Free At Last

Romans 8:1-11

Rev. Walter M. Bosman Jr. ©2005

Last Monday this nation celebrated the most significant national holiday, Independence Day, July 4, 1776. That was the day the people of the American colonies declared their freedom from the Crown of England. But the reality is that freedom did not occur until General George Washington defeated the British army in September 1783.

Although July 4th was celebrated for many years, it did not become a national holiday until Congress declared it to be so in 1941. It was then that July 4th officially became a celebration of freedom. However, some two thousand years earlier, the Apostle Paul declared a celebration of a different kind of freedom, an everlasting, eternal freedom.

In our epistle reading passages this morning Paul says, “There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of Life set me free…”. “Free from what?”, you ask. “…free from the law of sin and death”, Paul answers. “Do I need to worry about that?”, you ask? Martin Luther answers, “Yes, for we sin as surely in our best deeds, as in our worst.” “How can that be?”, you ask. Well, consider this story.

Many years ago, a German chemist named Fritz Haber changed the world we live in. He found a way to extract nitrogen gas from the air and turn it into fertilizer, thus revolutionizing food production. Today, billions of people depend on that process for the food we eat. Without Haber’s discovery, the earth would not be able to support its current population at anywhere near the present level of nutrition. Dr. Haber won a Nobel Prize for his discovery, which was indeed a wonderful contribution to the welfare of mankind – a great work indeed.

But nitrogen also plays a role in practically every environmental problem we face today. Nitrates produce smog and haze, contribute to global warming, contribute to “dead zones” in the seas and oceans of the world, and pollute our drinking water. Fritz Haber also invented an extremely effective insecticide for use in the fields of agriculture.

But on April 22, 1915, Haber personally oversaw the use of a concentrated form of that insecticide against British and French troops during WWI. This was the first use of a chemical weapon in the history of warfare and thousands suffered the consequences. This discovery also made possible the production of the gas used by the Nazis to brutally murder millions of Jews and others in their death camps.

So what was Fritz Haber? Was he a hero or villain? Was he a saint or a monster? Martin Luther would say (and I agree) that Haber was simply demonstrating the natural human condition of sin invading all of our deeds. Haber’s greatest contribution to mankind, his greatest lifegiving good, was also the source of indescribable death- dealing evil.

In the first seven chapters of his letter to the Church at Rome, the Apostle Paul focused on this theme of human waywardness and the universality of the sinfulness that is part and parcel of our natural human condition. Having described that situation in great detail, (so much so, in fact, that reading those chapters makes one wonder why God just did not destroy humanity completely and forget the whole deal) Paul turns, in our passages read this morning, and reveals God’s solution to the “sin problem”. That answer is God’s grace. God has sought us out and found us long before we even knew that we were lost and needed to be found. And, having found us, God offers us His truly amazing, wonderful, saving grace, through God the Son, Jesus Christ, and His work on the cross.

Jesus has set us free! Hear again the words of Paul, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of Life has set me free from the law of sin and death.” This is the freedom that we celebrate each Sunday and every other time that we gather here together.

It is not a freedom that we have won through our own battle, strife or confrontation. Rather, it is a freedom given to us always and only as an act of God’s grace.
It is not a freedom we can claim through any declaration of our own independence. Rather, it is a freedom we receive by the virtue of our dependence on the work of Christ carried out on the cross of Calvary’s hill.
It is not a freedom we earn. Rather, it is a freedom freely given by the grace of God.

Now, I know that is not the usual way that we gain things of great value. Even our national independence was challenged on the field of battle by the British army, and our freedom had to be won with our blood, sweat and tears. Not so with the freedom we are speaking of today. Oh, it took blood, sweat and tears for sure. It took the sweat and blood shed in the garden of Gethsemane. It took the blood, sweat and tears shed on a rough wooden cross. But we did not, do not, and will not have to be the ones who shed that blood, sweat that sweat, and cry those tears. For Jesus Christ has already done all of that, and more, for anyone and everyone who will accept His gift of grace. All that we need to do to gain this freedom from the penalty of sin is to accept it, live it, celebrate it and share it with others.

God is with us in all of our circumstances, good and bad (perhaps even more so in the bad). We need to share the Good News, that by accepting Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, we can live into the future with the assurance that God the Father, and God the Son, through God the Holy Spirit, is walking with us, holding our hand, and even carrying us when necessary.

At those times when we are pushed way beyond our comfort zones, times when we are stretched to the breaking point, times when we think we can go no farther, God is there with us too. He will give us His strength, the strength that we need to carry us through and beyond into glory, if we will but call on Him, stretch out our hand, and receive the mercy and grace that only He can provide. This faith in the freedom in and through Christ that we celebrate today gives new direction and meaning to life. It gives us a purpose established by God through His concern for the salvation of the entirety of mankind. He gives us the freedom to overcome limitations, correct injustices, and live out His righteousness in this world today.

Do you want that kind of freedom? Do you want to be set free from the penalty of your sin, that penalty being death, suffering and separation from God for all eternity? If so, you must understand that only Jesus Christ can give it to you. Oh, that there were other ways to obtain this freedom, but there are not. Islam can’t provide it. Buddhism can’t provide it. Hinduism can’t provide it. Mormonism can’t provide it. Jehovah’s Witnesses can’t provide it. New Age religion can’t provide it. Nothing and no one can provide it except for Jesus Christ. Scripture tells us that “there is no other name in Heaven or Earth” that can provide for our salvation. It is through Christ and Christ alone. For He Himself says in John 8:36, “Therefore, if the Son of God sets you free, you are free indeed.”

I urge you today, if you haven’t already done so, repent of your sin, accept God’s grace, receive Jesus as your very own personal Savior, who died on the cross for you and the forgiveness of your sins. All you need do is ask and Jesus will come into your life, wash away your sins and set you free. Do that, and you can echo the words of Martin Luther King: “Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!” Amen.