Freedom

Liberty

The exercise of our liberty has become for most of us the default setting for our lives. However, this is not the common experience for most of history or even for many people alive today.  The reality is that most humans have lived their entire existence without the privilege of what we might call libertarian freedom. I am assuming that most, if not everyone, reading this blog is an American who has primarily been privileged to enjoy the general freedom inherent in our constitutional rights. But again, this is not the common experience of most people. Many people have lived, and even today are living, in some type of bound state.  

The idea of Libertarian freedom is generally defined as freedom to act according to your own will so long as you are not harming anyone else. The assumption would also include that you are not being compelled, coerced, or manipulated in those choices.  

So as Christians we must ask the question, are we truly free?

The Invisible Cage

The reality is that we are all born into a state of bondage. We are born as a clean slate. At our physical birth we all are spiritually stillborn. We are dead (Colossians 2:13)! In this common state we are also all under bondage to sin (John 8:34). Our own sinful nature and our actual sinful actions have constructed an invisible prison. The nature of this deception is that we think that we are free. Everytime we sin we simultaneously experience the exercise of our own desire while the binding constraints become tighter and more firmly fixed. This causes us to spiral downward into a cycle of sinning to express our freedom while actually only becoming more imprisoned by the depth and depravity of our own wicked hearts. This is the common state of all mankind without the salvation found in the gospel of Jesus Christ. As long as we believe that freedom is doing what we want, we will always be bound by our own desires to serve our base instincts.  

The Law of Freedom

So often we think that rules and restrictions are the opposite of freedom. But could it be that what we have understood to be shackles and chains are actually guard rails and safety harnesses. The law of God is not an arbitrary list of do’s and don’ts but a reflection of His holiness and character. Since we were created in the image of God it only makes sense that the truest and freest way for us to live is a reflection of that same holiness and character. The law that I am referring to is not simply the old covenant commands but the law of Christ that is written on our hearts (Jeremiah 31:33, Hebrews 8:10). This is a law that sets us free from the law of sin and death to live in the righteousness gained for us by Jesus Christ!

A New Master

So the secret to freedom is not absolute autonomy but actually a better benevolent master than the hard despot of our selfishness and sin. The Apostle Paul says that we need to move from being slaves to sin to being slaves of righteousness (Romans 6:15-23). As God’s image bearers we were not made to be autonomous, self sufficient creatures. But rather we were made to live in a relationship of perfect love, respect, and service with God forever!

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