"Give me liberty, or give me death." Today these words resound with great
meaning for us as Americans. Especially at this time of year, when we celebrate our
liberty as a nation, do these words take on fresh meaning. But, for all the fireworks and
pageantry, you must wonder whether any of us really comprehend what our liberty really
means. Can we really comprehend what it means to be free? Most, if not all of you, have
never lived under tyranny. Not knowing how terrible that would be, we tend to take our
liberty for granted. As with anything taken for granted, we tend not to value it very
highly. If we were ever to lose it, then we would value it indeed. Those who have lived
under tyranny can tell us just how wonderful these freedoms are that we take for granted.
In many corners, liberty has been redefined to mean absolute freedom. But we should say
that this concept was never envisioned by those who fought for our freedoms. They fought
to liberate us from tyranny. Liberty for them was freedom from tyranny. It was also
freedom with responsibility. Indeed, their belief that people ought to be free, coupled
with there sense of responsibility is what moved them to do something about the situation
in the first place.
This year, there is a popular movie that has just been released. It is called Independence
Day, and it is playing in theaters everywhere. Aliens, not of the illegal kind but of
the extraterrestrial kind, have apparently decided that they need to destroy the
population of Planet Earth. We are viewed like cockroaches and they need to do a little
house cleaning. Now when you are faced with such a foe, you really only have two options.
Those options come down to liberty or death. Indeed, these are the only two options that
Patrick Henry saw as he tried to convince others to fight. Let's look at his great
statement in context. It comes from a speech to Virginia Convention in Richmond on March
23, 1775:
It is vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. The gentlemen may cry, Peace, peace! but there is no peace. The war has actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that the gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God. I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!
There were only two options for Patrick Henry. And in a very real sense, there are only
two options available for human kind. You see, in the spiritual realm there are only two
choices. The first choice is spiritual liberty. The second choice is spiritual death. All
people everywhere could be placed in one of these two categories. They are either
spiritually alive or spiritually dead. And the good news is that God has opened the way to
liberty for us all. This is the message of independence that the world so desperately
needs to hear. This is the message of independence that our country needs to heed. It is
good news in a world filled with bad news. The good news is that Jesus Christ suffered
death so we could enjoy life. He endured death so we could enjoy liberty.
9
Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! 10 For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11 Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. (Romans 5:9-11)
The good news begins by talking about death. That seems like a strange place to begin.
But we are not talking about the reality of death in general, but the specific death of a
real Person. The good news is about the death of Christ. The Gospel teaches that Christ
gave His life for us, by dying in our place and for our benefit.
There are three questions that we may answer by looking at His life given for us. The
first question is "Why?" Why did Christ give His life for us? What motivated Him
to make that kind of sacrifice? Actually, the answer is given in verse 8 of this chapter. "But
God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for
us." Christ gave His life for us. Why? - because of love. He loves us. And He
demonstrated that love through giving His life.
The second question is "When?" When did Christ give His life for us? Now we
are not talking about a date here. We are talking about something far more important. The
answer's found in verse 10. When did Christ give His life for us? - when we were God's
enemies. In other words, Christ's love is so broad that it reaches even to His
enemies. That was our position. And the fact that Christ gave His life for us while we
were God's enemies indicates the unlimited nature of His love.
The final question is "How?" How did Christ give His life for us? In verse 9
it says that we have been justified by his blood. When we talk and sing about the
blood of Christ, we are not trying to be goulish or gross. The blood of Christ symbolizes
His life poured out. It reminds us that He gave His life. How? - through a sacrificial
death. Christ's salvation may be free to us but it cost God dearly. Our salvation cost God
the death of His Son. It may be free, but it is not cheap. And He did it because He loves
us.
Not only does the Gospel teach that Christ gave His life for us, it also teaches that
Christ gives His life to us. We are told that we shall be saved through his
life! Christ lives in order to liberate us.
Christ not only died but He rose again. He was not simply a martyr. He did not merely
die for a cause. He did not simply die to give us an example of sacrificial love. He rose
again in order to do a powerful work in our lives. Christ lives in order to live in us!
His life becomes our life. He not only dismisses the charges against us, He takes up His
residence in us in order to empower us to live our lives in new ways.
This is what the Bible refers to as being saved. You see, Christ lives in order
to save us completely. Salvation, you see, is an ongoing process that begins when we are reconciled
to him, and continues until we are fully saved.
Don't misunderstand me here. I am not saying that you may not stay saved once you are
saved. We are not talking about the security of your salvation, only the process. You see,
there are three stages of salvation. Let's look at them briefly.
The first is justification. Through justification we are liberated from the penalty of
sin. When we are justified, our sinful record is cleared. All charges against us are
dropped. We are forgiven. We are made just-as-if-we-had-never-sinned. The righteousness of
Christ is credited to our account. The penalty of sin is satisfied.
The second stage of salvation is sanctification. Through sanctification we are
liberated from the power of sin. Sin has held us in its power for many years. We have
developed sinful habits, sinful ways of thinking, sinful ways of reacting, and we must
learn to live like someone who is free from sin. Sanctification is the process by which
God liberates us from sin's power. It is not a once and for all experience. It is a
process by which we are progressively set apart for God. As we seek to live in obedience
to God and His word, we are transformed into persons who act more and more like Christ.
