I’m sure that we all consider the freedoms that we enjoy as Americans as a “priceless” gift for which we could never place a “price tag.” But for our Founding Fathers, this gift that has been passed down to us was not priceless. The blood of the patriots and those taking up arms to join Washington’s Continental Army flowed in the streets of dozens of cities and in the myriads of fields surrounding them. They fought to be free from the tyranny which England had imposed upon them, and as a result, we have the freedoms that we now enjoy, including freedom of the press, freedom of petition, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and of course, freedom of religion, not freedom “from” religion.

Yesterday, we celebrated America’s 249^th birthday, and as I’m sure you are aware, this date commemorates the passage of the Declaration of Independence by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. The Continental Congress had voted in favor of declaring their independence from Great Britain on July 2^nd but did not actually complete the necessary revisions to the Declaration until July 4^th. In case you were wondering, the original document was completed by Thomas Jefferson, but additional input from other patriots such as John Adams and Benjamin Franklin was necessary prior to the signing of the document on July 4^th.

Declaring independence from another sovereign nation is one thing, but declaring independence from the power of Satan is quite another. You see, the religious leaders of Jesus’ day glibly declared that they had not been enslaved to anyone, and yet they deliberately forgot their 400 years of slavery in Egypt. They totally missed the point that they were actually slaves of sin. Jesus put it this way,

“Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever, but the son remains forever.  (John 8:34-35).

In the first century, a “household” slave would come into the master’s house and complete their daily chores but would leave the house at the end of the day and return to their own home. On the other hand, a son was always welcome to live and stay in the father’s house. Interestingly, the Father is preparing a place for all of His children in His house, just as Jesus promised His disciples (John 14:1-2).

Jesus knew that He was headed for the cross, and that the shedding of His blood would pay the price for our sins to be forgiven. Remember Jesus’ words during the Last Supper when He took the cup and said,

“This is the blood of the New Covenant shed for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matt. 26:28).

And that’s why He could tell the religious leaders, and the crowds that had gathered to hear Him,

“If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36).

The moment our sins are forgiven, we are “set free” from the penalty and the power of sin. If you have never done so, just ask Him to forgive your sins and to set you free from their destructive power over your life. And then you can begin living freely in Christ, allowing Him to direct your paths so that you can be a blessing to others.

And so, let’s all continue to celebrate our nations freedom from tyranny, and beginning today, and every day, let’s celebrate the freedom that we have from the penalty and power of sin, all bought and paid for by the blood of Jesus shed for us on the cross.