FREEDOM OR INDEPENDENCE?

America recently celebrated July 4th, known as Independence Day. Yet, in Genesis 3: 1-7, is this not what Adam and Eve declared - their 'independence' from their Creator, and desire to be their own bosses?

Freedom or independence?

Sadly it is, but the end of the story is magnificent - the Lord Jesus Christ won us

back from eternal judgment by fulfilling the terms of the covenant in the garden -

"If you eat from this tree, you will die".

We who trust in Christ's sacrifice have been 'set free by the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus' (see Romans 8:2).

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We are now free to serve Christ or ourselves, and that freedom is both real and

safe because we are no longer under an evil despot (the devil), but rather under

Christ and His just rule. We are safely represented before a Holy God through

Christ’s mediation as the eternal, atoning sacrifice.

We are not without consequence when we sin, but are always covered by a Just

Lord and King, Who makes provision. Amazingly, this concept of representation under true and authorized government is what motivated America's founders.

Therefore, know this: Thomas Jefferson did not write the "Declaration of Independence"!

No, he wrote "A Declaration of the Necessity for the Redress of Grievances". A "Redress" is 'a remedy for a wrong or grievance'; in this case for a covenant-breaking infringement by the English crown upon the rights granted the colonists in every charter written, for all thirteen colonies.

Every charter had the English king's written approval, and everyone guaranteed local political representation to secure the inherent rights of the governed (the colonists). Every colony was authorized in their charters to have their own general assemblies, which were allowed to make all legislation for the said colony, the only provision being that those laws could not be contrary to the common law of England.

WOW! I actually read the charters in the research for my dissertation on the covenantal grounds which gave the colonies legal rights for their freedom as a nation. The language clearly protects their inalienable rights, under their Creator, and self-rule under authorized representatives (residents of each colony).

It would take 100 pages to cover this in detail but suffice to say that Jefferson's Declaration was based upon these grounds. Thus he cited 27 examples of both the British King and Parliament trampling those rights, illegally dissolving the charters ( a true act of Covenant Breaking), establishing a standing royal army on colonial soil (illegally), and essentially declaring war through the Prohibitory Act in November, 1775.

This "Act prohibited all trade with the colonies, made anyone who traded with them an open enemy to Britain, forcibly conscripted colonial sailors into the British Navy, ordered the confiscation of all American ships" (My dissertation, pp 137-138).

Jefferson wrote the Declaration the following year (1776), and said this after listing the 27 acts of overt covenant breaking of every charter: "In every stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for redress in the most humble terms: our repeated petitions have only been answered by repeated injury."

The founders were not men of revolution, but rather of representative philosophy of government, and did not act until Great Britain aggressively acted against the colonies, having never responded to the countless petitions. Thus, God honored the principle of covenant and gave the colonies eventual victory over British forces (a war they had no business winning, but for the Supreme Hand of the Sovereign Ruler of the Nations!).

So I ask you, freedom or independence?

I hope this is helpful. Apologies for the length, but I covered a huge event in our history in a short discourse. So, let us remember our roots - in covenant with Christ through His sacrifice - and be grateful we still have a nation in which we can worship Him. Even if that nation is on a moral path of self-destruction.