A NOTE FROM PASTOR MARGE
Happy Fourth of July, church family! Tomorrow we will celebrate the passage of the Declaration of Independence by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. Tomorrow, we celebrate our independence and freedom as a nation.
Every human on this planet longs for freedom in some way. Whether it’s a teenager who can’t wait to get her driver’s license so she can drive herself places, or a toddler who erupts with joy after taking his first steps, or the husband who is granted permission to build a man cave in the basement, or the older person who is so close to retirement, we all desire to break free from the things that grasp us so tightly in this world.
It turns out that the Bible has a lot to say about freedom, especially in Romans 8:1-11. The apostle Paul, in this famous chapter in the book of Romans, writes about our freedom found in Christ. You see, before Jesus was sent to Earth to go on the greatest rescue mission of all time, we were enslaved to sin. Because of sin, we were separated from God and no matter how hard we tried on our own behalf, no amount of good works or deeds was able to “mend the gap” created by sin, and thus we remained separated from God. The veil still separated God’s people from God Himself. But then Jesus came and died for you and me and defeated sin and death once and for all through the power of His death and resurrection. Scripture says that the veil was torn in two, so no more did we remain separated from the Holy One but because Christ is the propitiation for our sin, the payment that satisfies, we were thus able to be reunited with God once again.
Here’s what Christ’s life, death and resurrection means for you and me: if you have surrendered your life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, in other words you believe that when Christ died on the cross and rose again three days later that somehow counted for you, then you should be experiencing some level of freedom. And if you are not experiencing some level of freedom in your walk with Jesus, then you’re not doing it right. Then you have put the burden on your own performance, on works-based righteousness, instead of trusting Christ’s performance on the cross.
Friends, we are victorious because Christ was victorious. We are fighting from victory, not for victory. That in Christ, the enemy cannot win. In Christ, we’re free because “for the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.” As we celebrate Independence Day tomorrow, let us not forget that our ultimate and eternal freedom is found in the person of Jesus Christ.
Marge
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