Liberty

Luke 4:18-19 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

 

We are coming up on Fourth of July, which is Independence Day (a federal holiday in the United States) commemorating the Declaration of Independence, which was ratified by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing the United States of America. The Founding Father delegates of the Second Continental Congress declared that the thirteen Colonies were no longer subject (and subordinate) to the monarch of Britain, King George III, and were now united, free, and independent states. But, in their declaration of independence, they also made a declaration of dependence on almighty Creator God, the Author of Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness by His unalienable Rights given to mankind, made in His image. The first sentence proclaims: “the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, and almighty God is mentioned four times in the document.

 

It has become a well-known statement on human rights, particularly its second sentence: "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." The declaration was made to guarantee equal rights for every person and freedom of the will. Yet, we must remember that freedom isn’t free.

 

The Declaration of Independence concludes with these words: "We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor."

 

Liberty is defined as: Freedom from restraint, in a general sense, and applicable to the body, or to the will or mind. The body is at liberty, when not confined; the will or mind is at liberty, when not checked or controlled. People enjoy liberty, when no physical force operates to restrain their actions or volitions. God-given natural liberty, consists in the power of acting as one thinks fit, without any restraint or control, except from the laws of nature and nature’s God. 

 

Our nation’s original coinage bore the image of Liberty. The Coinage Act of 1792 specified that all coins have an “impression emblematic of liberty,” the inscription “LIBERTY,” and the year of coinage on the obverse side. Congress chose to personify the concept of liberty rather than a real person. The face of Lady Liberty appeared on our circulating coins for more than 150 years. Liberty and Freedom are the building blocks of America, but almighty is the Foundation on which this nation stands. Remember this on Independence Day and thank the Lord for His providential hands in guiding and preserving this “Land of the Free and Home of the Brave”. One nation under God, with liberty and justice for all!

 

In God We Trust, 

In Christ, Brian