No one in the world is truly as free as a believer in Jesus Christ. As Paul said in Galatians 5:1, "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage."

Freedom means a state of free moral agency - the capacity to make real choices in life. While believers are truly free, it is wrong to use that term to describe a sinner. The sinner has only one true choice - whether to put his or her faith in Jesus. He is in such bondage to his flesh that he cannot stop what he is doing.

Many people today do evil things without knowing why they do them. They say, "I hate it; I don't want to do it; I don't understand why I do it. I hate myself for doing it, but I do it anyway." They are bound and held by a power - the power of Satan.

Before we came to Christ, all of us were children of wrath and our whole manner of life was spent trying to fulfill the desires of the flesh and mind (see Ephesians 2:3). Our only option was which manner of bondage we would choose. We weren't free moral agents because we had no capacity to turn from sin. We might exchange one form of ungodliness for another, but we were incapable of living righteously. There is no freedom to be found in such a dreadful condition.

To remain free, we must not exercise our liberty in any area that will bring us back under bondage.

What a contrast to the glorious liberty we have been given in Christ Jesus! As recipients of God's love and forgiveness, we have been granted freedom from the domination of our flesh. We no longer have to live as slaves to our own fleshly desires. We have been granted the capacity to turn from sin to serve and worship God. We have been set free from the chains of darkness that held us in bondage. Through our believing and trusting in Jesus Christ, we are free from having to live according to a standard of the law in order to be accepted by God. As children of God, we have a taste of liberty and freedom like nothing we have ever known.

We are free in Christ, and the extent of our liberty is so vast that Paul could say, 'All things are lawful for me" (I Corinthians 10:23). There is no broader ethic contained in any philosophy in the world. In fact, the man who can say, "All things are lawful for me" is the freest man who ever lived.

But Paul also insisted that while all things are lawful for us, "all things are not expedient" (verse 23). That is, although there are areas of freedom we could pursue that wouldn't put our salvation in jeopardy, they would impede our progress in our walk with God. We are to avoid areas that would distract us from a simple, wholehearted devotion to God. If we are to remain free, we must be careful not to exercise our liberty in any area that will bring us back under bondage.

Freedom Badly Used

So many times people misunderstand Christian liberty, thinking that freedom in Christ means they can freely commit all kinds of sin. They use their freedom as an occasion for the flesh. This is a total perversion of what Scripture teaches about Christian liberty. Our liberty is never a freedom to sin freely; it is never a license to sin.

The glorious liberty we have been called to in Christ Jesus is first of all a freedom from our flesh and the domination that our flesh once held over us. In Romans 6, Paul tells us this freedom in Christ is a freedom to serve and worship God. We are free not to live the sinful, sensual kind of life that we once lived.

In Eden, Adam was granted tremendous freedom. He could eat from any tree in the garden except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God knew from the beginning that Adam would disobey His command, eat from the forbidden tree, and thus bring sin and misery into the world. Even so, God did not physically prevent Adam from eating the fruit. Adam misused his freedom and we suffer the catastrophic consequences of his choice today. Sin came into the world through one man's wrong exercise of freedom.

In like manner, we can choose to make wrong use of our freedom in Christ. It is possible for us to take this glorious freedom and exercise it in such a way that we are brought back into bondage. We have all heard people say things like, "Well, as a Christian I am free. Thus I intend to gratify this impulse of my flesh because I have freedom to do so." We must remember that we also have freedom not to do so. We should never use our freedom as an occasion for our flesh - to yield to its impulses. Hebrews 12:1,2 tells us to "lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us," and to "run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith."

Freedom to Serve

It's clear how we should not use our freedom in Christ. The real question is, How should we use it? How can we use our freedom in a way that honors God and helps us to grow in grace? Paul had the answer in Galatians 5:13. He said we should use our freedom to serve one another in love: "For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another." Scripture constantly reminds us of the high value God places on humble servitude.

Over and over, the Bible reminds us that if we want to be really great in God's kingdom, we must serve. Jesus made a magnificent statement to His disciples at the beginning of what we call the Great Commission. He said, 'All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth" (Matthew 28:18). Can you imagine how much power that must be? All the power of the universe was given to Him. The same power that lit the fires of the stars and holds every atom together belongs to Jesus.

And what did He do with this power? Shake the universe? Spin out a few new galaxies? No. Jesus took off His robe, girded Himself about as a servant, and washed His disciples' feet. After He had washed the last dirty ankles and toes, He asked His men, in effect, "Do you know what I have done? I have given you an example. For if I, being your Lord, have served you, then so also ought you to serve one another" (see John 13:12-14).

What if right now you could say, 'All power in the universe is mine"? What would you do with such power? Jesus took a towel and a basin of water and washed the filthy feet of His disciples. All power in the universe was His - and what did He do with it? He washed the disciples' feet.

There are very few of us who want to serve. Instead, we love to give orders and be waited on. "Go get me that!" "Hand that tool to me." "I need you to go." How we love to give orders, and how we get upset when the orders aren’t fulfilled! We get hurt, we pout. We enjoy being part of the ruling class... but God's greatest blessings are not to be found there. We have been set free not to boss others around, but to serve one another in love.

Without question, this blessing requires a work of God's Spirit within our hearts. My flesh certainly rebels at the idea of serving someone else in love. Often my immediate reaction to even the simplest request is, "If you want a glass of water, go get it yourself. Who was your slave yesterday?" My flesh loves to be catered to. It clamors to be served. But I have been set free from bondage to my flesh and now I can serve others in love. What a joy it is to serve in love! All of the law is encapsulated in one phrase: "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself" (Matthew 22:39).

