Our 80th Word is Freedom

The simple definition of freedom is liberation from bondage to someone or something.

“For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.” (Galatians 5:13)

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For free people in a free society, it sure does seem like a lot of folks are trapped in miserable ways of living.

Some human hang-ups are easy to see, the off the charts workaholic. The nephew who’s hoping a fourth attempt at rehab will work. The angry boss everyone calls Old Faithful, because of how routinely she erupts.

Often, however, it’s not easy to tell what’s controlling people. Maybe it’s chronic anxiety or a secret addiction to pornography. Maybe it’s an overwhelming compulsion to please others. How many are at the mercy of pride or perfectionism, envy, guilt, or shame? And what about the millions who’ve been captured by the lie that following religious rules will earn them God’s approval?

Paul wrote the New Testament letter of Galatians to help people like that, like us, find freedom.

Freedom in the Bible often refers to physical release from captivity or imprisonment, even deliverance from illness.

Paul, however, uses the beautiful Greek word eleutheria to describe another kind of freedom: liberty from sin and its corrosive control. This word signifies release from a jail-like existence into an expansive new life. The Old Testament picture of this is the release of the children of Israel from slavery in Egypt into a new life of serving God in Canaan.

Jesus declared the fact of universal bondage when He said, “Everyone who sins is a slave to sin.” (John 8:34). Then He quickly added that if “the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed”. This was His mission: “to proclaim freedom for the prisoners”. And this is the great hope of the gospel: faith in Jesus frees us from the impossible task of trying to earn God’s favor, and also from every other enslaving idea or habit.

In Christ we are free from the penalty of sin and also from its power. The One who called himself “the truth” (John 14:6) said, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32), free from hurts, addictions, and wrong ways of thinking.

Forget others for a moment. What about the person whose teeth you brush every night? Are you living in freedom?

Remember: The freedom Jesus brings isn’t a freedom to do whatever we desire. As Paul explained, many of our desires, even as believers, are still fleshly (Galatians 5:17)! Rather, Jesus frees us from compulsive and destructive urges so that we can pursue the new, God honoring desires He’s placed within us. It’s a freedom to serve him and others! And to guide and strengthen us. He graciously gives us His Spirit.

Questions to Ponder

1. How does biblical freedom differ from culture’s ideas about freedom?
2. How much are you living in true God honoring freedom right now?