Romans 6:1-11

            {Prayer}

            This past Thursday, our nation celebrated her Independence. 248 years ago, on July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was signed. The Declaration of Independence showed the unity of the colonies in wanting to sever all ties with Great Britain and that the United States was her own country.

            When we think of the Fourth of July, there are certain things that come to mind. There are parades, parties, and patriotic songs. There are red, white, and blue decorations. Our American flag is proudly waved and displayed by many. Fireworks light up the night sky across the country. Besides our flag, there is one symbol that, when you see it, you can’t help but think of our country and freedom. This symbol … it’s the bald eagle.

            The bald eagle was chosen in 1782 as the emblem of the United States. It was chosen because of its long life, great strength, and majestic looks. President John F Kennedy wrote: “The Founding Fathers made an appropriate choice when they selected the bald eagle as the emblem of the nation. The fierce beauty and proud independence of this great bird aptly symbolizes the strength and freedom of America.”

            Speaking of the bald eagle, I want you to picture a vast, grassy field. As the great song America the Beautiful puts it, think of fields of amber waves of grain. Visualize in the distant, flying, soaring above the amber waves of grain a majestic bald eagle. The eagle circles in the sky with her powerful wings catching the first rays of light. This proud bird, a symbol of American freedom, soars effortlessly through the clear blue sky.

            Now shift your gaze below the eagle. Below the eagle is a large bird cage. The paint on the cage is chipped. The iron bars, that once were tightly shut now hang open. Their hinges groaning and squeaking softly in the breeze. Inside the cage … there are crumpled feathers and scattered birdseed that provide a picture of a recent struggle.

            You see, this cage was once the eagle’s prison. Confined by the bars, its powerful wings were rendered useless. Unable to reach the open, the bald eagle’s spirit was broken.

            But then a miracle happened. Suddenly, without any effort from the eagle, the cage door swung open! The eagle steps into the opening, takes in the bar less view, and launches up into the sky with just a few flaps of her majestic wings.

            This cage the eagle was trapped in … it symbolizes the same exact cage that you and I find ourselves trapped in. This cage, it has a name. The cage’s name is sin. Sin has each and every one of us trapped in its prison.

            But what is sin? We talk about it all the time, we confess it at the beginning of the service, but what is it? Well, it’s more than just the things we do wrong. That is only a part of it. Sin is humanity’s fallen condition. This fallen condition effects our whole being. We are turned away from God and are unable to look to Him for security, meaning, and righteousness. This inner sinful condition results in actual sins of thought, word, or deed that are contrary to God’s will. Other names for sin as a condition or action are debt, disobedience, lawlessness, rebellion, wickedness and wrongs.

            Satan brought sin into the world by tempting Adam and Eve, who willingly gave into the temptation. Through their offspring, sin has been passed down throughout the generations, even to each and every one of us. King David says in Psalm 51, “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me” (51:5).

There is no escaping from this prison of sin, just as there is no escaping the penalty that comes along with it. Paul says in Romans 5, “just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men because all sinned” (5:12).

            So, since there is no escaping this cage, this prison of sin … should we just not care and continue on sinning? Should we adopt the Greek motto of “Eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow you may die”? At some point, this kind of lifestyle could lead a person to feeling guilty and shameful. This kind of lifestyle, combined with unbelief will lead to an eternity of being separated from God. An eternity of being separated from God is forever living in prison, living in the cage.

            Do you remember what ended up happening with the eagle? Remember how the eagle escaped? How all of a sudden, out of nowhere, the cage door swung open? As Christians, as believers in Christ, as redeemed children of God … the door on your cage of sin … by Christ, particularly by His death and resurrection, your cage door has been sprung open.

            Listen again to what Paul says in our reading from Romans 6. “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life” (6:1-4).

            Through baptism, you have been connected to Christ. Being connected with Christ, because of the sin that has us caged up, we go down into the grave with Him after He dies on the cross. Paul says that “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23a). But notice … even though we are connected with Christ in His death … we are also connected with Him in His resurrection.

            The sins that hold us captive, the bars of the cage forged from guilt, shame, and fear … they are no more. There are shattered, the door has been flung open. All this, not because of something which you and I have done. No, we are set free because of what it is that Christ has done.

            And what does it mean to be set free? It means that we are like the eagle that flew out and soared over the amber waves of grain. We are like the eagle in that we are no longer earthbound. We have been freed from sin, we are forgiven, and we are bound for heaven; we are bound for an eternal life with Christ in the new creation to come.

            This newfound freedom we have in Christ doesn’t mean that we now have a license to go around and sin however want knowing that if we confess our sins we will be forgiven. If that is case, we are only fooling ourselves. In our freedom in Christ, we are still called to and we still pray to not be led into temptation of the evil one. Being set free in Christ, we are called to live our lives in ways which brings glory and honor to God. We are to love God above all things and to love our neighbors as ourselves. We are called to serve and forgive one another. We are called and commanded by Christ to spread the good news, share the message of God’s love and the freedom that they too can have in Christ.

            In light of this past Thursday and the Fourth of July, this newfound freedom we have in Christ doesn’t negate the beauty of American independence. If anything, it elevates it. We celebrate the freedoms we have, but in Christ, we discover the ultimate freedom that no country can offer. We discover the freedom from sin and the promise of eternal life. Paul even says, “For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin” (Romans 6:6). So, “In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Romans 6:11). Amen.

            The peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord, now and forever. Amen.