Freedom to Love

Two hundred years before Jesus, Buddha said, "Don't do to others what you don't want them to do to you." Notice he put it in the negative. If you don't want someone to bust you in the nose', then don't bust him in the nose. It is a negative injunction.

The golden rule isn't merely avoiding wrong; it's actively seeking out practical ways to express love.

There are a lot of people around today who Mistake Buddha's advice for the golden rule. They believe they are righteous because of what they don't do. "Well," they may say, "I don't hurt anybody. I've never killed anyone and I don't sleep around." Their lives becomes so predicated on negatives that they literally become "good for nothing."

But observe that Jesus framed this ethic in distinctly positive terms. He said, 'As ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise" (Luke 6:31). Even as I would like to be served, I should serve. Even as I would like to be loved, I should love. Even as I would like to receive gifts, I should give.

Loving our neighbors as ourselves means taking the initiative to do for others in a creative, active, and joyful manner. The golden rule isn't merely about avoiding wrong, but rather, it's about actively seeking out practical ways to express our love.

Jesus says we fulfill the law first by loving God then by loving others and treating them as we would like to be treated. We like others to speak well of us, so we should speak well of them. We like others to overlook our faults, so we should extend the same gracious attitude toward them.

Churchgoing Cannibalism

Why is it that when someone says something unkind about us, often our first response is to take them down a few pegs? We drop a few remarks to the effect that our critics aren't quite as holy as they'd like others to think. "Well, I only like to speak the truth, and I want to tell you about him," we say. Then when they hear what we have been saying, another round is triggered in an endless cycle of backbiting and ill will.

On the other hand, if I find out someone really likes me and is saying nice things about me, I say, "Well, he is surely an excellent judge of character. He is just a marvelous person, you know."

It used to be that when someone was intent on tearing another person to pieces, I would bait him on. After he had dumped his load of garbage I would say, "Well, that is very interesting. I guess you didn't know he was my uncle, did you?" I liked to watch the reaction.

Paul warned us, "If ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another" (Galatians 5:15). If we find ourselves in the practice of biting and devouring one another - speaking cutting, destructive, even sarcastic words about one another - we are walking in the antithesis of love. Sadly, a kind of interpersonal, relational cannibalism begins to take place. We find ourselves trapped in a destructive, vicious circle. Jealousy and bitterness and striving develop and soon the church is eating itself up. We are being consumed one of another.

I once read an account of a man in England who successfully bred a particularly vicious breed of game cocks. His roosters were almost invincible in the pit, and the man took great pride in the stature and reputation he had gained as a result of his efforts. Each morning he would walk out and admire his fighting birds.

One day he went out to inspect his roosters and, much to his horror, found their pen littered with feathers, blood, and carcasses. His precious stock was lying about, ripped to shreds. He quickly called one of his hired hands and asked what had happened. "Who was so stupid as to put these aggressive creatures in the same pen?" he thundered. The servant replied meekly, "I did, sir." 'And why would you do such a stupid thing?" demanded the owner. "Well," said the employee, "I figured by now they would all know they are fighting on the same side." But of course, the birds were too stupid to recognize the real enemy.

Unfortunately, there are times when we in the church hardly perform on a more intelligent level. We often forget who our real enemy is. The enemy is not a group of Baptists or Presbyterians. Our real enemy is the power of darkness that holds men in slavery to deception and sin. We need to quit our self-destructive rivalries and begin working together for the common good of God's kingdom. For if we bite and devour one another, we are going to be consumed by one another. One day we are going to find the church bloody and broken and the world will say, "Look - that's Christianity for you!"

How tragic that so much of the history of the church has been spent in devouring and consuming one another. We are far too given to unfairly labeling and putting down those in other fellowships, and nothing could be more counterproductive to the progress of the kingdom of God.

As free men and women in Christ, we need to walk in the Spirit - the Spirit of love, forgiveness, and kindness. We must look to the Lord for His grace and empowerment. This is not an elective for us. Where else will we find the strength to run against this destructive tide and focus on what is good and praiseworthy in others, even those with whom we disagree?

The Responsibility of Freedom

With freedom comes great responsibility. Always. The price of freedom is eternal vigilance, someone once said. We must be on guard to maintain our freedom because it is terribly easy to lose.

Do not be misled into misusing your freedom to gratify your flesh. Yes, we are free in Christ to act as we choose. And yes, while God may not condemn your soul to hell over some questionable activity, ask yourself: Does it slow you down? Is it impeding your progress toward the goal?

The main goal and desire of my life is to be found in Christ, complete in Him. Paul said, "Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain" (I Corinthians 9:24). I intend to "press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:14). "Wherefore... let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith" (Hebrews 12:1,2).

I don't want anything to slow me down. I don't want anything to impede my progress. Someone Might tell me, "But Chuck, there is nothing wrong with X. A Christian can do that." Sure he can. But it can also impede his progress toward the goal! 'All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient" (I Corinthians 6:12). Some lawful things tear me down and harm my relationship with Jesus. 'All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any" (verse 12).

If I am to remain free, I must be careful not to exercise my freedom in pursuing anything that could bring me under its power. Once I have succumbed to its power, I am no longer free. If I want to exercise my freedom in activities that get a grip on me and will not let me go, then I am no longer free. I have been foolish in the exercise of my freedom and have brought myself back into bondage. And that's no way to live.

Thank God, we have been given freedom in Christ! Thank God, we have been given the resources to maintain that freedom! Mere words cannot express what it means to be truly free.

May the Lord help us to freely love, to freely serve, to freely seek the best interests of one another. For then, at last, we shall be capable of fully enjoying the incomparable delights to be found only in the freedom of God's great grace.