The Price of Freedom
Freedom is not cheap.
Today is a day when citizens of the United States of America celebrate our independence as a nation.
We think of all those who have fought and died for freedom over the last 246 years.
Freedom always comes with a price. I am certainly thankful for the many people who have shed their blood so I can enjoy the freedoms offered by the United States of America.
But I am more grateful for the price that was paid for my freedom from my sin.
Jesus paid the price.
The prophet Isaiah wrote about the one who would have the sins of the world laid upon Him:
He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:3-6)
Freedom from sin does not come at a cheap price. Jesus Himself bore our sins and shed His blood to redeem us.
You were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. (1 Peter 1:18-19)
No matter what sins a person has committed, they can be set free from sin by the blood of Christ.
God loved us enough to send Jesus to die in our place so that “we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
So today, as you celebrate your freedoms as a citizen of this country, remember that by the blood of Christ, you have been given even greater freedom.
Sin no longer has dominion over you - you serve the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 6:12-14). So live a life that honors and glorifies the one who set you free!