On Freedom
1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. 10 And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
Romans 8:1-11 NKJV
The election is over, and roughly half of the country is pleased, and half of the country is displeased. My wife mentioned a quote early in the election season from Chuck Colson that we originally heard in the 1990s thanks to a Steven Curtis Chapman song entitled "Heaven in the Real World." The quote says "Where is the hope? I meet millions who tell me they feel demoralized by the decay around us. Where is the hope? The hope that each of us has is not in who governs us, or what laws are passed, or what great things we do as a nation. Our hope is in the power of God working through the hearts of people - - and that's where our hope is in this country. That's where our hope is in life." Just think about that a moment.
In March 1998, I left my bride of 7 weeks and took an oath to this great nation. I left for Army Basic Training at Fort Jackson, SC, and then on to Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base to receive additional training. 10 months later, I rejoined my wife, and we lived the next 3 years in Fort Lee, VA where I served as a trumpeter in the 392nd US Army Band. I played parades, concerts, dances, festivals, change of commands, and many other ceremonies, but none of those were as meaningful as playing "Taps" for the family of a fallen soldier. I lost count as to how many soldiers we helped lay to rest – great men and women who had served this country and its citizens with distinction, men and women who had left their spouses, their parents, their children and gone off to fight in our place – men and women who knew the potential costs, who knew they were putting their lives on the line for you and for me. I am honored and humbled to call myself a Veteran. I am proud of this nation for having a day to commemorate those individuals who stood in the gap for their nation, but I also stop and think about the Savior who was beaten, mocked, ridiculed and crucified for every soul on the earth from the beginning of time until the end of time. I find it fitting when Veteran's Day lands on Sunday. A day we should remember the One who gave the ultimate sacrifice so that all of us, every nation, every tribe, can have a freedom that we can't even fully understand this side of eternity.
The Word concludes Romans 8 with a promise:
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written: For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter." 37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things preset nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
I'll leave you with a song as my final thoughts. The Gaither Vocal Band tells it (and sings it!) much better than I could. Besides, I'm a Minister of Music and Worship. We need a song in here somewhere, right?
Gaither Vocal Band "Let Freedom Ring" as recorded at the White House
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