Independence
Day celebrates America’s Declaration of
Independence from the tyranny of Britain under King George the III. The signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 was not intended to declare war
with Britain, nor did it procure our country’s independence. America’s freedom was not actually obtained
until a treaty was signed 7-years later on September 3, 1783 … at the end of the
American Revolutionary War.
The intended purpose of the Declaration of Independence for the colonists was to declare to the world their belief in a personal, infinite God - their Creator - who endowed them with certain ‘inalienable’ or absolute rights. To the men of that time it was self-evident that if the inalienable rights (they were declaring) were not seen in the context of Christianity, then they were nothing but illusions and dreams. To have absolute rights, our forefathers had to acknowledge the absolute authority of God.
You see, there is no true freedom without God and His authority to determine the morality upon which the laws of our land are founded. In God we find the basis for temporal freedom (on earth) and the spiritual freedom (for all eternity). God’s provision for our spiritual freedom is found in His one and only Son, Jesus Christ. Therefore, on this Independence Day we must understand and acknowledge the freedom we have in Christ.
In Luke 4:18 we read these words attributed to Jesus – “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed.”
In this verse, Jesus revealed the reason why God had sent Him into the world. Jesus came to bring liberty, or freedom!
The intended purpose of the Declaration of Independence for the colonists was to declare to the world their belief in a personal, infinite God - their Creator - who endowed them with certain ‘inalienable’ or absolute rights. To the men of that time it was self-evident that if the inalienable rights (they were declaring) were not seen in the context of Christianity, then they were nothing but illusions and dreams. To have absolute rights, our forefathers had to acknowledge the absolute authority of God.
You see, there is no true freedom without God and His authority to determine the morality upon which the laws of our land are founded. In God we find the basis for temporal freedom (on earth) and the spiritual freedom (for all eternity). God’s provision for our spiritual freedom is found in His one and only Son, Jesus Christ. Therefore, on this Independence Day we must understand and acknowledge the freedom we have in Christ.
In Luke 4:18 we read these words attributed to Jesus – “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed.”
In this verse, Jesus revealed the reason why God had sent Him into the world. Jesus came to bring liberty, or freedom!
Rev.
Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.
Chaplain
(Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army
Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel
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