As I read America’s Declaration of Independence this morning, I was struck by its many parallels to our times. The Declaration included a list of 27 grievances committed by the British king against the original “united States of America.” For these reasons, the colonies determined to be “Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown” and to live as “Free and Independent States.” (Uppercase and lowercase have been preserved from the original document.)
We have jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire, for the Declaration’s grievances against the king have parallels to problems we face now.
Consider the truth of Romans 6:16, “Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slave whom you obey”? We have a king called sin that continues to upset our “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” We are still slaves to this king.
The Declaration states that the British king “has refused his Assent to [the colonist’s] Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.” This modern king over us, which has existed since the dawn of man’s history, refuses to accept the laws God gave us in the Bible that are necessary for our good. The reign of this king is reflected in our own distaste toward those laws.
God’s laws help us detect this sin in us, as Romans 3:20 says, “by the law is the knowledge of sin.” If we know how God wants us to live and reject it, then that exposes the tyrant of sin at work in us. For instance, “You shall not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14) means sexual relations are restricted to people joined in the common bond of marriage. When we refuse this restriction, sin is in control. We are slaves to sin. We are not as free as we supposed.
Jesus told His believers, “If you abide in My Word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31-32). Jesus gives us the context of this freedom when He said, “whoever commits sin is a slave of sin” (v. 34). He is saying that His followers can be free from the tyranny of sin. We can live a life well-pleasing to God.
What is the truth that sets us free from sin? It is a truth the Holy Spirit leads His faithful students of the Bible to grasp. Follow along with me.
The “Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled,” made a declaration of freedom from the British king. The Holy Spirit leads us to make a similar declaration of freedom–from the old life of sin.
The writers of the Declaration recognized that a new government needed to replace the old if they wanted to be freed from the destructiveness of the latter. “That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive…, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government.”
When we see how sin has become destructive in every level of human government, across the fields of health, science, technology, military, business, education, and every other human endeavor–when we acknowledge this truth–then we need a change of government. Which area of human institution is without acrimony and division?
A new government needs to be formed. Sin must be dethroned and King Jesus made Lord of our hearts. But how?
By His believers making a Declaration based on the work of Christ on our behalf. Romans 6:10 tells us that Christ “died to sin once for all.” Since He is our Representative of the new Government, we are told to be like Him and count ourselves “to be dead indeed to sin” in verse 11.
Back in verse 10, we furthermore read of Christ, that “the life He lives, He lives to God.” Christ Jesus is our Representative, so we also count ourselves to be “alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (v. 11).
The early American settlers were in a new country, far from their British counterparts. When we were born again by putting our trust in Christ Jesus, we were placed in Him, dead to our earlier life, and separated from it. We were placed in a heavenly country, into a spiritual sphere of life. The Bible calls it the Kingdom of God.
As Christ presents Himself to live for God the Father, we also present ourselves to God, to live for Him. Thus we move out from under the slavery of sin and into submission to a better Master. We assert what the Bible says is true. When by the illumination of the Spirit we hold these biblical truths to be self-evident, we are set free.
When we do not read the Word of God for ourselves, we become prey to the mind-altering messages from a world system that has been corrupted by sin. Social media is very good at doing this. How many of our perspectives have been adjusted by the constant bombardment of certain views until they became our own?
Then we keep looking to humankind for deliverance from the corrupting influences of our institutions. Yet sin in us brought about these grievous problems. And the messages of these institutions, guided by sin, consistently point us away from God and true deliverance.
Builders set up a plumb line to make sure their structure is going up straight. The Bible is our plumb line to make sure we are growing up straight. All the information we gather from social media and human institutions, aligned with the plumb line, will be clearly seen to be off.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…” Our Creator made us equally and always to be under the reign of something. Whatever we submit to, we are slaves to it. We may submit ourselves to sin as its slaves, or submit to God to serve Him. We were originally made to live under God’s beneficial rule. The entrance of sin ruined that.
Submitting to Jesus by faith, to follow the laws of the heavenly government of God, sets us free from the tyranny and power of sin. Placed in Christ Jesus, we are no longer beholden to sin. We can make this declaration morning by morning. Whenever you are tempted by sin, immediately “present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God” (Romans 6:13).
We present our eyes, ears, and mouths to God for His righteous use. We press our heart, soul, mind, and strength into His service for good. This is what the life of faith looks like. This is what our Declaration of Independence from sin looks like. This is what a saved people look like, who are looking for the coming reign of the King of Kings, that we may be one nation under God at last.
