Freedom can be a wonderful thing. Around this time of year, we celebrate our country’s freedom. Freedom to make our own decisions, and to run our own government. God has truly blessed this nation with freedom. However, he has blessed the whole world with a freedom far greater than any other. The freedom from sin. We are going to look at how God did this and learn how freedom from sin, is true freedom.

We must first acknowledge the fact that we have been set free from sin. Romans 6:18 says “You have been set free from sin..” There it is. We are set free from sin. Once we become part of the body of Christ and have risen out of the waters of baptism, sin no longer has a grip on us. If we stay faithful to Him, sin does not control us.

I believe it is the “how?” part of this freedom that is more important. How did we receive freedom from sin? Just like with our nation’s freedom, a price had to be paid. Freedom is not free. A sacrifice had to be made. So who made this sacrifice? The answer is Christ. Galatians 5:1 says, “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” Christ paid the price on the cross (Romans 4:25). His sacrifice allows us freedom from sin.

We must realize though that this freedom can be a dangerous thing if misused. Freedom from sin and forgiveness of sin go hand in hand. 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” Peter warns us of the dangers of freedom in 1 Peter 2:16 which says, “Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.” Peter warns us not to use freedom as a cover-up. For example, let’s say you commit a sin. You confess your sin and ask for God’s forgiveness and God forgives you. Then you commit the same sin and repeat the process. Now you are just using this freedom as a “Get out of jail free” card. God does not work that way and neither should we. We must live to be servants of God.

Freedom from sin is a blessing from Almighty God. As we celebrate our nation’s freedom, and thank those who have served our country, let us not forget the one who gave it to us. God gave us the ultimate freedom, freedom from sin.