Freedom: a word much bandied about.  It is a word so varied in meaning today as to be meaningless: freedom…from want; freedom…from constraint; freedom…of religion; freedom…from religion etc., etc.
Although many speeches and celebrations will be made today extolling and exulting in freedom, the fact is that America is not free, nor has she been for decades.  A free people do not need a government that takes in anywhere near 33% of the wealth of the country.  A free people are not in debt to the tune of $72000.00 for every man, woman, and child.  A free people do not rejoice in wrongdoing.  Yet these things are true of us, because we are not a free people, rather we are slaves–slaves to sin.

The problem is our definition of freedom: it is primarily based on materialism.  We define it in terms of how much we have of power, wealth and leisure.  As long as we have sufficient (in our view) of these things we are free.  If we do not, then we are being oppressed.  And our oppressors must be brought down.  Most particularly those who have the audacity to tell us that our definition of freedom is not only flawed, but fatal.

The foundation of all freedom is freedom from sin and its effects.   Without it all other freedoms are just sweet poison.  This freedom cannot be won, it must be bestowed by God. This bestowal is not deserved it is a gift of grace.  And it is most precious.  It’s effects are greater than a blind man receiving sight, a deaf man receiving hearing, or a quadriplegic walking.  It is in fact the resurrection of the dead.

As we grow in grace we learn how to use our freedom from sin to do the things that are pleasing to God.  This learning is like playing the piano: we progress from simple chords and musical notation to playing more and more complex melodies and harmonies until we (hopefully) become a virtuoso who can not only play but write beautiful songs.

Songs heard first in a heart free from sin.