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“Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death!”

The historic conclusion of Patrick Henry's address in 1775 at Richmond, Virginia rings true to us living today. He concluded, “Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me – give me liberty or give me death!”

There Are Only Two Choices

In the reality of human existence, there are indeed only two choices for each of us – liberty or death. Those of us who have attained personal accountability, stand condemned before God because of our sins. By inspiration, Paul pronounced, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23 – NKJV). The sins we have committed stand us worthy of a frightening penalty, “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). The only relief from this death sentence is to be freed from that which condemns us to it – our sin. Ironically, that freedom requires a death of its own. Paul beautifully illustrates this death when he states in Romans 6:3-7, “Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin.&quot

Christ Gives Us “Liberty” From Sin

Christ, who knew no sin, died to liberate us from our sins (2 Corinthians 5:21). To gain that liberty, we must die with Him, crucifying our former sin-condemned self through repentance, then burying the “old man” through baptism into the death of Jesus. Because our sinful self has died and been buried with Christ, we who have undergone this process stand freed – at liberty – from sin. Liberty from sin, however, does not imply liberty to do whatever we please (Galatians 5:1,13; 1 Peter 2:16; 1 Corinthians 8:9). In fact, the totally opposite is true; “God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness” (Romans 6:17-18). You see, by freeing us from our enslavement to sin, Christ has liberated us for the privilege of becoming enslaved to Him and to His commands. Some would complain that that's not much of a trade – one slavery for another. But when the alternative is spiritual death (eternal separation from God – Isaiah 59:2), that's actually an excellent exchange.

Freedom From Sin Requires Obedience

As Paul in Romans 6:17 illustrates, our liberty is not acquired by being passive. Becoming free requires action on our part – obedience from the heart of that to which we have been delivered by the instruction of God's word. That obedient action entails what Paul described earlier in the chapter – being baptized into Christ Jesus, into His death (Romans 6:3). Even our Lord emphasized the importance of baptism being relative to our salvation when He said, “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:16).

Conclusion

When we look at sin, it is important to realize that there is no “gray area” in God's eyes. We are either free from sin, through God's grace in Christ, or we die in sin – “Liberty or death,” as Patrick Henry put it. And as Mr. Henry noted, the outcome depends on what course we choose to take. We can choose either to die to sin and live in Christ, obeying His will, or we can turn a dead ear to the Lord's commands, remain disobedient, and die in our sins (John 8:24; Luke 13:3; Mark 16:16). Dear reader, which do you choose? (cf. Deuteronomy 30:15-19).