To some, it would be release from imprisonment.

To others, it might be release from fear.

Still to others, it would be political reform and release from tyranny, as was the case for our country more than 200 years ago, and that which we celebrated yesterday.

Others may look back through history and think of freedom in terms of:

• The abolition of slavery

• The right to vote

• The establishment of labor unions

Still others, extremists, think of freedom as the absence of all restraint. There have always been those who thought like that, but we have come to a place in history in which the legal system has become a dangerous tool in the hands of such extremists. The rights of the few soon become the bondage of the many.

Freedom seems to be an inequitable commodity around the world. For we, who live in the United States have no idea what it's like to not be able to eat when we want to, or choose what occupation we will pursue, or worship when and where we choose, and what God we worship.

These are freedoms we take for granted, while many around the world have no such luxuries.

Some people seem to resent the fact our nation is always getting involved in wars that are not our own. Yet, I for one, am proud to be a part of a nation that tries to protect everybody's freedom - not just selfishly protect our own. I'm proud to be the 'big brother' who watches out for the 'little brothers' around the world. If we call ourselves a 'Christian nation' how could we do otherwise?

We are truly the free-est of all people on this globe. Yet, even in the midst of all this freedom, most people are not really free.

Freedom, in its essence, is the absence of bondage. Most people are in bondage to something.

We are bound to:

• Vices - gambling - check out the bingo parlors, video poker machines, casinos, etc.

• Habits - everything from smoking to nail-biting to overeating to workaholism. We are a driven people.
• Alcohol and drugs
• There are millions of people addicted to alcohol. Organizations like AA and others try to help people break this addiction.
• Drug addiction, particularly among our young people, is on the rise. Millions are trapped in a dark world of crime and prostitution because of their addictions.

• Peer pressure - many are in bondage to peer pressure. Not just kids either. Adults are caught in the same trap. "Keeping up with the Joneses", the "success game", 'reputation", having to keep up a "good image", "never let 'em see you sweat". We're in a race to see who can be the best and have the most. It's bondage - pure and simple.
• Lust and greed - two vices that can never be satisfied. We are driven by the need or the desire to have more. And it's never enough. The saying "He who dies with the most toys still dies" doesn't seem to slow things down.
• Possessions - It is not evil to have a lot of nice things. It is evil to let those things control us. It's more than evil - it's bondage. We become trapped by our possessions until our possessions have us. We become like the guy who has to own an expensive car so he can get to work and has to work overtime so he can pay for his car. It's a trap that seems to have no escape hatch.
• Self - This can be the most insidious bondage of all. Many people are in bondage to "be myself" or to "have my way" or to "protect my rights", and we don't even see it as bondage. We are self-centered, self-conscious, self-seeking, self-defensive, self-ish - and it is bondage. Why do you think the Bible says so much about "lose self", "deny self", crucify self", "forsake all"?
• Sin - Ah! This is the problem, isn't it? We are all in bondage to sin.

So here we have the real culprit - the real source of bondage. Sin! The transgression of God's law. Sin infects everybody from the Pimp to the Pope - from the Mugger to the Mayor - from the Satanist to the Saint. Sin is universal in its effect. It's an equal opportunity employer. It leaves no one untouched.

Yet there is a cure.

I'll tell you something else that causes bondage - the lies of the devil. He will tell you, -

"It's hopeless. You can never escape my clutches. You can never stop sinning."

"You're a failure. You're a lousy excuse for a Christian."

"You don't want to get away from sin. Sin is fun."

"God won't punish you. God would never really send you to hell." "You can do whatever you want."

The truth - is God's Word. The truth is - Jesus can set you free.

The devil's power over you has been broken.

Sin cannot rule you. You can master it. You can resist it.

Paul declared that he would be a slave to nothing, but God.

This is my Declaration Of Independence. My Bible. God's Word. He has declared me free from sin - dead to sin, but alive to God.

I will, therefore, stand firm in this. I am free! I shall not be moved.

Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, I'm free at last!

We are free. But we are free within the boundaries of God and His Word. Once we step out of that, our freedom becomes another type of bondage. Freedom can become a god of its own.

Do not use your freedom as freedom from God or His Word - freedom your moral obligations to God and your fellow man.

Not only is this Bible my Declaration of Independence, it is also my Declaration of Dependence.

I am totally dependent upon God!

I "can do all things through Christ"

Without Him I "can do nothing".

Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, prophesied:

Let Freedom Ring! Freedom from sin! Freedom from bondage! Freedom from condemnation! Freedom to serve God! Freedom to celebrate life everlasting!

Shout it from the housetops! We are free!