Freedom

Freedom and liberty are volatile, emotional concepts in American society, especially since our political liberties have been purchased and maintained through the sacrifice of many lives. When the thirteen original British colonies decided to take those first precarious steps of freedom from Great Britain, the cry of “Give me liberty or give me death!” inspired those patriots with courage to attempt what the rest of the world considered impossible. As those years of struggle slowly progressed, the price of freedom became more and more dear with every battle and political debate. That collective investment of blood and sacrifice created in our nation a consciousness with regards to the concept of freedom as the ultimate good and destiny of all people.

Since then we have endeavored to bring liberty, either directly or indirectly, to every oppressed people or dictatorial regime that has called for or threatened our notion of liberty. What has been hard for us to accept is that once freedom is won there comes an almost overwhelmingly impossible obligation to continue the attitude of sacrifice and self-abandonment in order to keep that liberty. This is a price we have found difficult at times to continue to pay, and which many other nations have been unwilling to maintain, resulting in strife and the collapse of many newly found democracies. Freedom, we discovered, binds us to a commitment that approaches bondage if it is to survive!

The church has faced, and still faces, a similar unsettling revelation that follows the joy and exhilaration of the experience of being “freed” from the penalty and destruction of sin in our lives through the salvation bought by the blood of Jesus.

“If the Son sets you free, you are free indeed!” is the clarion cry of the people of God. Yet Paul warns that we are not to use that freedom as license for the flesh. In other words, it seems that freedom naturally leads to a regulation of my life in order to stay free from the influence of sin and death, and to keep (maintain) the liberty of my relationship with Jesus.

That regulation of my life, by following the instruction of God’s Word, is a necessary part of freedom – even though it brings me under subjection to God. The real result of that submission to God and His authority is a greater freedom!

How exciting to be His people,
Pastor David Vanderpool