Let Freedom Ring

 

Galations 5:1, 13-25

 

            This is the time of year when we honor the struggle for our independence as a nation, when we shower the sky with brilliant light and explosions to celebrate the blessings of freedom.

 

            We remember the words that Thomas Jefferson wrote to establish the basis of freedom in the words of the Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

 

            It is one of the most inspiring statements in all of human history. Yet I have a big problem with one word in that statement, and it’s likely not the word you expect. My problem is with the word “self-evident.”

 

            Jefferson wrote that it is self-evident that God created us all to be free. If this is so obvious, then why did it take all of the struggles of human history clear into the late 18^th century before anyone formed a government based on this principle?

 

            Yes, God created us with freedom in mind, but in a world clouded by sin, it has never been obvious. I submit that human freedom is not self-evident; it is a concept that has gradually emerged from the Bible. The Word of God has been slowly but relentlessly working on the human spirit through the centuries to draw people into the gift of freedom, a gift that sprang from the bold imagination of the Almighty.

 

            It has taken us a long time to begin to grasp the truth of Paul’s seemingly redundant words to the Galatians in today’s reading: “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourself be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. You, my brothers, were called to be free.”

 

            I admit, most people don’t think of Christianity or religion in general as being about freedom. Say the word “religion” and what pops into mind for many are rules, laws, restrictions, the shackles of guilt, thou shalt do this, thou shalt not do that.

 

            But if you look at the evolution of the idea of freedom and equality throughout history, you will find this book (the Bible) at the center of it all. What is the dominant theme in the Old Testament that overshadows everything else? What is the one event held up as the defining act of God among his people?

           

            The Exodus. The release from bondage. “Remember when you were slaves in Egypt? I the Lord your God brought you out of slavery.” That is repeated throughout Exodus, 15 times in Deuteronomy, and in Joshua, Judges, Jeremiah, Micah. This is the core of the relationship between God and Israel. God brought you out of bondage into the promised land—a land of freedom. Freedom ranks as one of the greatest of God’s gifts.

 

            Freedom from bondage had a profound effect on the Israelites and yet the God-given gift of freedom to all was still not self-evident. As they celebrated their freedom as a people, they continued to hold slaves of their own. They ran a tight ship in their society with reams of complex rules that had to be obeyed. Very little freedom. They still didn’t get it.

 

            Christians still hadn’t gotten it 1,000 years later when Paul wrote in Galatians, just a few verses before today’s reading, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” All equal.

 

            Is freedom a self-evident truth? No, it was revealed in the form of Jesus coming to earth and dying on the cross to free us from the slavery of sin and death, so that we could be free. That’s not the way anyone imagined a God would act. It’s not self-evident.

 

            In fact, Paul’s statement was so unnerving that it shook the foundations of society. It was so radical that even Paul did not fully grasp the meaning of what he had written. He continued to accept slavery as part of the way things are. Being a privileged Roman citizen, he never fully identified with those who lived their lives under the heel of their masters.

 

            But the word was at work. Paul was coming to grips with the amazing and unexpected truth that God did not desire puppets that he could make dance to his tune. “It is for freedom that Christ set us free.”

 

            What Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence seemed revolutionary, but it wasn’t. Jefferson simply took the essence of what Paul had written about freedom 1700 years earlier and put it in a document that formed the basis of a new government. And, like Paul, Jefferson did not fully grasp the meaning of what he had declared.

 

            If these truths are self-evident, then why was Jefferson blind to so many of the implications of his statement? Why was it okay for him to own slaves? Why was it fine with him that woman had no vote or property rights?

 

            It’s not that I hold Jefferson to a 21^st century standard of freedom and equality. We are all, to some degree, products of our environment. But he missed the boat on self-evident. It was because the truth of freedom is far from self-evident that our nation continued its legacy of slavery.

 

            For those who remained enslaved in the decades that followed the Declaration, what kept the spark of freedom alive? What kept hope alive? For most, it was this book, particularly the story of Exodus. This stirring tale of delivery from bondage planted deep into their hearts the conviction that God desires freedom for every person—even the despised of society.

 

            It is no coincidence that the abolitionist movement grew out of the Christian church, and that it looked to the story of Exodus as the key to the kind of world that God intended. The seeds of freedom sown long ago in the Sinai wilderness were producing fruit. Not a bumper crop, but fruit, nonetheless.

           

            Slavery was abolished, legally.

 

            And still, 180 years after Jefferson’s Declaration, the truth of God’s desire for freedom for every person in this land was still not self-evident. Slavery had ended but freedom had not arrived. Equality was for many a distant dream and for some, a distant nightmare. . .

 

            . . . until the 1950s and 60s, when the civil rights movement gathered steam. Where did the impetus for this freedom movement come from? From the black churches in whose hearts was emblazoned the story of how the Lord delivered the Israelites from bondage. People like Martin Luther King came on the scene, wielding the words of Exodus: “I have been to the mountaintop and I have seen the promised land.”

            They came echoing the words of the New Testament in Revelation as refined in the Civil War struggle: “Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord. As Christ died to make men holy, let us live to make men free. His truth is marching on!”

             

            It’s been a long road to freedom, and we have a ways to go yet.

