Christian Living
February 6, 2012 – Slave or Free?
16 [Live] as free people, [yet] without employing your freedom as a pretext for wickedness; but [live at all times] as servants of God. – 1 Peter 2:16 AMP
Freedom in Christ is a building block of Christianity. Jesus Himself said that if the Son set us free, then we were free indeed (John 8:36). But there is more to freedom than meets the eye.
The word freedom has many connotations in society today. People who live in what is called a free country understand that to mean that they can do whatever they want. At work, our boss sometimes relaxes his control in certain situations and gives us additional freedom. Here in the United States, we even have the right to speak our mind when we want because the Constitution guarantees us the right to freedom of speech. When Jesus said we would be free, He could have been all over the place.
If it were not for Peter and Paul, the Christian faith universal would take all sorts of meanings from their freedom in Christ. Paul was quick to point out to the Corinthian church that if certain behaviors weren’t helpful for their faith, they could become slaves to it (1 Corinthians 6:12). But Peter puts it a little more blunt for those who claim that Paul said one thing but meant another: don’t let your freedom become an excuse for wickedness. But some Christians and churches alike have missed that one by a mile. Instead of using their freedom to avoid evil, they use it to play with it more freely.
I have seen Christians for years who have failed to give up sinful behavior in their life. Whether it’s sexual sin, substance abuse, or even continuing to use profanity, there seems to be no end to the sins that Christians commit. But there is a two-fold blame. First, the blame must be first placed on the believer, who has more desire to keep sinful behavior under a pretense of freedom, rather than learn what the Bible says about sins they desire to keep in their life so badly. But churches are also to blame. They are to blame because they are increasingly becoming a place where, just like the song Home on the Range, they are a place where never is heard, a discouraging word, and the skies are not cloudy all day.
This is a big lie for both the believer as well as the church. The truth is that there are Christians worldwide who need to be free, and they enter the doors of a church every Sunday seeking that freedom. The church tells them that all they need is love and grace, and POOF, they’re free! Then they go home wearing the same shackles they had on when they arrived. Sure, I agree that churches should be a place where there are words of encouragement. But there should also be correction offered out of love. There should be warning about ungodly behavior. Believe it or not, Christianity is not all rainbows and butterflies as some churches would have you believe.
I remember telling Marlo a few years back during a major trial in our marriage that life was easier before I was saved. Her response was, of course it was, because the devil already had you then. Now I’m not one of those Christians who will always say that I’m being attacked by the devil, although I’m sure most of you out there will undoubtedly say that you know at least one person like that. What I’m saying is that, looking back on my past, I can see vividly that I never fully understood my freedom in Christ.
You see, we cannot use our freedom in Christ as a pretext for wickedness. Look at Jesus words.
34 Jesus answered them, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, Whoever commits and practices sin is the slave of sin. 35 Now a slave does not remain in a household permanently (forever); the son [of the house] does remain forever. 36 So if the Son liberates you [makes you free men], then you are really and unquestionably free. – John 8:34-36 AMP
Let’s be honest. Wickedness is sin. Jesus says that whoever practices sin is a slave to it. But Jesus liberates us from our slavery to sin. Through our relationship with Him we are free indeed. This is where there is a breakdown in understanding. If we are free from sin, there is no more wickedness in us. If evil does not exist, then churches and their leaders will never try to manipulate members. Church members will stop gossiping and start loving. Christians will not accept anything in their life that compromises God’s Word. It will happen because none of them are slaves to sin any longer.
Jesus doesn’t say that some of us are children to sin. Children of sin, like children of the house, remain in sin forever. Sinners are merely slaves to sin. Since there is only a slave relationship, then it is possible to be set free. But we must all be willing to leave that old life behind. It requires that we live life differently. It requires that we put down old behaviors. It requires that we stop going to places we went before. Hey, it may even require changing churches.
Look at it from this perspective. Before and during the Civil War here in the United Sates, countless numbers of slaves fled the oppression of their masters on southern plantations to become free. They moved north with no assurances. They didn’t know what to expect. They only knew they would be free. They risked their very life with that hope. And they never looked back.
Who are you? Are you a slave to sin, or are you free in Christ? Are you prepared to put down everything in your life to be free, or are you keeping old behaviors because you think you’re free? Is your church reinforcing your definition of freedom? There has to be a point for everyone where freedom means simply leaving the past in the past. Only then will you be able to see the slave you used to be.
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