THE SPIRIT OF LIBERTY

Two summers ago, our family took a couple of weeks touring significant historical sites in Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York and Washington, DC. There we saw several symbols that express the spirit of liberty. Among those are the Liberty Bell a symbol of our nation’s birth; the Washington Monument, tribute to the father of our country; the Statue of Liberty which stands as a beacon of freedom to the world; Appomattox Court House, where our Civil War ended marking the emancipation of all slaves; the D-Day memorial commemorating the beginning of Europe’s liberation from the Nazis; the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier reminding us of the price paid to secure these freedoms. Paul speaks in Romans 8:1-11 of the Spirit of Liberty.

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.

Here, he isn’t talking about a symbol, but a Person—the third Person of the Trinity—the Holy Spirit. He frees us from the tyranny of sin, births us into the family of God and empowers us to walk in victory. This week we will focus our attention on the Spirit of Liberty and what He can do for you!