Freedom!

If the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.

John 8:36

John Witherspoon, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, had been a Presbyterian leader in Scotland when called to become president of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton). Despite his wife’s terror at crossing the ocean, they accepted the call and arrived in America in 1768.

In May 1776, as the United Colonies readied for war, Witherspoon gave a famous sermon entitled “The Dominion of Providence,” saying, “This is the first time of my introducing any political subject into the pulpit.” He insisted the cause of freedom was just and God-blessed, but most of his message begged his hearers to give their hearts to Christ.

While independence is important, he said, the eternal state of souls is even more so. “There can be no true religion till there be a discovery of your lost state by nature and practice, and an unfeigned acceptance of Christ Jesus, as He is offered in the Gospel. Unhappy are they who either despise His mercy or are ashamed of His cross. Believe it, there is no salvation in any other.”

We thank God for our freedom today. But are you “free indeed”? Have you received eternal life in the Lord Jesus Christ?