![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/LibertyBell.jpg\")
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 of bondage embraced by the pains of death. Independence comes from a price paid which no true worth can be measured for the cost is so high. To celebrate freedom without the observance of the sacrifice is a well without water.<\/p>\n
Where is true freedom to be found but in the matters belonging unto God? The freedom we experience in our country is tempered by repeated changes throughout the years by the fickle nature of man. Liberty is relative to time when men seek to establish their laws. God is not like men! The freedom offered by God is unchangeable and cannot be altered by man. “God interposed by an oath, so that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us, which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast<\/em>” (Hebrews 6:17-19). The liberty given by God is guaranteed by the impossibility for God to lie.<\/p>\n The darkness of sin brings death (Romans 6:23 ). Jesus proclaimed Himself to be the one from whence freedom would come for all men. “The Spirit of the Lord is on Me; because of this He has anointed Me to proclaim the Gospel to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim deliverance to the captives, and new sight to the blind, to set at liberty those having been crushed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord<\/em>” (Luke 4:18-19). Through the cross, Jesus offered freedom to those who would be willing to take up their cross and follow Him.<\/p>\n Freedom is found in Jesus Christ. We are to stand fast in this liberty (Galatians 5;1) and remember that we are “called to liberty”<\/em>\u00a0(Galatians 5:13 ). That freedom is found where the Spirit of the Lord is. “And the Lord is that Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with our face having been unveiled, having beheld the glory of the Lord as in a mirror, are being changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Lord Spirit<\/em>” (II Corinthians 3:17-18).<\/p>\n Freedom brings peace of mind to face the haunting darkness of death (Philippians 4:7). In Christ one has hope of eternal life that transcends the mortal flesh (II Corinthians 5:1-1-8). The plague of fleshly temptation will not be victorious to those who are free from sin (Romans 6:12-22). Paul and Silas were imprisoned in a Roman jail but they sang songs of freedom (Acts 16:25 ). Epictetus (60-140 A.D.) said, “He whose body is chained, and his soul unbound, is free.” There are no cords of imprisonment to children of God.<\/p>\n Freedom comes from the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ (I John 1:7). By His sacrifice we are no longer bound in the chains of sin. Our liberty is the everlasting hope of “a pure river of Water of Life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb<\/em>” (Revelation 22:1). That is the greatest joy in our freedom. In the Spirit, we find liberty and peace forever more.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 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 of bondage embraced by the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","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":[790,47],"class_list":["post-60321","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-freedom","tag-salvation"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":56322,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/freedom-under-god\/","url_meta":{"origin":60321,"position":0},"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":88417,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-meaning-of-freedom\/","url_meta":{"origin":60321,"position":1},"title":"The Meaning of Freedom","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 4, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer Freedom has long been a cherished ideal, and people typically are willing to pay a high price for its benefits. We celebrate freedom in many ways-through memorials, cookouts, music, fireworks, and other traditions. People have lived and died for freedom, and this should certainly be appreciated; we\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":56318,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/freedom-through-gods-law\/","url_meta":{"origin":60321,"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":5282,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/freedom\/","url_meta":{"origin":60321,"position":3},"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":61540,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/notes-on-the-law-of-liberty\/","url_meta":{"origin":60321,"position":4},"title":"Notes on the Law of Liberty","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 25, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"What is the Law of Liberty? The law of liberty is something that a person can look intently at, to listen to, and to put into practice - James 1:22-25 The law of liberty is something that we are judged by and can be transgressed. It includes laws such as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Notes"","block_context":{"text":"Notes","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/notes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":56314,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/freedom-can-only-be-found-in-god\/","url_meta":{"origin":60321,"position":5},"title":"Freedom Can Only Be Found in God","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 26, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"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\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\/60321","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=60321"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60321\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60321"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60321"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60321"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}