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"THE CHRISTIAN'S INDEPENDANCE DAY" "For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:" (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)The Fourth of July this Friday is of course Independence Day, and all across the United States people will celebrate the tremendous freedom and independence they enjoy. Truly we are blessed! But we who know Jesus Christ as our Saviour have another kind of freedom to celebrate. We are free from the bondage of our sin and the wages of death it pays.Those two verses I posted from 1 Corinthians 15 give us a wonderful picture of the freedoms we have in Christ.First, “Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures.” He died for one reason: to pay the penalty necessary for our sins. He took our cross, made it His cross, and took our place at Calvary. Because of His death, we are made free from the death penalty of sin, which hung over our heads, and now stand righteous before God. This is our justification.Second, “And that He was buried.” Romans 6 tells us that through faith we died with Him and were buried with Him and are now dead to the power of sin. Sin no longer has dominion over us. We have been made free from sin's control and can now live a righteous and holy life which is well pleasing unto God. This is our sanctification.Third, “that He rose again the third day according to the scriptures.” The resurrection that showed God’s acceptance of Christ’s sacrifice for every whosoever will, and that sacrifice gives power unto salvation. In Colossians 3:1 we read that we are" risen with Christ." His resurrection guarantees a future resurrection for us where we will free from the presence of sin in Heaven. This is our glorification.We obtained freedom at the very moment when we trusted Jesus Christ for salvation. As someone once said, "We are free from the penalty of sin, free from the present power of sin, and guaranteed to one day be free from the presence of sin.Now friends, that kind of freedom is cause for a great celebration, and not just on July 4th, but from this moment on and every day thereafter!