Freedom

The Freedom Christ Gives

So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law. Galatians 5:1 (NLT)

Freedom doesn’t exist—not if it means we can do whatever we please without restraint or consequence. Satan has been spreading that lie since he slithered into the garden of Eden: “Sure, Eve, you can eat the forbidden fruit. Then you can do whatever you want because you’ll be like God.”

No, true freedom is something altogether different. Paul explained God’s definition of freedom in Romans 6: “When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the obligation to do right. … But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness, and result in eternal life” (vv. 20, 22).

Normally, I wouldn’t consult Bob Dylan on theological matters. He doesn’t have Paul’s eloquence, but in “Gotta Serve Somebody” he stated the truth—more than twenty times—when he pointed out we have only two choices in life: serve God or serve the devil.

Before salvation, we had no choice. We couldn’t resist sin or Satan. But because of Christ’s sacrifice, we have been freed from sin’s dominion, and through the power of the Holy Spirit we can choose to serve righteousness.

Roger Nicole gave this insightful definition of freedom: “the ability to fulfill one’s destiny, to function in terms of one’s ultimate goal.”[i] In other words, Christ’s death on the cross freed us to become the people our Creator designed us to be. God intended us to be vessels of his attributes—love, joy, peace, and mercy, to name a few. He designed us to be ambassadors of his truth, justice, forgiveness, and hope.

That glorious privilege is ours because we’ve been redeemed and Christ lives in us. Paul wrote, “For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters” (Galatians 5:13). He also urged the Christians in Galatia to resist every temptation to “get tied up again” in a list of dos and don’ts (5:1).

Yes, we have to serve somebody. The illusion of serving ourselves is a Satan-fabricated fantasy. We can choose to serve sin and chain ourselves to its addictive, destructive behaviors. Or we can choose to serve righteousness—to follow Jesus and become more like him with every act of obedience. This freedom—the freedom to choose—Christ gave us. This freedom shattered the chains of sin that bound us. This freedom “leads to holiness and the result is eternal life” (Romans 6:22).

Like me, you’ve probably chosen to follow Jesus. For us, the truly puzzling question is why do we so often look back toward the path leading to death as if we are missing out on something good?

Dig Deeper

Read Galatians 5:16–25, then have an honest conversation with God about “what your sinful nature craves” (v. 16) and “what the Spirit wants” (v. 17). Ask God to align your desires with his.

Romans 6:6 says, “We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives.” In what ways are you seeing sin lose its power in your life? Consider what Paul says in Romans 6:17–22.

In Psalm 15, David lists attributes of those who are serving God rather than self and will “stand firm forever” (v. 5). Which of those attributes does the Spirit need to cultivate in you?

Denise K. Loock

Note: A longer version of this devotion is included in the 2023 revised and expanded version of Open Your Hymnal: Devotions That Harmonize Scripture and Song.

[i] Qtd. in James Montgomery Boice, Romans, Volume 2: The Reign of Grace, 659.