Celebration of Freedom

It’s 2026 and our Theme is “Embrace Transformation.”

During the months of June and July, I am preaching the sermons that you requested. I call it, “Hot Topics.”

It’s a holiday weekend and we thought it was a good time to do something special.

So we made it a Sunday breakfast with pancakes and egg casseroles.

And while we are seated around tables, why not do worship a little different as well?

After all, it’s a free country!

It’s not just Independence day - it’s the historic 250th anniversary of the signing of the declaration of independence!

That call for some celebration - a celebration of freedom!

But instead of me preaching a sermon - how about we have some conversation?

I will share some thoughts and some scriptures and you all will talk around your tables.

Instead of closing with questions for reflection - the questions will be the sermon.

What is freedom?

Leviticus 25:10 NKJV

10 And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee for you; and each of you shall return to his possession, and each of you shall return to his family.

American identity has been formed around freedom as an ideal, but where does that freedom come from?

The Declaration of Independence A Transcription

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.—That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, —That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government

The preamble to the Declaration of Independence appeals to a higher authority in declaring autonomy - what is their basis for doing so?

Constitution of the United States of America The Constitution of the United States of America

The Constitution of the United States of America

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

What is the Blessing of Liberty?

Why is it capitalized?

Where does freedom come from?

What is freedom and where does it come from?

The basis for liberty or freedom in the Bible is that everything belongs to God - especially people who are made in His image.

The year of jubilee was a reminder that people, possessions, even the land that we live on doesn’t belong to us permanently, but that we are stewards of this earth and of each other.

After all, none of us are here permanently either.

The impulse to possess and control are contrary to the Biblical ideas of freedom and liberty.

That is what the founding fathers were declaring in their documents.

Many today interpret freedom as the right to possess and to control other people - nothing could be further from the original intent of the founders.

Some today are afraid of Christian Nationalism - the idea that Christians might seize control of the government and try to make everyone follow their rules.

This language is promoting fear of a kind of Christianity that is just the opposite of what Christianity teaches.

My concern is that people will misunderstand and go to the other extreme - thinking that Christians shouldn’t be involved in political thought and discourse at all.

In fact, an understanding of Christian freedom is necessary context for understanding our founding documents.

What are the limits of freedom?

Doesn’t the constitution give us the freedom to do whatever we want?

What is one person’s so-called rights infringe on the rights of another person?

Why do we have a government if the founders were opposed to government?

Common Sense Of the Origin and Design of Government in General.

Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one; for when we suffer, or are exposed to the same miseries BY A GOVERNMENT, which we might expect in a country WITHOUT GOVERNMENT, our calamity is heightened by reflecting that we furnish the means by which we suffer. Government, like dress, is the badge of lost innocence; the palaces of kings are built on the ruins of the bowers of paradise. For were the impulses of conscience clear, uniform, and irresistibly obeyed, man would need no other lawgiver; but that not being the case, he finds it necessary to surrender up a part of his property to furnish means for the protection of the rest; and this he is induced to do by the same prudence which in every other case advises him out of two evils to choose the least. WHEREFORE, security being the true design and end of government, it unanswerably follows, that whatever FORM thereof appears most likely to ensure it to us, with the least expense and greatest benefit, is preferable to all others.

Thomas Paine was not an author or a signer of the Declaration of Independence. But he is called the Father of the American Revolution.

His pamphlet that he published the same year - 1776 - called “Common Sense” was widely read and greatly influenced the founding fathers.

Paine pointed out that it was not God’s original intention to establish a monarchy, but that it was a concession because of man’s sinful nature.

Common Sense Of Monarchy and Hereditary Succession

Government by kings was first introduced into the world by the Heathens, from whom the children of Israel copied the custom. It was the most prosperous invention the Devil ever set on foot for the promotion of idolatry. The Heathens paid divine honours to their deceased kings, and the Christian world hath improved on the plan, by doing the same to their living ones. How impious is the title of sacred majesty applied to a worm, who in the midst of his splendor is crumbling into dust!

This was an important correction to the claim of royal families to have the “divine right to rule.”

Paine believed that government was a necessary evil because of our sinful nature.

In fact, he compares the inherited right of kings to the inherited sinful nature.

Common Sense Of Monarchy and Hereditary Succession

If the first king of any country was by election, that likewise establishes a precedent for the next; for to say, that the RIGHT of all future generations is taken away, by the act of the first electors, in their choice not only of a king, but of a family of kings for ever, hath no parallel in or out of scripture but the doctrine of original sin, which supposes the free will of all men lost in Adam; and from such comparison, and it will admit of no other, hereditary succession can derive no glory. For as in Adam all sinned, and as in the first electors all men obeyed; as in the one all mankind we re subjected to Satan,

Let’s stand and read Romans 13:1-14 together.

Romans 13:1–14 ESV

1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7 Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. 8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. 11 Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. 12 The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

What are the necessary limits to our personal freedom? What is the appropriate role of government? What is the Biblical ideal of freedom supposed to teach us?

Freedom was never about doing whatever we want - it was always about learning to be the people God created us to be.

The Biblical concept of freedom leads to mutual love and respect.

Governments enforce what people are unwilling to learn and demonstrate on their own.

The goal of freedom is that we learn and grow in doing what is right and good.

That is not possible without God.

And it is not possible to know what God want from us without the Bible.

Biblical teaching and values are essential to walking as free people.

What are the responsibilities that come with freedom?

Freedom is not just a right, it is a personal choice.

People who choose to use their freedom in a way that infringes on that of others will find themselves to be no longer free.

Freedom is really an embodiment of living a life committed to what is right and good.

It is living the way that God intended - according to the guidelines that God lays out for us in the scripture.

We believe that if we live according to what is right and true, that it will lead to freedom, not just for ourselves, but for all of God’s children.

Freedom is not a privilege for a few, but a universal principle that works whether you believe it or not.

Look up the following scriptures around your table and list the responsibilities that come with freedom:

Galatians 5:13 ESV

13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

1 Peter 2:16 ESV

16 Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.

1 Corinthians 8:9 ESV

9 But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.

1 Corinthians 10:23–24 ESV

23 “All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. 24 Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.

James 1:25 ESV

25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

1 Corinthians 9:19 ESV

19 For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them.

Freedom is not free. It comes at a cost and is walked out with a sense of responsibility. What are some of the responsibilities that come with freedom?

We are responsible to use our freedom to serve one another.

We are responsible to use our freedom to pursue truth and justice.

We are responsible to use our freedom to care for the weak and vulnerable.

We are responsible to use our freedom to build up and do good to others.

We are responsible to use our freedom to persevere in doing what is right.

We are responsible to use our freedom to win people for Christ.

Common Sense Of Monarchy and Hereditary Succession

Of more worth is one honest man to society and in the sight of God, than all the crowned ruffians that ever lived.

We are going to close with communion - celebrating the ultimate freedom which Christ has purchased for us with His own blood.

1 Corinthians 11:23–24 ESV

23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

1 Corinthians 11:23–24 ESV

23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

Our freedom in Christ also comes with a responsibility -

Galatians 5:1 ESV

1 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.