Grace and peace to you through Jesus Christ who has set us free from death, from sin, and from the power of the devil. Amen.

We were captives to sin, and you have freed us, O gracious Father. You have freed us from sin’s grip, from death’s threats, from the devil’s hollow words. You have freed us, O gracious Father – freed us to serve. Make us your fearless servants, so that we may always give thee but thine own. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

In the movie "Braveheart," Mel Gibson plays William Wallace from Scotland. Wallace was trying to win Scotland’s freedom from the tyranny of England. King Edward Longshanks of England was cruel and wicked. Longshanks’ hatred for both Scotland and Wallace grew as the English were continually defeated in battle.

In the end, though, Wallace was betrayed by a friend and captured by Longshanks, who is now older and very ill. Longshanks’ plan is not merely to kill Wallace but to have him beg for mercy and a quick death. As the movie ends, Wallace is brought to the courtyard before a jeering and mocking crowd. Then the King’s executioner begins to torture Wallace, telling him that if he begs for mercy they will make the death quick. Meanwhile Longshanks is up in his room - on his deathbed - waiting to hear Wallace beg for mercy.

After not responding, Wallace tries to speak, though it is difficult because his throat is messed up from being tortured. The man in charge of the torture silences the crowd so they all can hear Wallace beg. But instead of begging for mercy, Wallace summons up what little strength he has left to scream with great force the word "FREEDOM!"

Freedom is a powerful word. It is a motivating concept. Men have fought battles, gone to war and sacrificed greatly in order to gain freedom for themselves or for their country.

Tomorrow is the fourth of July – a day when we celebrate the anniversary of America’s freedom from England. In 1776, 50 men signed a document written by Thomas Jefferson. "When in the course of Human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve a political bond which they have committed with another and to assume among the powers of the earth the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and nature’s God entitles them.... We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

That document was the Declaration of Independence signed in congress on July 4^th, 1776. It declared America’s freedom from the oppressive rule of England.

As Christian Americans, we cherish our freedom. Christ went into battle on Golgotha’s hill, and so today we are free from sin, free from Satan, and free from hell. He went to war for us and received his beautiful battle scars in his hands, his feet, and his side. Our forefathers went into battle on Bunker Hill, the shores of Normandy, the oceans of the Pacific, the mountains of Afghanistan, and the desserts of Iraq in order to set us free from tyranny and taxation without representation; in order to keep us free from nazism, communism, and terrorism.

"Freedom" has been the battle cry of this country for over 200 years. Unfortunately, many in our country today have a much different idea as to what freedom is compared to the concept of freedom of our founding fathers. Today we discuss freedom – is it freedom from God or freedom with God?

Many in our society today are clueless as to what freedom really is. Many think that freedom means that they are free to do what ever they want, whenever they want. There are serious cultural issues facing us in our time. And each of these cultural issues is in actuality a distortion of freedom.

The ACLU and others claim that the constitution claims a separation of church and state. Actually, there is no such statement anywhere in our constitution. These supposed advocates of freedom of religion are really trying to bring about a freedom from religion. They want the Ten Commandments removed from courthouses, nativity scenes removed from the city square, the phrase "under God" removed from the Pledge of Allegiance. They want prayer removed from public school classrooms.

A teacher went into her classroom about fifteen minutes before the class was supposed to begin and caught a bunch of boys in a huddle on their knees in the corner of the room. She asked what they were doing, and one of them shouted back, "We are shooting craps." She replied, "That’s all right, then. I was afraid you were praying."

Think about these problems we face in our country: 1) We don’t have enough workers to support Social Security for senior citizens; 2) We have a shortage of workers in our country, that’s why illegal immigrants have become necessary for our future workforce; 3) There is a huge shortage of volunteers for our armed forces.

How could this great land of plenty produce too few people? Here is the brutal truth that no politician or "right to choose" advocate wants to mention: We are too few in number because too many of our babies have been killed. More that 42 million babies since Roe v. Wade. If those murdered children had lived, today they would be defending our country, filling our jobs, and paying Social Security benefits. Sadly, 42 million were the baby boom that never blossomed.

We are fighting a war on terror to protect the innocent from Islamic fundamentalists who seek to destroy our way of life. At the same time, the innocent unborn here in America aren’t protected from today’s culture of convenience and prerogative. Mother Theresa once wrote, "The nation that will kill its child in the womb of its mother has lost its soul."

Another "hot button" topic is embryonic stem cell research. Everyone wants to discuss using embryos for this research, yet they ignore the mountain of evidence that there are already therapies that are working and available developed from adult or umbilical cord cells. All this, and not one unborn baby had to die. Not one embryo waiting to be born was harvested. To anyone who wants to read the Good book honestly, the Bible is as clear on embryonic stem cell harvesting as it is on abortion.

