And as they bound him with thongs, Paul said unto the centurion that stood by, Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman and uncondemned? When the centurion heard that, he went and told the chief captain, saying, Take heed what thou doest: for this man is a Roman. Then the chief captain came, and said unto him, Tell me, art thou a Roman? He said, Yea. And the chief captain answered, With a great sum obtained I this freedom. And Paul said, But I was free born. Acts 22: 25-28.
Gracious God and Father of humankind, this morning we give You thanks for the liberty that You obtained for us at Calvary. May we walk in the freedom that You obtained for us at so great a cost! This we pray, in the holy name of Jesus. Amen.
Independence Day! This term means different things to different people. For the Native American, it does not carry the same connotation as it would for everyone else. For many Native Americans, there is nothing to celebrate! For the black slaves who were brought from Africa, it has quite a different meaning to the meaning it holds for the descendants of the Pilgrims who came over on the Mayflower. They came seeking freedom to worship God as their consciences dictated. The freedom that was obtained in the battle for independence from England, on Bunker Hill, on July 4, 1776, was obtained at a great cost. This price was paid, not in currency, but in human lives. Many young men answered the call of their country to, “Come and help us obtain our freedom.” They were willing to lay down their lives, so that today, the United States of America can be a free nation. So the freedom that we all enjoy, is free to us, but was paid for, with the blood of many who fought to make this freedom possible!
There was another battle fought and won, upon a hill called Calvary. This was the ultimate battle for freedom! It did not only make possible the right to worship God as we choose, it freed us from the greatest slave master of all time, “our adversary, the devil.” It was fought and won, not by an army, but by one Man, the “Captain of the LORD’s hosts.” This independence was not obtained “with corruptible things such as silver and gold . . . [but by the shedding] of the precious blood of Christ . . . a [L]amb without blemish and without spot” (1 Peter 1: 18b, 19). This victory means different things to different people. Evidence of this is the use we make as individual, of the victory obtained on our behalf. Everyone must decide for themselves what they will do with their freedom. “Whosoever will” [need] not perish, but have everlasting life!”
During times of war, whenever an army conquers a hill, or a spot, on the battlefield, they raise their flags indicating that they are the conquerers. If the enemy’s flag was there when they arrived, they lower that flag, and put theirs in its place in manifestation of new ownership. Over two thousand years ago, when Jesus climbed the hill of Calvary (in some places referred to as Golgotha or the Skull), He lowered the enemy’s flag and put His, in its place. That hill was formerly a place of death and shame, but when the cross of Christ was raised upon it that Friday, it became holy ground, and the cross became the flag of victory! Jesus had conquered! Hallelujah! The very cross, hithereto a symbol of shame and death, now became a symbol of dignity and triumph! Today, some clergy and other Christians wear a cross around their necks indicating that they are no longer slaves of the adversary, but slaves to Christ – the Conqueror!
True freedom was obtained at the greatest cost – the death of God, clothed in humanity (2 Corinthians 5: 19)! Whenever, you are at a crossroad and you have a life-changing decision to make, just remember that the salvation that you and I enjoy, that has been given to us freely, cost heaven everything, because freedom is not free! The centurion paid a great sum to become a free man, a Roman citizen, of his day. Today, like Paul, the Christian, can make their boast in Christ, “I am free born!” As you celebrate Independence Day, perhaps you would like to find a church nearest you, and join them as they worship Jesus Christ, the Author of true freedom!