Christian Freedom

“For freedom Christ has set us free” (Galatians 5:1). What exactly is this Christian freedom that Paul talks so much about in Galatians?

Power to Do What We Ought

Christian freedom is freedom from sin, not freedom to sin. As Martin Luther put it, freedom is not the right to do what you want but rather the power to do what you ought. In the Christian sense, true freedom is not doing whatever you dream of doing or acting on every wild idea; it is choosing to do what God approves because you know that will bring you the greatest happiness today and the deepest joy in eternity. Those who know the Lord have the power (by the Holy Spirit) to choose that which produces the highest and best eternal good.

Called to Freedom

Freedom is a wonderful word but it is also a dangerous concept. True freedom leaves us with all sorts of choices to make. Freedom does not mean that we do not struggle with sin any longer. We are not yet free from the presence of sin. That won’t happen until we stand face to face before Jesus Christ. Nor are we free from the pull of the flesh that leads us into sin. We are free from the bondage of trying to please God through ancient ceremonies and religious rituals, and we are free from the overwhelming guilt of sin that was like a mighty weight around our necks, pulling ever downward.

But sin itself remains with us and even in us. Are we free? Yes! But freedom can be misused.

Freedom Leads In Two Directions

“Do not use your freedom as an
opportunity for the flesh [sinful nature], but through love serve one another” (Galatians 5:13). The biblical Greek word translated here as “opportunity” is a military term that refers to a base of operations that an army establishes in enemy territory. From this base of operations the army can then launch attacks in various directions. You can misuse your freedom by allowing the flesh to have a “base of operations” in your life from which all sorts of sinful actions spring.

We are born with a fallen human nature that stays with us in one form or another until the day we die. Even though we are redeemed and made new creatures by Christ Jesus, the flesh is always with us, pulling us down, dragging us back to the world, and enticing us to every sort of moral and spiritual compromise. It is the flesh that pulls us toward lust, anger, hatred, bitterness, violence, cheating, adultery, perversion, malice, envy, greed, and every other sin we can think of.

Biblical freedom is never freedom to sin; it’s freedom from sin. It’s the power to overcome, to get up and fight the battle again and again and again.

Love Fulfills the Entire Law

“The whole law is fulfilled in one word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (Galatians 5:14). There is a better way than indulging the flesh. Paul calls it serving one another in love. But there is irony in this. The word “serving” comes from a Greek word that means to be a slave. We are set free from our slavery to sin by the power of Jesus Christ. Having been set free, we are called to become slaves to one another in love for Christ’s sake.

The emphasis on love is all-important because it is not law on the outside but love in the inside that makes the difference. Laws can never change the heart. Christianity works because it changes people from the inside out. When Christ comes in, He changes everything. The love of God is poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who lives within us (Romans 5:5).

It was love that motivated God to send his Son to the earth. “For God so loved the world that He gave….” Christ flew from Heaven to earth on wings of love. True love sees the need and then moves to meet the need even at great personal cost.

In His final message to His men before His crucifixion, Jesus declared that love was to be the distinguishing mark of His followers: “By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35).

Avoiding Mutual Destruction

Because freedom leads in two directions, we either use our freedom as an excuse to sin or we can use our freedom as a means to serve others. If we choose self-indulgence, we risk destroying our friendships and tearing apart the family of God.

Two simple equations make the choices crystal-clear:

• Liberty + Love = Service to others
• Liberty – Love = Freedom to sin

Seen in this light, we can understand how love fulfills the whole law. It is the lack of love that causes men to hate their parents, commit murder, commit adultery, steal, lie and covet. It is the lack of love that leads to bitterness, anger, threats, and to verbal and physical abuse. It is the lack of love—and the presence of self-centered egotism—that leads to pushing others around, demanding your own way, arguing over minor issues, and dividing the body of Christ. If we truly loved our neighbor, those sins would be impossible. Where God’s love reigns, sin cannot abide.

All of us want this kind of freedom. We were born for it, made for it, and created by God to enjoy it. It is a freedom that goes far beyond the cheap substitutes offered by the world.

Brothers and sisters, we are called to this freedom. It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. God grant that we should live as free children of the Living God.

 —Ray Pritchard, condensed