The concept of freedom is a funny one, and I think it’s something that one needs to be careful of before agreeing with.
When one becomes saved Christians believe that they are free. This is understood because of verses like Romans 8:21, Galations 5:21, James 1:25. Many charismatics usually take these verses to mean that we are free to jump around, raise our hands and speak in tongues. I have a feeling though that when Paul and James spoke these words they weren’t talking about the charismatic worship service, but rather talking about our lives. If they were just talking about a service, it’s easy to fake, it’s easy to get away by living a free lifestyle.
Sometimes freedom makes me laugh, because when we are free we are expected to act one way. The mindset works like this ‘You are free therefore you can raise your hands in worship, therefore because you can if you don’t you are not using your freedom.’ If that makes no sense to you, skip it. It’s definitely something that I have known to happen (even in the last 48 hours) so that is why I put it in. The question I ask to this then is if we are free to raise our hands does it also not follow that we are free not to raise our hands. Doesn’t freedom mean that it is unrestricted by anyone’s judgments or desires for how something should play-out, even God?
Freedom only comes through Christ. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not the God binds us and then God looses us. We bind ourselves, sin binds us. Once we were bound by sin, and now through accepting Christ’s sacrifice for us, we are free from sin. We are free to do anything we please (yes literally). We have choices though, we can choose to live lives that carry out that freedom or we can choose to live lives that put us back into bondage. You might say that now you are free you can do whatever you want, and yes you are true. Beware though, that what you choose will limit how much freedom you end up with. For example, you are free to jump off a cliff and you are free not to. If you choose with your freedom to jump off that cliff and you die you have now forfeited all other freedoms from here on in. If you choose not to jump, you are still free to make many more free decisions. Sin is like jumping off the cliff. All free acts don’t lead to freedom (I think that’s a Erwin Mcmanus quote). It’s not that when we were saved we were automatically free from everything, it’s more like this (and I owe this illustration to my friend Aaron). Picture us with handcuffs on. When we get saved, Christ puts the key to the handcuffs around our neck. We’re still not free. We now have access to the freedom Christ has given to us, but until we take the key and put it in the lock and loosen the handcuffs, we are not free.
I challenge everyone of us to live a life of freedom, and not think that because of one choice we live a free life. Stop sinning because you understand it restricts you from living the free live that God wants you to live (John 10:10). Don’t just stop because someone told you to or you think it will make someone happy, let me assure you those motivations will maybe stop that specific sin, but it will come up somewhere else. We need to take care of the root of the problem, usually sin is only the fruit of the problem. The key is there for the taking, so take it.
Galatians 5:1
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.