Freedom

There is a lot of confusion about the nature of Christian freedom. Perhaps because the common secular definition of freedom is “doing what you want,” the Christian message frequently gets distorted to fit this framework. This leads non-Christians and Christians alike into thinking that Christian freedom means “do what you want, God loves you anyway.” Popular psychology has had a major influence here, especially Carl Rogers’ recommendation that psychologists express “unconditional positive regard.”

As a result of this influence, God is thought to be a rather fluffy fellow who pats us on the back when we’re feeling down. This is simply not true. Perhaps Paul’s letter to the Romans can correct this thinking: “Note then the kindness and severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness toward you, provided you continue in his kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off.” (Romans 11:22)

What, then, is Christian freedom? How can Christians proclaim that they are free while also maintaining that Christ is Lord? Doesn’t one simply cancel out the other? If God reigns, then we can’t be free; and if we’re free, then God can’t reign. To answer these questions and solve this problem, we need to rid ourselves of the definition of freedom as “doing what you want.” In fact, simply doing what we want often leads to progressively deeper bondage. Addicts are well-aware of this fundamental truth.

Christianity offers a different – and infinitely better – definition of freedom than the world’s “doing what you want.” Christian freedom refuses to be equated with autonomy (which literally means “self rule”). Instead of defining freedom as the ability to do what we want, Christianity speaks of being who we were created to be. Of course, this is easily misconstrued. Being who we were created to be often reverts right back into doing what we want.

What must be remembered is that we didn’t create ourselves and that we don’t decide who we were created to be. Rather, God has created us and has decided who we were created to be. Put simply, we were created to be those who (1) love the Lord our God wholeheartedly and (2) love our neighbors as ourselves. (Matthew 22:37-39) So when Christianity defines freedom as “being who you were created to be,” it means the power to love God above all else and to love your neighbor as yourself.

The effort to make anything else our reason for living leads only to bondage. (See John 8:34.) Ultimately, we are made free by the Spirit of God, who comes upon us and writes God’s law on our hearts. This work of the Holy Spirit is explained quite beautifully in II Corinthians 3:1-18, which is one of my favorite passages of Scripture. There Paul writes about the Spirit of God transforming us into the image of Jesus Christ. This transformation is brought about neither by doing what we want nor by trying really hard to be good people. Rather, we are transformed into the image of Christ as we passively yield to the Spirit of God dwelling within us.

Because we were all created to be like Jesus Christ, being transformed by God’s Spirit into his image is true freedom: “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.” (II Corinthians 3:17-18) In comparison, the “do what you want” notion of freedom looks pretty lame. Ultimately, it's a mistake to settle for anything less than the true freedom held out to us by the Spirit of the living God.