Thomas Jefferson wrote, “And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure, when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God? That they are not to be violated but by his wrath? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever” (Notes on Virginia, 1784). The nature of freedom is relative to what men want to be free from. Our country was founded upon the principles of the knowledge of a Creator and from His hand life is sustained. Belief in God was not ridiculed as in our day. Prayer was not banished nor service to the one true God abandoned. Freedom celebrated in this generation is freedom from the restraints of a loving Creator.<\/p>\n
The irony of our freedom is the enslaving power of self. Karl Barth said, “What was called freedom in the European age now past collapsed and was bound to collapse because for a long time and at an amazingly deep level it had degenerated into a freedom for godlessness and inhumanity” (Community, Church, and State, 1946). The Psalmist declared: “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord<\/em>” (Psalms 33:12). When a nation turns away from the foundational belief that man is to serve the Creator, society falls headlong into a godless, immoral, and self-serving avalanche of destruction.<\/p>\n Paul shows the course of man’s enslavement to self in Romans 1. First, he shows how man chose not to glorify the Creator. “For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened<\/em>” (Romans 1:21). In the darkness of their hearts, men “exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever<\/em>” (Romans 1:25). Falling headlong into godless acts of homosexuality (Romans 1:26-27) they “did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper<\/em>” (Romans 1:28). When you take a moment to read Romans 1:29-32 you will see the freedom man has found in serving the creature (himself) rather than the Creator (Jehovah God).<\/p>\n All nations exist by the power of the Creator. “Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God<\/em>” (Romans 13:1). In Hannah’s prayer of I Samuel 2, she declares the majesty of God’s power over all mankind: “The Lord kills and makes alive; He brings down to Sheol and raises up. The Lord makes poor and rich; He brings low, He also exalts. He raises the poor from the dust, He lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with nobles, and inherit a seat of honor; for the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, and He set the world on them. He keeps the feet of His godly ones, but the wicked ones are silenced in darkness; for not by might shall a man prevail. Those who contend with the Lord will be shattered; against them He will thunder in the heavens, The Lord will judge the ends of the earth; and He will give strength to His king, and will exalt the horn of His anointed<\/em>” (I Samuel 2:6-10).<\/p>\n For men to enjoy freedom, they must submit to the Creator of the world. This submission is not oppressive (I John 5:3) but filled with love and grace. The Lord protects us and cares for us. The Creator of the world gave His only begotten Son to give us freedom (Romans 6:23; Galatians 5:1). Celebrate freedom in the willingness to abide by His care and His rule. True freedom can only come from Jehovah God.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Kent Heaton Thomas Jefferson wrote, “And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure, when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God? That they are not to be violated but by his wrath? Indeed, I tremble for…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[790],"class_list":["post-56314","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-freedom"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5282,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/freedom\/","url_meta":{"origin":56314,"position":0},"title":"Freedom","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 4, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer \u201cLive as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God\u201d (I Peter 2:16). If we really wish to honor freedom, then we will seek to live as servants of God. We cannot expect that God will\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Freedom-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":60321,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/there-is-freedom\/","url_meta":{"origin":56314,"position":1},"title":"There Is Freedom","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 15, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"by Kent Heaton Freedom is a precious stone shared by a few and made precious by only those who understand its worth. Living in a land of freedom does not make us free. The heart is only free when one realizes the cost of liberty. Being free recognizes the darkness\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/LibertyBell.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":56318,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/freedom-through-gods-law\/","url_meta":{"origin":56314,"position":2},"title":"Freedom Through God’s Law","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 26, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"by Charles N. Spence, Jr. God had always wanted His people to be free. However, most people today have a radically different idea of freedom than God's. Many in the world today look at freedom as the uninhibited right to do what they want to do. We can see this\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":56322,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/freedom-under-god\/","url_meta":{"origin":56314,"position":3},"title":"Freedom Under God","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 26, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"by Robert F. Turner via\u00a0Guardian of Truth\u00a0XL: 2 p. 1 January 18, 1996 Freedom ... The word is almost sacred to the American people, and over the world today it stirs great hope and aspirations. Our Declaration of Independence calls it an \"inalienable\" right and a truth \"self-evident.\" What is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":88396,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-makes-america-great\/","url_meta":{"origin":56314,"position":4},"title":"What Makes America Great?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 3, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton It would not be the crimes that many have committed in the past or present, as such are always a blight on even the most remarkable ventures of freedom. It would not be the record of sexual immorality that produces unwanted children who would pay with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":93899,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/slaves-of-corruption\/","url_meta":{"origin":56314,"position":5},"title":"Slaves of Corruption","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 13, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Edwin Crozier Jesus told a parable: \"Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher\" (Luke 6:39-40 ESV). Peter's warnings about false teachers\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56314","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56314"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56314\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56314"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56314"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56314"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}