True Freedom on the Fourth of July

A typical Fourth of July celebration involves flags, fireworks, parades, gatherings, cookouts, and a lot of red, white, and blue. The way we celebrate the Fourth easily can become the focus of this holiday. I know it has for me over the years. This year I thought about the idea of freedom. I love living in the United States of America and the freedoms we have. But I thought about a different kind of freedom this week that surpasses these freedoms.

According to the Cambridge Dictionary, freedom is “the condition or right of being able or allowed to do, say, think, etc. whatever you want to, without being controlled or limited.”[1] The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines freedom as “the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action and liberation from slavery or restraint or from the power of another.”[2] An online article cited different aspects of the meaning freedom has in our world that included: “free to be your authentic self, free to live as you intend to live, and free to put yourself first.”[3] Synonyms from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary echoed similar ideas: “autonomy, independence, self-determination, self-governance, and sovereignty.”[4] These definitions and ideas fall short of what the Scriptures say about freedom.

In the Scriptures, freedom is not for the purpose of doing what you want when you want. It’s not to live for yourself regardless of others. The world says we need to be free of standards and free of any authority. Freedom in the Scriptures is quite different than what the world says. Scriptures truthfully tell us that our need is to be free from sin. Sin is anything we think, say, or do that is contrary to the will of God. Sin is worshiping yourself rather than God. Jesus stated in John 8:34, “everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.” We know that all have sinned from Romans 3:23. The only true freedom is to be set free from sin. Jesus took the punishment for our sins to satisfy the just wrath that God had toward us (1 Peter 2:24). In putting our belief and trust in Jesus and His sacrifice for us on the cross, we are set free from the wrath of God (Romans 5:9) and the power of sin in our lives (Romans 6:6-7). We no longer have to obey sin but can rely on God’s Holy Spirit to enable us to resist sin and depend on Him to live rightly in all circumstances. True freedom is being under God’s authority and living by His standards by His power.

The freedom Christ won for us at the cross needs to be used rightly. It is not to be used as an opportunity for the flesh to do whatever we feel like doing but to love and serve others (Galatians 5:13). This freedom is not to be used to cover-up our evil, but live as servants of God (1 Peter 2:16). We are free to live by God’s righteous ways in a crooked and twisted generation to shine as lights in the world (Philippians 2:15). Free to display “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22) to those around us no matter what the circumstance. Free to bless (speak well of) God amidst good and challenging times (Psalm 34:1, Psalm 103). Free to trust in His sovereignty, wisdom, goodness, power, and steadfast love throughout the seasons of life. True freedom comes from being under His authority and He righteous laws that will lead to living life abundantly.

This Fourth of July, amongst all the grand celebrations our culture partakes in, will you join me in celebrating the true freedom we have as believers in Jesus? How can you and I live out that freedom in each circumstance He has placed us in? Free to live under His authority and His standards by His grace and power!

So, since Jesus has set us free, we will be free indeed (John 8:36)!          

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Image from lovethispic.com, accessed June 17, 2025, https://www.lovethispic.com/uploaded_images/270739-Happy-4th-Of-July-Bible-Quote.jpg.   

[1] Cambridge Dictionary, s.v. “freedom (n.),” accessed June 16, 2025,  https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/freedom. 

[2] Merriam-Webster Dictionary, s.v. “freedom (n.),” accessed June 16, 2025,  https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/freedom.

[3] McKayla Afolayan, “What Does it Mean to Be Free,” A Conscious Rethink, March 23, 2022, accessed June 16, 2025, https://www.aconsciousrethink.com/18602/what-does-it-mean-to-be-free/.    

[4] Merriam-Webster Dictionary, s.v. “freedom (n.),” accessed June 16, 2025,  https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/freedom.