250 YEARS OF FREEDOM: The Foundation & the Fulfillment

Living Stones Series: First Published in All Around Old Bridge Publication – July, 2026, Pastor Lloyd Pulley

As America approaches its 250th anniversary, it is worth remembering that freedom did not emerge in a vacuum. Many early settlers came seeking religious liberty—the freedom to worship according to conscience. Our founding documents reflect the conviction that our rights are not merely granted by government, but endowed by our Creator.

The Constitution remains one of history’s great safeguards of ordered liberty. It recognizes that freedom must be protected from tyranny, but also that freedom requires a people capable of self-government. Laws can restrain evil, but they cannot produce virtue. A nation may defend liberty on paper and still lose it in the hearts of its people.

That is why the words of Jesus in John 8 remain so relevant: “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” He was not speaking first of political freedom, but of a deeper personal freedom. Many assume freedom means doing whatever we want. Yet experience teaches otherwise. We may feel free to spend recklessly, speak carelessly, or chase every desire—only to become bound by debt, regret, broken relationships, or restless appetites.

True freedom is not the absence of truth, restraint, or responsibility. It is the ability to choose what is right and enjoy what is good. A musician is most free when trained to play in harmony. A person is most free when no longer enslaved by sin, fear, guilt, or selfish desire.

As we celebrate 250 years of national liberty, we should also seek the freedom of the soul. The truest freedom is not merely something we defend. It is something we hide in our hearts… from the truth in the Bible and the Word of Jesus who makes us “free indeed.”