“Independent, Yet Dependent”
Text: Roman 6:1-11
7-5-2026
In the name of Jesus who sets our souls free, dear friends in Christ. I probably don’t need to remind you but yesterday was a very special milestone for the United States. This 4th of July marked the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. It was a bold and dangerous document, because it put England on notice that the American colonies were severing all ties with them. In effect, the declaration said that a new nation was being born. No longer would the people of this country allow themselves to be treated like slaves of England. The oppressive taxes and laws were over and done with. As far as they were concerned, the old system of being ruled by a government across the sea was dead. They would now live as free men and women in this new nation.
The men who signed the Declaration of Independence, and the people they represented, didn’t take this bold step lightly. They knew England would send an army and try to get them back in line. Indeed, many of those 56 men paid a high price for declaring their freedom: 5 were captured by the British and tortured to death. 12 had their homes sacked, looted, occupied, or burned by British soldiers. 2 lost their sons in the war. 1 had 2 sons who were captured. 9 of those 56 men died fighting in the Revolutionary War. Countless other citizens of this new nation suffered and died in order to win freedom. But they considered their liberty to be worth it. Now, because of those brave men and women, we live in a free country. Everyone who is a citizen of this nation enjoys those freedoms; freedoms that were fought for hundreds of years ago. And that’s what we celebrate on the 4th of July.
Did you know that as a Christian we also have an “Independence Day”? It didn’t happen 250 years ago at Philadelphia. No, it took place 2,000 years ago at a place called Golgotha. There weren’t 56 men on that hill who signed a document declaring their freedom. There was only one person: Jesus. He declared freedom from the slavery of sin for all who would trust in Him. No longer would we have to live under the oppression of sin, death, and the devil. Christ didn’t write His Declaration of Independence with a pen and paper. Instead, He signed it with His own blood on the cross. He suffered and died in order that everyone who believes in Him could be free. On the cross, His dying words were “It is finished.” That was His Declaration of Independence. Jesus was declaring an end to our slavery and the dawn of a new life of freedom for us.
That’s what St. Paul was writing about in Romans 6. He’s describing the freedom which was won for us by the death of Jesus on the cross. But the death and resurrection of Christ do us absolutely no good unless we are somehow connected to it. We need to have the independence that Jesus won, applied to us personally. Paul says that happens in Baptism when a new life was given to us. That’s necessary because Scripture tells us we were born slaves to sin. We had no choice but to obey our evil master. But then Paul adds a critical point. He reminds us that a dead slave is worthless to his master. The master can order him around all he wants, but he’s wasting his breath. Paul says that’s how we are freed from the slavery to sin. In our Baptisms, our old sinful nature was nailed to cross with Jesus. We were declared dead to our slave master, sin. It can’t control us any longer or dictate how we live. We are independent from it. And since we died with Jesus, we were also raised with Him to a new life. It’s like the new nation that was formed when our Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4th. In our Baptisms we became a new, free, and independent person.
Are we truly free and independent, though? As far as sin goes, yes. But as far as our relationship with God goes, no. We are totally dependent on Him in order to stay free and independent of sin. This is where so many believers get things mixed up. And Paul cautions us about it. You see; there are people who believe that since we have been declared “free” then we’re free to do whatever we please, including going back to living as if we were a slave to sin. Now how much sense does that make? Do you think that after the people in the American Colonies declared their independence, they ever thought of sending taxes to England again? Or do you think they ever went around saying “God save the king” rather than “God save the United States”? No, because that old life was dead and buried. And it should be just as ridiculous for Christians to think of living like they were still governed by sin.
You know, St. Paul must’ve had some Lutherans in that congregation at Rome. Because he criticizes a faulty logic that all too many us hold onto. In our Lutheran teaching, we really hammer home the fact that God freely forgives us because of His grace apart from any good works we may do. But here’s where the faulty logic steps in. Some of us think, “Well, since God is in the business of forgiving sinners and I’m in the business of sinning, we make a pretty good pair. So, the more I sin, the more God gets the glory by forgiving me. What a great deal!” This kind of logic becomes a license to live any way we choose, whether it’s God-pleasing or not.
In answer to this ridiculous thinking, Paul says: “Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? Meh genoito!” Oh, alright. I know that’s not what it says in your English translation. But these are 2 easy Greek words you could memorize and use regularly. Meh genoito. Some older versions of the Bible translate it as “God Forbid!” Our translation says “By no means!” In modern lingo we’d say “No way! That ain’t gonna happen!” In other words, the thought of sinning so that God’s grace may increase should be repugnant and repulsive to us. It’s like if I asked a young boy to kiss his sister. He’d say, “Yuck! Meh genoito!” Or if your teenager daughter wanted to borrow your brand-new Corvette to go cruising on Main Street. You’d say, “Meh genoito!” On a more serious note, though, if someone offered you $100 to be able to abuse your child, you’d say “Meh genoito!” It would be repulsive to you to even think of the idea. Paul says that our response to intentionally sinning should be the same. The very thought of going back to being a slave to sin should be repulsive. And the thought that we can go on intentionally sinning so that God’s grace can abound should be equally repulsive. Our response to such thinking should be: “Meh genoito!” “There ain’t no way that’ll happen!”
Rather than living in that old, dead slavery to sin, God wants us to live in our new freedom. And even though God doesn’t want us to abuse His grace, He gives us the freedom to use His grace. Sadly, sometimes we go too far in the opposite direction. We don’t want to abuse God’s grace, and so, we’re scared to use God’s grace.
You see, Satan wants us to be afraid of enjoying the freedom of our new life in Christ Jesus. And because of that, some of us will only step out and enjoy it for brief little periods of time. Friends, God’s freedom is not a tight little circle that we’re trapped in. No, God’s freedom allows us to go out and fully enjoy this new life and to live it to the fullest. That doesn’t mean going out and living any old way we please. But it does mean living happily in the freedom of God’s forgiveness and within His will.
As Americans, we enjoy a similar freedom. We are free to live independent of the oppression of a foreign government. Yet we are dependent on our own government to continue insuring that freedom. What amazing similarities there are between our freedom as a nation and our freedom from sin! Similar, yes. Identical, no. The freedom that Jesus won for us is far greater than the freedom declared on July 4th, 1776. Through Christ’s death and resurrection, Jesus declared our independence from sin, death, and the devil. In our Baptisms, we receive that independence. And even though we are now independent from sin, we remain dependent on God; dependent to keep us free as we live in this new life. He does this by feeding and strengthening our faith through His Word and Sacrament. So, as you celebrate our independence as a nation, take the time also to celebrate the independence we enjoy as forgiven children of God. Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria!