor everyone.  Love the family of believers.  Fear God.  Honor the emperor.”

We like the promise of freedom.  But, then Peter adds that little statement, “Honor the emperor.”  In first century Israel, that instruction would have been a hard pill to swallow.  And yet, Peter is clear.  In I Peter 2:13-14 he writes; “For the Lord’s sake be subject to every human authority, whether to the emperor as supreme or to governors…”

That’s difficult!  Submitting to people in authority is not easy for me.  Submitting to people in authority when I disagree with them strains every sensibility I have as a thinking person as well as strains my faith in God’s Word that instructs me to be subject to those persons.   

How can Christ-followers be truly free in Jesus and honor government leaders who were oppressive, controlling, and power hungry?  This question is just as relevant for you and me today as it was for the people in the first century to whom Peter was writing.

How can people in our world today be truly free in Jesus and honor a government leader who is oppressive, controlling, and power hungry?  Consider the conflict in Sudan, the conflict in Israel, the conflict in Ukraine, or the political, economic, and racial unsettledness in our own country.

There are people in each of these countries who do not feel the freedom our country celebrates on Independence Day this weekend.  They live in the tension between the promise, “As servants of God, live as free people…” and the instruction to “…be subject to (honor) every human authority (especially the government leaders).”      

I am still working on understanding and living by this text.  Exploring the other dimensions of what the Bible says will help us experience the kind of freedom that is promised by Peter.

Here are a few questions to consider during the next few days.

+Do I know the freedom that comes through being surrendered to Jesus as Savior and subject to Jesus as my Lord?

+How does the freedom I know in Jesus help me to honor and be subject to those who are in authority over me?  Think about your boss at work, your teacher at school, your parent at home, your coach at the game, your governor at the state office, your president at the White House.

+How will I pray for those in authority over me this week?

I pray the Holy Spirit will grow patience, kindness, and self-control in you when you struggle with the tension between your freedom in Jesus and honoring and be subject to those in authority over you.

I pray Jesus will set you free from whatever is enslaving you, restraining you, or holding you captive especially if you are stuck in the past, stuck in an addiction, or stuck in an oppressive relationship or situation.

I pray you will spend some time in prayer for the person who is holding you captive wherever that might be.

On Independence Day, I invite you to pray for the government leaders in our country, especially the ones with whom you disagree the most.  Pray there will be real freedom for all people in our country.

As you pray, you will begin to be set free.  As you pray, the other person will be set free.  As you pray, circumstances can be changed to look more and more like the Kingdom of God.  When you begin to catch a glimpse of what Jesus is transforming into His likeness, your heart will be filled with delight in the Lord.

Take Delight In The Lord!

Doug