We have had the opportunity in the last few days to watch two neighbouring countries celebrate the anniversary of their formation, July 1st for Canadians (1867) and July 4th for the US (1776). Almost 900 years separate the two anniversaries, and the differences between the two neighbours are stark. Both countries came out from under British dominance, but the US came to independence from growing discontentment, revolt and war; Canada became a nation through a realization of a need for autonomy that led to peaceful and meaningful negotiation. Signed in 1776 was the US Declaration of Independence that did, as it stated, to declare to all the formation of a country that was independent of the authority of all others; in 1867 was signed the British North American Act (later called the Constitution Act) that formed the Dominion of Canada, declaring that God held dominion in the country from sea to sea. It’s useful to note that Canada did not gain full independence from the British crown until 64 years later in 1931 when it joined the newly formed Commonwealth of Nations (Statute of Westminster), granting Canada equal status with the United Kingdom. There were no fights; there were no revolts; there was no war.
As I thought about these widely differing stories of independence, I am acutely aware of the Biblical story of salvation. The battle against Satanic grip on our lives was fought and won by Christ’s death on the cross and His resurrection from the grave. The fight was not ours. It was His. In fact, the penalty of sin was paid and the sting of sin was conquered. From that point, the battle for individual salvation was given to the hosts of men and women who prayed and who were sent to tell us the gospel of salvation. But once we came to Jesus, His peace became our peace, His strength was poured out into our struggles, and His joy filled our hearts as we found our freedom in Him. What a contrast to the freedoms that human beings fight for. Paul says, “It was for freedom that Christ set us free” (Galatians 5:1) In other words, Jesus set us free so that we would be truly free – free from the bondage of sin, from the slavery of Satan, and the entrapment of the flesh. Then shockingly, Paul warns us, “Stand firm in this freedom, and don’t get entangled again in the bondage of slavery.” It is possible to abuse our freedom in Christ and become slaves again, using our freedom as opportunities for the flesh (Galatians 5:13). As I consider the freedoms of the country we enjoy today, I am well aware true freedom is not crafted in laws that allow us to walk in the sin of the flesh, or to make war with others with trade practices or “51st State” rhetoric, or even to live with “elbows up”. True freedom can only come from Christ who set us free. Now, that is an Independence Day worth celebrating.
Just Church
At Just Church, we teach all believers to love one another, to love Christ and to stand on our freedom in Him, and to tell those still in bondage that the only path to freedom is in Jesus: “The vision of Just Church is to establish a church in just the way Christ called the church to be – true to His Word, loving Him, loving one another, and loving the lost.”