 

            It is such a long road to freedom because, in a sinful world, freedom is not self-evident. When the word of God works in us to reveal that God’s design for us, and for all, is freedom, the question becomes, how do we use the freedom that God intends for us?

 

            At the close of the Constitutional Convention to form a new United States government in 1787, Benjamin Franklin walked out of Independence Hall and was met by a group of anxious onlookers. The debates over the new government had been fierce and passionate and consensus was hard to come by.

            “Well, Doctor, what have we got?” they asked. “A Republic or a Monarchy.”

            “A Republic,” said Franklin, “if you can keep it.”

 

            A free and open government does not just perpetuate itself. It has to be nurtured constantly. By informed decisions, active participation, standing up for what’s right, promoting justice, protecting freedoms, defending freedoms. Freedom is not an imperishable item. With freedom comes responsibility, and if we fail to exercise freedom responsibly, we lose it.

 

            The founders gave us a Republic, if we can keep it.

 

            That pretty much describes the lay of the land when it comes to the freedom of the Gospel. The power of the spirit works to give to all God’s gift of freedom. Jesus came to destroy the powers of death and free us from the consequences of sin. Not to lead us by the nose, or manipulate us, but to set us free in the spirit of love.  

 

            When you are truly living in the kingdom of God, all those laws and rules and systems that bind people and restrict people and condemn people have no purpose and no place. “The entire law is summed up in a single command,” writes Paul, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” That’s all you have to do to live in the kingdom. Freedom is ours. Unimaginable freedom.”

 

            If you can keep it.

 

            Our problem is keeping it. I took an ecology course in college. On the first day of class, the professor told us that 80% of us would either fail the course or take incompletes. He laid out all the assignments for the course, but no due dates. His only requirement was that all work be completed by the end of the semester. How we arranged our time was our business. He would not check up on us.

            “I urge you not to abuse this freedom,” he said. “Keep up with the assignments, because there is no way on God’s earth you can wait until the last week and get them done.”

            As he had predicted, at the end of the semester, more than 80% of the class had either failed or taken incompletes. As Paul put it, they used their freedom to indulge their sinful nature, and they paid the price. But those who passed learned the valuable lesson of how to take responsibility for their education

 

            Too many religions, even Christian churches, preach that God does not give freedom, that God is constantly watching your every move, that God demands a strict and ponderous code of behavior and your only purpose in this world is to obey.

            Paul says they are wrong. Let freedom ring, he says. Christ has destroyed the chains of sin and death for us for all time. Salvation is a gift, not something we earn. We have been given it regardless of our failures, and we cannot lose it. We have been set free from the burden of having to live up to standards of perfection. We are free.

 

            But Paul warns us not to abuse this freedom. Because while salvation is not ours to win or lose, freedom is different. Christ bought it for us; the question is can we keep it.   

 

            If everyone in our society abided by the one basic law that God lays down, love your neighbor as yourself, we would need no other laws. The volumes of laws on the books exist because people blow it, because people do not abide by that one universal law. When people use their freedom to indulge their sinful nature, they lose it. When people abuse their freedom, the result is either crackdown or chaos. Laws are made for those who cannot handle freedom.

 

            Hardened criminals cannot handle freedom. Toddlers cannot handle freedom. The more immature you are, the more rules need to be spelled out and enforced. The whole goal behind raising a child is to develop a person who can handle freedom, who can keep the gift.

 

            As a pastor, I take the stance of my ecology professor. Freedom is such a precious gift. We are called to freedom. It is for freedom that Christ set us free. What Christ has given, I am not going to take away.

 

            This church does not exist to give members their programming instructions. We do not require you to pledge. We don’t tell you how much you have to give. We don’t tell you how often you need to be in church. We don’t tell you how you have to live your life, or raise your children. We don’t set rules for how you have to act in society, or set a lot of requirements for new members. We don’t make demands on what you must do to serve God and this congregation.

 

            If you can’t handle freedom and need constant supervision there are plenty of churches that provide that for you. We may have a higher failure rate, but those who persevere understand how to take responsibility for themselves.

 

            This church exists to carry us to the promised land. To extend to all the privilege of living free in kingdom of God. To experience the joy that results from living unfettered by anything but the one requirement that we love God and our neighbor as ourselves.

 

            I do caution you, as did my professor, as does Paul, not to abuse the freedom. Do not use your freedom to indulge your sinful nature. That leads to sin, to the failure of this congregation, to heartache, the destruction of families, and of the community.  

 

            In this country, we owe the freedom we enjoy to those who have protected it, promoted it, fought for it, and nurtured it, and to those who have lain down their lives so that we might have it. What a shame it would be to throw that all away to indulge our sinful nature.

 

            We owe our freedom from sin and death to God who has protected that freedom, promoted it, fought for it and nurtured it, and to Jesus Christ who laid down his life so that we might have it. Do we take that for granted, or do we step up and take responsibility for keeping it alive in our time and place? 

 

            Salvation is a gift from God that lasts forever, a gift that cannot be destroyed.

            Freedom is a gift from God that can be squandered.

           

            It is for freedom that Christ set us free. We have been called to be free. Freedom is ours; if we can keep it.