God’s Gift of Freedom

“For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive
the promised eternal inheritance--now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.” (Hebrews 9:15)

The flag reminds me that this week we will celebrate a very important holiday. How
many of you know what holiday we will celebrate? That's right, Independence Day. Do you
know what independence means? It means freedom, doesn't it? In our country we enjoy a
lot of freedom. We are free to come to church and worship, we are free to choose what we
want to be when we grow up, and we are free to choose where we want to live. Here, in
the United States of America, we are free to choose many of the things that affect our daily
lives.
 

Now, this might come as a surprise to some of you, but did you know that freedom isn't
free? That's right. Someone had to pay the price for us to have the freedom that we enjoy.
There are men and women right here in this room this morning who stood in the gap to
help pay that price. Some have served in the Army, Navy, Marines, or Air Force. Many of
them have fought in wars risking their lives. Some may have been wounded. There are
probably some people here this morning who have loved ones who paid the ultimate price
for freedom. They gave their lives fighting for our freedom.
 

Yes, we have a lot of freedom, but the greatest freedom that we have is the freedom
that we have in Christ Jesus. The Bible teaches that the penalty for sin is death. But,
because of God’s amazing grace and because we believe in Jesus and accept Him as Our
Lord and Savior, you and I have been set free from our sins and the penalty of death.
We have been set free because, long ago, Jesus paid that penalty for us. Think about
that! Jesus had no sin, yet, in our place, He died on the cross. He suffered and died a
horrible death for every sin that ever was, every sin now, and every sin that will ever be!
What was His reason? His reason was that He loves us so much. And, as if that wasn’t
enough of a gift, you and I have been promised eternal life. These gifts of freedom weren't
free. God gave His One and Only Son, Jesus. Jesus gave His life. Jesus paid the price.
This week, as we celebrate Independence Day, let us remember to stop and thank God
for those who have paid the price for our freedom. But even more importantly, let us
remember to thank God for Jesus, who has set us free from the penalty for sin, because he
was willing to pay the price.
 

Let’s pray.
 

Heavenly Father, You are Our Greatest Provider! Your Word reminds us that all
that we have and all that we are, comes from You! Today, we thank You for all of
Your many gifts and promises! Thank you, especially, for the freedom that we
enjoy in our country. We are thankful for those who risked their lives, stood in the
gap, and paid the price for that freedom. And, we are most thankful for the
freedom we have because Jesus was willing to pay the penalty for our sins.
 

In Jesus’ Name, we pray, Amen.