“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed” (Luke 4:18)
Freedom is one of humanity's most treasured ideas. So often humans search for ways to be free, free to express themselves, to be unrestrained and unenslaved. This brings to mind some questions: how can we achieve true freedom? And more fundamentally, what is it that we seek to be free from? Freedom from oppression, from unjust treatment, from judgement all come to mind. Alongside this however, is freedom from our sins and from our fears.
The scriptures tell us, “…for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved” (2 Peter 2:19). From the fall of Adam onwards mankind has been overcome by sin. However, with the death of Jesus, our sins are wiped away through belief in him. Jesus tells us clearly how we can find true freedom. “‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’...‘Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.’” (John 8:31-36). Let’s dissect this passage a little bit. Jesus tells us clearly that to be his disciples, we must hold to his teachings. In other words, obey his commandments. This comes with a promise, that if we obey we will know and in knowing the truth, we will then be set free. But what is this truth that we are seeking to know? Jesus later declares, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). Therefore, what we will know, through following the commandments of Christ, is the truth: we will know him. What does it mean to know Jesus? Knowing Jesus truly is the purpose of eternal life, the gift of God to those who believe. “Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” (John 17:3). So, looking back at that statement, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”, if we hold to Christ’s teachings, (stemming from obedience rooted in love), then we will come to know the truth [know Christ], and the truth [Christ Jesus] will set you free. Free from death, free to eternal life.
Without Christ we are dead in our sins, however with him we can walk in freedom. “When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.” (Colossians 2:13-14). Once Christ has set us free, this means there is a newness to life, a joy that did not exist before, and the manifestation of the fruits of the spirit. “It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1).This freedom is an opportunity to love and to act in service of Christ, no longer needing to worry about being perfect under the law, but trusting that the inevitable mistakes and failures that we make along the narrow way, through the weakness of our flesh, are covered by Christ’s blood. By being set free from sin, and choosing to serve righteousness, we are also set free from the fears and chains of death. “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, so that through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.” (Hebrews 2:14-15). So much time and energy, fear and stress surrounds the concept of death, the idea that life is perishable. This is a heavy weight placed on all mankind, and a fear that is intrinsic to us, yet it is one that we can be liberated from.
It is through Christ then that we can master these fears and sins, that we can receive liberty from its lurking presence. We can now call to God, and be called his children. “For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons and daughters by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!””(Romans 8:15)”. The freedom given to us therefore is one that puts us back in relationship with God, that allows us to rule over sin, and be heirs with Christ. Furthermore we are free from condemnation thanks to Christ’s merit, “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.” (Romans 8:1).
With all this newfound freedom from death, fear, and condemnation, what does it look like to walk in this liberty? Once made new, and given our freedom from sin, we are to serve righteousness. Scripture states, “Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?...You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness…When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.” (Romans 6:16,18, 20-22). Our freedom comes from recognizing that while we are imperfect in ourselves, we have received grace and forgiveness. Therefore we are told, “So speak, and so act, as those who are to be judged by the law of freedom. For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment” (James 2:12-13). We are to use this newfound liberty to extend mercy as we have received mercy, and to love as we have been loved. We know that “the love of Christ constraineth us…” (1 Corinthians 5:14), so that while we have freedom, because we desire to be pleasing to Christ and our Heavenly Father, we walk according to his ways. “For you were called to freedom brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another” (Galatians 5:13). Therefore, we ought to act in love, in gentleness, using the freedom we have from the chains of our flesh and the evil of this world to grow in “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control” because against such things there is no law.
Christ died for all, therefore let us look forward to the day when this freedom will be extended to all mankind and we can rest assured in the promise that “the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.” (Romans 8:21).