If you remember your history, you know that these words by Jefferson did not emerge in a vacuum. The Declaration of Independence came in a long line of other documents and events that were moving the colonists away from Great Britain and King George III. Many months earlier, Thomas Paine had written the pamphlet, “Common Sense,” which called the monarchy a corrupt institution, and urged the people to stand up against him. Many months before 1776, the Boston Tea Party had happened (“Tea Party” is again a popular and pertinent phrase in these days). By July of 1776, the colonies were in a rage, shots had been fired at Concord, and Paul Revere had made his famous ride warning that the Redcoats were coming. (My good friend Jim Somerville, pastor of First Baptist, and I thought today we could each dress like Paul Revere and ride into our sanctuaries.)

In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson mostly laid out articulately what seemed obvious to many people. The colonists demanded to be free to govern themselves, free to live and prosper.

And maybe more important, Jefferson’s words mark a major turning point not just in our American history, but in human history. The Declaration set a new course not only for the colonists but for much of the world. The Declaration of Independence put into place on a large scale the idea that all people are free people, able to assert rights, stand firm, and govern themselves. That is why we celebrate this day with such fervor. Independence and freedom are cherished traits, part of our heritage. The rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness remain crucial issues for our time and for all the world.

So on this day, as we rejoice in freedom, and independence, and our heritage from Jefferson, another Paul, the apostle, in a letter to the Galatians, speaks on this great theme: “for freedom, Christ has set us free.”

The message from Galatians emerged 17 centuries prior to Jefferson. This message affirms that we are free—not just free from oppressive rulers like George III. We are free from Pharaoh and freed from slavery in Egypt. We are freed to prosper in the world as God's people. We are, in Christ, freed from sin, which can hold us captive. Paul's emphasis goes way beyond politics to the very core of life. Evil and despair, heartache and even death, which we all know very well, cannot hold us. In Christ we have been set free. This is the good news of the gospel. In the waters of baptism we are been given life. In the nourishment at the table, we are given hope. In every way, by God’s love and grace, we are free from all that would hold us captive. “For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm therefore and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery.” Live free, Paul urges.  That is the word of encouragement from Scripture. It is right there in Galatians. It is all through Scripture. In fact, when faithful children asked their parents about their identity, they were to be told, “We were Pharaoh's slaves in Egypt, and the Lord brought us out with a mighty hand. The Lord heard our cry and saw our affliction.” (Deuteronomy 6:20f and 26:5f) There is to be no doubt about who we are. We are not just Americans rejoicing in our wonderful freedom today, which many have fought for and died for, and we cherish it so much. Friends, we are God’s people—with a history of being freed—from Egypt, from the drudgery of slavery, from sin and death by Christ’s love and death on a cross, freed from despair by the resurrection of Christ. We celebrate that freedom. We rejoice in it. We sing about it and want to share it with the world, yes.

But there is a very important mandate that always goes with this freedom, and here is where it really applies to us today. The sentences that follow in Galatians 5 say, “You are called to freedom, only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love, become slaves to one another.”

Friends, liberation, freedom, calls us a specific way of living. This way of living is unlike the numerous other occasions in history when one nation escapes the domination of another. As God’s people, ours is a liberation whereby we are a people with a distinct identity. We are privileged to be Americans, but we are mostly God’s people—and as God’s people our freedom intends to be used a certain way—for others, for the world.

As Psalm 30 reminds us, God has “turned our mourning into dancing... so our souls cannot be quiet.” We are to live in praise to God. We are a people with a purpose and a task. Our freedom is never for self-indulgence, but for loving and serving in the world. Our freedom is not for consuming all the resources that we can, but for sharing with the world. Our freedom is not so that we can force our ways or our desires on others; our freedom is for the service of God, working for the reign of God in the world. No longer bound to sin by Christ, we can live selflessly for others. No longer doomed to death, we can work for life for all people in the world. No longer held captive to oppression, we can work for hope and life for all people everywhere. In fact, when we are really free, our life with God and for God, in freedom, in service, is not optional; it is who we are. We are all ministers. We are claimed for God’s work and our lives have to be about life, and hope and peace, love and justice and care!

I think we are way better at celebrating our freedom than living the way our freedom demands that we live.

This past week, the Supreme Court in this land ruled about freedom and guns. I am not against guns. I own a gun. I have also seen first-hand what a gun-obsessed culture looks like. It looks more like death than life. We may be missing what freedom really calls for: in Christ we are freed; and we are to be agents of life. For freedom, Christ has set us free—not to do whatever we want, or have whatever we have, but to serve God in the world, to spread kindness and peace, light and hope, not darkness and death.

This past week, we have heard some disturbing reports from the City Jail—the deplorable conditions, the death of inmates because of heat. We are free—we are not in the jail, thanks be to God. But we are free to serve God—to become slaves to one another—“love your neighbor as yourself” says Jesus and Paul. Our neighbors, many of them, remain desperate for our help and aid. Christ has set us free to serve others, help the needy, and make the world a better place. We have work to do.

Today, we are celebrating our wonderful freedom. Thanks be to God! We are singing “America, America, God shed his grace on thee.” We are also called to be a nation of nobleness and mercy, a people of compassion and care, especially for the least, which we also sing in that great hymn, but often overlook. We are called to be less about self-indulgence and more about spreading light, less about privilege and more about possibility of everyone. Even Thomas Jefferson articulated this—everyone has unalienable rights to life and the pursuit of happiness. This is what we have to keep working for—life and possibility for all. This is what God wants for the whole globe!

What would it be like if all the rhetoric about freedom could be focused less on what I deserve, or what rights we can claim, and more on freedom for feeding hungry people, and for restoring coolness and light in the dark and over-heated parts of the broken world? What would it be like if we really got serious about the great disparity between the rich and the poor in the world? I think God is going to judge us harshly about this disparity. What if we directed more of the world's resources toward restoring creation and making peace a reality in so many troubled spots? What would it be like if we really recognized that our freedom really means we serve God—we love as Jesus loved, we serve as Jesus served, we care as Jesus cared. What a world we could build! That is what our freedom is for. That is what really matters!

We rejoice today in our freedom. And our freedom, as we follow Jesus, has a specific purpose. For freedom, Christ has set us free. May we, in the power of God's Spirit, live for love, live for God, live for a more wholesome, hopeful world, today and always. Amen