The power of sin over our lives is broken as this new life begins to emerge. And the more
we follow Christ, the less influence sin ought to have over us.
The third stage of salvation is glorification. Through glorification we are liberated
from the presence of sin. As long as we are still living on planet Earth in these human
bodies, we will always experience the presence of sin. Sin is everywhere around us. The
lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life will never be far away as
long as we are here. But the Bible teaches that one day we will be liberated from sin's
presence. It is the day that we are glorified. It is the day when Jesus Christ returns to
bring all of history to a conclusion. Then, the Bible teaches that we will be changed in
the twinkling of an eye. It teaches that this mortal body will be exchanged for an
immortal one. We will be glorified. Then, we will be totally saved. Of course, the good
news is that if God has begun this work in you, He will never quit until it is fully
accomplished.
12
Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned- 13 for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come. (Romans 5:12-14)
God's salvation is given to take care of the problem that plagues all of humanity. It
is a problem of a sinful legacy. The whole reason that we can talk about being delivered
from sin's presence, penalty and power is because sin must be reckoned with.
Look at sin's presence. Sin is everywhere around us. We are taught that sin entered
the world through one man. This is referring to Adam, the first man. As the first man,
Adam was the representative of the human race. When he chose to disobey God, the result of
that choice was the entrance of sin into the world. This is our sinful legacy. Since that
time, sin has been ever with us. And it is everywhere to be seen today. We do not need to
talk about sins "out there" in the world. We can look right here at ourselves.
Every single one of us have sinned. So the one thing we can say about sin's presence is
that it is real.
Look now at sin's penalty. We are naive to think that there is no consequence for sin.
Indeed, deep down within each one of us there is the knowledge that sin deserves a
penalty. And the penalty is death through sin. Death in all its varieties is the
penalty for sin. - physical death and spiritual death. So the one thing we can say about
sin's penalty is that it brings death.
Look finally at sin's power. We see the extent of its power in the little phrase "death
reigned" found in verse 14. And death has reigned in all ages and among all
people. Everyone dies. None of us is exempt. One of the two things that we say is certain
is death. So the one thing that we can say about sin's power is that it is unrelenting.
You see, this is the problem of a sinful legacy. This is our problem as a human race.
The reality of the presence, penalty, and power of sin is one that we can not avoid. This
is why we all need to be saved.
15
But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! 16 Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man's sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. 17 For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. 18 Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. 19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. 20 The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, 21 so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 5:15-21)
The solution to our problem, however, is not to be found by redoubling our efforts to
be better people. It is not to be found in more and better education. It is not to be
found in more and better communication. It is only to be found by looking outside of
ourselves to a power greater than ourselves. The solution is to be found in the power of a
supernatural life. Unless we have a supernatural life given to us by a supernatural God,
we will never be free. Instead of liberty, we will experience death.
Let's look first at the power of the gift of God. We are told that the gift is not
like the trespass. In other words, the gift is far more powerful than the trespass.
This phrase "how much more" indicates that the gift is greater and more
powerful than our sin.
Notice what this gift has done for us. First, it has released us from blame. Our sin brought
condemnation. In contrast to that, the gift . . . brought justification. We
stood condemned before God, and justly so. We were guilty as charged. But because of the
gift of God we can be released from the blame and stand before God blameless.
Furthermore, the gift has released us from bondage. We have already been told how death
reigned. Sin is unrelenting. And the reign of death has exempted no one. But we are
told that through the gift of righteousness we shall reign in life through the
one man, Jesus Christ. What this means is that Jesus Christ is more powerful than the
reign of death. He causes us to reign in life. In other words, we are released from
the bondage of the power of sin through Jesus Christ. His gift has set us free. Though we
may still choose to sin, we do not have to make that choice anymore.
One man through his disobedience caused us to be made sinners.
That man was Adam. But through one man and His obedience we are made
righteous. That man is Jesus Christ. It is His supernatural life that has been
imparted to us.
Look now at the power of grace. We have already talked about the presence of sin. It is
everywhere. But we read in verse 21 that where sin increased, grace increased all the
more. The power of grace is revealed in its abundant supply. There is more than enough
grace to go around. There is no sin too big. There is no sin too terrible. All of the sins
put together could never exhaust the grace of God.
We are also told that just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign.
And the purpose of this reign of grace is to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ
our Lord. God's grace is a part of His plan and it is God's purpose that grace
might reign. So the power of grace is revealed in its absolute sovereignty. No one can
cancel the effect of God's grace. You may ignore it, but you can't destroy it. God's grace
is sufficient and powerful enough to deliver everyone from the power, penalty and presence
of sin. And it is powerful enough to deliver you.
The price of freedom has always been death. Patriots won our nation's freedom by giving
their lives to secure it. Many over the years have given their lives to preserve it. Jesus
died so we could live and not die. Liberty or death - these are our choices. I don't know
about you, but give me liberty.
Copyright (C) 1996 J. David Hoke. This data file is the sole property of the copyright holder and may be copied only in its entirety for circulation freely without charge. All copies of this data file must contain the above copyright notice.
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