Because everything God made is good and all of life is precious, the use of embryonic stem cells must be stopped. It is not a proper fate for a human being made in God’s image. Didn’t Jesus himself say, "Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me"? How can there be any question that Jesus meant the weakest, smallest, and most innocent of all humanity?

Another volatile issue that divides our country today is the definition of marriage. For thousands of years in every continent on earth, marriage has been the bedrock of civilization. And in all those places and in all that time, marriage has always been defined as between man and woman. However, our country is in danger of rejecting that long history and promoting a dangerous social experiment: same sex marriage.

I’m not just worried about the survival of marriage as an institution. I’m worried about the survival of our nation. A close examination of ancient Greece, Rome, Corinth, and Sodom and Gomorrah will show that homosexuality was an accepted practice in these cultures. But the same history also teaches us that these cultures declined morally under the tyranny of unbridled sexual freedom. It doesn’t take an historian to tell you that the death of morality in the life of a nation often leads to the death of a nation.

Many people want to discuss these issues as political issues. They aren’t political. They are religious. And they aren’t up for debate. We either choose freedom away from God and watch our lives and our nation go down the toilet, or we choose freedom with God and watch God make our nation truly great once again.

We can no longer think about life as Christian Americans apart from our faith in God. For too long, politicians have tried to govern while ignoring their faith, teachers have tried to teach while being sworn to camouflage their faith, and parents have tried to raise their children paying more attention to Dr. Phil and Oprah than to the God who blessed them with children.

We cannot be "Sunday morning Christians" any longer in our country. What I mean by a "Sunday morning Christian" is having enough religion in your life to feel comfortable and safe, but not enough to change your ways or to make you strictly obey God’s words.

We are called to be "24/7" Christians, strong, almost militant, in our beliefs. Ted Turner may claim that Christianity is "a religion for losers." Ex-Minnesota governor, Jesse Ventura, may claim that Christianity is for the "weak-minded." Howard Dean made disparaging remarks recently calling the Republican Party "pretty much a white Christian party", as if being Christian is a bad thing. We will answer these critics, "Call us what you will. We will not hide our faith. We glory in our faith. We are proud of who we are." We are "soldiers of the cross marching on to war, with the cross of Jesus going on before."

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. We will not allow ourselves to made slaves to sin once again. Christ has set us free. "If the Son sets you free, you are free indeed." (John 8:36) We will not allow ourselves to be made slaves again by false assertions, by cries of bigotry, or by political correctness. (Galatians 5:1) "But the Lord is righteous, he has set me free from the cords of the wicked." (Psalm 129:4) There are those who will try to call us Christian zealots or fanatics. I’ve never understood that term "Christian zealot." I thought the Bible teaches us to be zealous for our Lord. "Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the Lord." (Proverbs 23:17) It’s fine to be a fanatic of the Packers and wear cheeseheads, but it is supposed to be a bad thing to be a fan of our heavenly Father?

Among the signers of the Declaration of Independence was a brilliant young physician from Pennsylvania named Benjamin Rush. When Rush was elected to that First Continental Congress, his close friend Benjamin Franklin told him, "We need you. We have a great task before us, assigned to us by Providence." Today, almost 229 years later, I believe there is still a great task before us. I believe it too has been assigned to us by Providence – God. Our Founding Fathers did not shirk their duty, and we can do no less.

By the way, Benjamin Rush was once asked a question: "Are you a democrat or an aristocrat?" And the good doctor answered, "I am neither. I am a Christocrat. I believe He, alone, who created and redeemed man is qualified to govern him." That reply of Benjamin Rush is just as true today in the year of our Lord 2005 as it was in the year of our Lord 1776.

We cannot shirk our responsibilities as "Christocrats." We speak the truth in love about these divisive issues plaguing our country. We stand up for Jesus. We proudly teach the miracle of birth: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart." (Jeremiah 1:5) That Bible passage is even posted on the wall of All Saints nursery. We proudly teach what God says about one man and one woman in marriage: "What God has joined together, let man not separate." (Matthew 19:6) We must preach and teach and live God’s Word: "Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free." (John 8:32)

We put on the armor of God and we march, or we sit at home and watch our beloved nation crumble and fall. This means we are to take our faith into the voting polls, the streets, the hospitals, the pregnancy counseling centers, the media, our elected officials, to our friends and family. We must stand up for God and what is right. We vote people into public office that agree with us and agree with the Bible, or we vote them out. God is never wishy-washy about right and wrong, decency and disgraceful. Neither can we. Some people want to claim that it is a bad thing to vote the Bible. I believe that is exactly what God is calling us to do.

If we cherish the knowledge that Christ has set us free and made this nation great, then we uphold that freedom in everything we say and do – in every way we vote, teach, and proclaim. We can only find death and devastation apart from God. There is only freedom and salvation with God. We choose FREEDOM! Amen.

If the Son sets you free, you are free indeed. Amen. (John 8:36)