What is Freedom
In America, even in the church, freedom is treated as one of the highest virtues. Indeed, many will argue, after granting that something like pornography, insobriety, or abortion is objectively wrong, it would still be immoral to restrict or ban it because that would limit freedom.
Every murderer no doubt believes they have had their freedoms curtailed when they’re sitting in jail for life. NMBLA is fighting to undo the laws preventing them from living according to their values. Are their definitions of freedom simply wrong? Can the same be said for the drug or porn addict?
Freedom: The quality or state of being free; such as the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action
Merriam-Webster
With this definition, in a sense, lawlessness is freedom. Paul talks about such freedom in Romans as well.
For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.
Romans 6:20
Perspective Rather Than Illusion
From a certain perspective, everyone can be said to be restrained.
Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?
Romans 6:16
Does this mean freedom is just a veneer we put over our chosen brand of servitude to make ourselves feel better? Not so!
But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.
Romans 6:17-18
Instead, freedom is a concept that is necessarily defined based upon a moral standard. There can be evil freedom and good freedom. It’s not that only good freedom is really freedom. It’s that some freedom is wrong and worthy of eternal damnation!
Life Before Liberty
Believers should absolutely be willing to give up our temporary lives here in order to stand for the freedom to serve our God for eternity. However, this is because in doing so we have life.
For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
Matthew 16:25
This freedom is only worth it because of the promise of life. Those who are dead find no value in anything.
But he who is joined with all the living has hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion.
Ecclesiastes 9:4
Let us worry, then, only about the freedom which leads to eternal life rather than concerning ourselves about the freedom to sin, which leads only to death! They are diametrically opposed to each other. To defend the freedom to do evil is to fight against the freedom for which Christ suffered death.
Since he took his life back up and has promised that we, too, will live with him forever, let us spend less time wringing our hands about “freedom” without explicit definition and more time fighting for the freedom which Christ has already defined.
For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
Galatians 5:1
We are told we celebrate our freedom on July 4th, but Christians should always celebrate our freedom and especially on this time as most congregations are contemplating the crucifixion where our Lord purchased that freedom for us.
Don’t fall into the trap laid for believers in thinking that “liberty” is always a good thing. The liberty that is good is found only in Christ. The wages of sin is death and the freedom to serve it is a terrible thing.
