For many in America, freedom is synonymous with fireworks and picnics and summer nights outside. It’s something that calls for big blow-out celebrations once a year, for playing familiar patriotic songs and for flying flags.

But freedom isn’t a concept that’s limited only to the Fourth of July and all that holiday celebrates. Even on July 5, when all that’s left of the fireworks is colorful paper littering driveways and sidewalks, freedom is something that’s closely tied to faith. And in the spirit of this, the News-Press asked area pastors to answer the question, “What does freedom mean in a Christian context?”

Dr. Steve Buckles, pastor of Journey Church

Answering this question during a time when we celebrate our national independence from an overbearing tyrant is really no different than answering the question if we were citizens of the worst tyrannical nation on earth. Freedom from a Christian context relates to an eternal principle rather than a temporal circumstance we may find ourselves in.

However, given the context of the holiday, in the United States, freedom is celebrated based on the recognition that it does not come from a government decree but from God himself. It is not limited to one set of men or another but to every human. That was the whole basis of the Declaration of Independence as it reads: “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 ...”

Expand that to the eternal context: Jesus Christ himself provides freedom for those who follow him, and that freedom is not dependent on any government, authority or ruler other than him alone. That is the gospel — the good news of Christianity — regardless of the situation we find ourselves in!

The Rev. Mimi Savidge,

rector of Christ Episcopal Church

It means the responsibility to be all God has created you to be. Sometimes that’s good, and sometimes that’s hard. Sometimes it’s both.

The Rev. Keith Manning,

pastor of King Hill Baptist Church

A Christian is one who claims dual citizenship, simultaneously belonging to heaven and earth. St. Augustine described this concept early in the fifth century. We derive rights from both, he wrote, and owe responsibilities to both.

The physical and political freedoms Americans celebrate on Independence Day can picture for us the spiritual freedom we enjoy through Christ. In the words of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” “As he (Christ) died to make men holy, let us live to make men free.”

Freedom, the saying goes, isn’t free: Somebody pays for it. Nor is freedom absolute. There are good and reasonable limits to freedom; otherwise you have only anarchy and the collapse of civilization. For example, you’re not free to slander, to renege on a contract, to yell “fire” in a crowded theater.

Likewise, the Christian faith teaches that freedom from sin and its consequences comes with the good and reasonable limit of being bound to God. The Apostle Paul wrote, “You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness” (Romans 6:18). Personal liberty must take the welfare of other people into account (1 Corinthians 8:9).

The ultimate expression of this freedom is to love one another as Christ has loved us. In the opening pages of the Bible, Cain asks God, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” By the time we read to its final pages, we realize the answer to this question is, “Yes!”

The Rev. Michael Campbell,

adult ministries pastor and associate pastor of Wyatt Park Christian Church

As we approach the July 4 holiday, many of us focus on the freedom offered to us by virtue of living in America. But as a Christian, there is a more important way to view our freedom.

It doesn’t take great powers of observation to know that there is much that is wrong with this world. War, extreme poverty, crime and the like clearly point out how broken the world is. But Christians believe that Jesus came to earth in the form of a man to make things right. He died on the cross to redeem his people.

As believers, we now have the freedom to serve God above anyone and everyone else. We are to follow the teachings of Jesus and do our best to love God and neighbor, especially those most in need. This becomes a counter-cultural act in this highly competitive society. But Jesus was a counter-cultural kind of guy.

This doesn’t mean that we won’t face significant hardships on our journey. Jesus never promised it would be easy. Fortunately, in America we are protected from the persecution experienced by Christians elsewhere. So, as Christians, we are without excuse when we neglect those who need us most.

Lifestyles reporter Erin Wisdom can be reached at ewisdom@npgco.com.