It is only fitting that on the same weekend we celebrate the 250th birthday of the greatest country in the world, that we have a patriotic message today. I don’t know about you, but when I think about The United States of America one word comes to mind. FREEDOM.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

–Declaration of Independence, July 4th 1776

This idea of freedom was at the heart of The American Revolution, and in the hearts of all those founding fathers and patriots that fought for, died, and led the way for the birth of our great nation. One of these patriots I’d like us to remember would be The Reverend James Caldwell, who played a pivotal part in a lesser known American victory at The Battle of Springfield.

“The Rev. James Caldwell is a hero whose faith, bravery, and sacrifice helped forge the United States. Known as the “Fighting Parson” (or clergyman) of New Jersey, his service during the American Revolution was a microcosm of the convergence of religious conviction and patriotic action. A Presbyterian minister, he took up military arms alongside his congregation.

Caldwell’s most famous contributions in the Revolution came in 1780. New Jersey had become a strategic corridor connecting the northern and southern colonies, so the province suffered frequent British incursions and repeated attacks. Caldwell became a military chaplain when the war began and on multiple occasions personally took part in the local battles.On January 25, 1780, the British burned his church to the ground. Six months later, on June 7, during the Battle of Connecticut Farms, enemy troops advanced on the village where he lived. His wife Hannah had taken the children to the parsonage for safety, and while she sat praying with her family, a British soldier fired at her through the window, hitting and killing her instantly. The ruthless and callous murder—suspected by some to be a deliberate retaliation against the “Fighting Parson”—galvanized Patriot sentiment and became a rallying cry against British brutality.

Two weeks later, on June 23 at the nearby Battle of Springfield, Continental troops ran short of wadding for their muskets. Wadding was a small paper square stuffed into the barrel of the musket to create back pressure and hold the gunpowder and lead ball in place until fired. To lack wadding had the same effect as running out of gunpowder or ammunition.

Caldwell rushed to a nearby Presbyterian church and gathered its hymnals. The Biblical hymns in those books had been compiled a century earlier by British Congregationalist minister Isaac Watts. Caldwell, returning to his troops with the stacks of hymnals, tore out the pages and distributed them to the soldiers to use as wadding.

Shouting “Give ‘em Watts, boys!”, he turned those religious texts into effective instruments of war to use against British repression. His quick-witted action supplied the needed material to turn the course of the battle and greatly boosted morale, helping the Americans ultimately repel the British advance.”

-James Caldwell: A Legacy of Faith and Fight (U.S. National Park Service),NPS.GOV

The reason why I brought up Reverend Caldwell is because just like he had faith and fought for his country’s freedom, we as Christians need to have faith and fight for our spiritual freedom.

Our spiritual freedom, like our American freedom, is only available to us because of sacrifice. At the cost of one perfect man’s life(Jesus Christ) dying on a cross, we have the opportunity to receive salvation, be sanctified, and set free from sin! Jesus explains this in the Gospel of John when He’s preaching to the Jews at the temple.

John 8:31-36 NKJV

“31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

• “Abide” is a verb meaning “to wait for, or accept without objection”.33 They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?”
• Here the Jews question Christ’s authority and context of His statement

34 Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. 36 Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.”

• The notable difference in relationship to sin or to Jesus.
• sin = slavery , The Son = freedom made possible through Jesus.

Just like King George III and the British oppressed and unfairly taxed our founding fathers, so does the devil and sin do the same to our spiritual lives. Satan is a tyrant!

• sin takes away our clear conscience and replaces it with the burden of shame
• If you have to lie about it, keep it a secret, or justify it to yourself…you probably shouldn’t do it
• some sins quite literally enslave us such as addiction or obsessions
• The consequences of some sin can quite literally take away our freedoms
• sin drains our emotional and mental health while causing us to spiritually die

The devil is a liar and uses our sin to lead us to corrupt counterfeits of Godly gifts and traits.

• Love turns into lust
• Hope turns into fear
• Joy turns into sorrow
• Intelligence turns into arrogance
• Patience turns into wrath
• Generosity turns into greed
• Trust turns into doubt
• Peace turns into chaos
• Life turns into death

When we let sin in and let it rule our lives we lose our freedom. However, if Jesus Christ is our Commander in Chief, if He is our strength and we trust in Him, then the battle is not lost. The victory is ours for the taking, but just because Christ has already won and defeated the devil and sin, does not mean we stop fighting.

1 Timothy 6:11-12

“11 But you, O man(or woman) of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”

As Christians it is our duty to continue to fight the good fight in our lives, in our family’s lives, in our community, and in our country; until the day we die or Jesus Himself comes back. With Christ we gain our spiritual freedom, which allows us to live up to our full potential and realize our God given gifts. We no longer are slaves but empowered free peoples of the most powerful kingdom, The Kingdom of Heaven!

Earlier this year me and my family had the privilege to travel to the East Coast for my sister’s wedding. While in the New England area we decided to explore the “Freedom Trail” in Boston. We got to visit many important landmarks and statues of the locations and people that played a vital role in The American Revolution. Such as, The Old North Church which still has the original single lantern hanging in the steeple! Outside one of these locations, Faneuil Hall(“The Home of Free Speech” or Cradle of Liberty”) there is a statue of Samuel Adams. The famous patriot who with his “Sons of Liberty” orchestrated and carried out The Boston Tea Party. Now something that I noticed and stood out to me was one of the inscriptions on the side of this statue. It simply said this:

A STATESMAN

INCORRUPTIBLE AND FEARLESS

Imagine if you would, what our lives would be like, how our families and communities would be impacted, if that was how God described our faith in HIM. Guess what, you don’t have to just imagine it, because it’s quite possible to live out. It takes faith and fight. I urge you brothers and sisters to fight the good fight and make the most out of the spiritual freedom that Christ has given us.

Galatians 5:1

“1Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.”