FREEDOM, OR THE LACK OF IT , is first a habit of the mind. While free will is hypothetically ours without measure, in reality we are subject to limitations beyond our control. We do not choose our country of origin, with whatever opportunity or lack thereof exists because of that. We do not choose our birth family, nor our formative early-life experiences. We may succeed or fail in our hopes and dreams of success depending on both our abilities and will, but random circumstances play a part, serendipitously or otherwise. Our free will is augmented or limited by all these things and more. Free will is not the same thing as freedom.
Jesus said “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.” (John 8:34) A mind that is trapped in sin remains enslaved, despite the illusion of freedom in the habits of that mind. So the wealthy CEO of a major corporation, may live in luxury beyond our dreams, He or she may have enslaved hundreds, or even thousands of people, to penurious wage structures, yet may derive no happiness from such personal ‘freedom.’ Driven by a false vision of success, they may have no satisfaction in the achievements of such outcomes. They do not fully understand the lesson from Job. “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart.” (Job 1:21) But these same issues are true for you and me. In whatever way we grasp for a life of freedom, until we encounter the freedom found in Christ and make that our own, we shall be slaves.
The underlying problem is clearly defined very early in scripture. First man and first woman, Adam and Eve, sinned against God. “You must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” (Gen. 2:17) The dire consequences of that failure impact their sons, Cain and Abel. Before the boys are born, their family of origin is already limited in its freedom by the corrosive power of sin. Cain, the eldest, is jealous of the relationship that Abel has with God. This will ultimately lead him to the first murder recorded in the bible—that of his own brother. Before that occurs, God warns Cain. “If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.” (Gen. 4:6-7)
The apostle Paul deeply understood sin, both experientially and theologically. As a persecutor of Christians, he had even approved of the murder of the early church’s first martyr, Steven. (cf. Acts 7:54-8:1) He says of himself, using hyperbole, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.” (1 Tim. 1:15) He has had to personally struggle with sin, even after his conversion and history as an evangelist and church planter. “For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.” (Rom. 7:18-19) He goes on to ask and answer a rhetorical question. “Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Rom. 7:24-25)
This deliverance from the power of sin is found in Jesus, and is expressed as a promise by him. “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36) And so we are led to this further thought from Paul. “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?” (Rom. 6:16) And, if we take time in rumination to think carefully about freewill, and the choices we’ve made in the past, and to weigh that against desires for different outcomes in the future, we may come to understand and agree with Paul’s next thought. “But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance.” (Rom. 6:17)
There is an inner change that must occur in response now, a change greater than the ocean tides that ebb and flow round our globe. This change is one that involves free will, but is not one that leads to unfettered freedom. Part of this is an in-breaking deep personal awareness and abhorrence of not just personal sin, but sin itself. Sin is the driving force at the core of evil, and we must come to understand that this is the force of darkness we see working in all the people and cultures of the world. Sin has been the master of the world throughout human history. And it has been our master. “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ.” (2 Cor. 4:4)
We previously had only the illusion of freedom, for we were part of that world. And now, a great escape is ours, but it is not to become the master of our own life, for no one is that strong against these forces. Paul gives us this view of freedom: “You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.” (Rom. 6:18) This is the freewill choice before us. It must be made once as a foundation in the core of our being, and must be made daily in response to every trial. “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36)
Q. In the reality of consequences, who is the master of my soul?
Leave a Reply