Free at Last

 

These were famous words uttered by Martin Luther King in his speech at the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963, his “I Have a Dream” speech. He concluded it with:

“And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews, and Gentiles, Protestants, and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, ‘Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!’"

The freedom that MLK was referencing involved the issue of his day: civil rights. The reconstruction of American society since the Civil War has been slow and painful, yet King saw hope for the future, and that hope was in God. Believers' freedom in their relationship with Christ can transform lives and set people free from their failures and shortcomings. Paul saw it clearly when he spoke in Romans 8:2: For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free [eleutheroo – liberated from the power and punishment of sin] from the law of sin and of death.                         

Luther on Liberty

In anticipation of his trial before Emperor Charles V and Pope Leo X, Martin Luther wrote a treatise entitled “Concerning Christian Liberty.” In it, he addresses the idea of two sides of Christian liberty. He said: 

A Christian man is the most free lord of all, and subject to none; a Christian man is the most dutiful servant of all and subject to every one. Although these statements appear contradictory yet, when they are found to agree together, they will make excellently for my purpose. They are both the statements of Paul himself, who says, "Though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all" (1 Corinthians 9:19), and "Owe no man anything, but to love one another" (Romans 13:8). Now love is by its own nature dutiful and obedient to the beloved object. Thus, even Christ, though Lord of all things, was yet made of a woman made under the law, at once free and a servant, at once in the form of God and in the form of a servant. 

Luther saw clearly that the freedom purchased on behalf of each believer by Jesus Christ gives us liberty and servitude simultaneously, freedom from sin and man’s control, including the church, while enslaving him to the perfect plan of God and the righteous life that servitude provides. Paul discusses this subject in detail in Romans 6, encouraging each Christian to a deeper sense of freedom through a deeper commitment to His life and will.

Slaves of Righteousness 

What, then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be! Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves [doulos - one who is in a permanent relation of servitude to another, his will being altogether consumed in the will of the other] for obedience [hupakouo -to listen to something, hearken with stealth, stillness, or attention in order to yield], you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin [hamartia - missing the true end and scope of our lives, which is God] resulting in death or of obedience resulting in righteousness [dikaiosune – that which is just or right, conformity to all God’s commands]? But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness [anomia – violation of the Law], resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. Therefore, what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death. But now, having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification [hagiosmos – separation unto God], and the outcome, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.                  Romans 6:15-23

We are slaves to that which we obey. Sin leads to death; obedience produces practical righteousness. As believers, the new nature and God’s grace provide the foundation for a spiritual life; external rules cannot accomplish what is truly spiritual. The disciples in Rome gave proof of the justice of Paul’s argument by walking in the truth. Having been set free from the slavery of sin, they had become the slaves of righteousness, and this did not end in itself; practical righteousness developed as the whole being was set apart for God, with increasing understanding. In obedience, the fruit was sanctification; a spiritual capacity was developed as they were separated from evil to gain a deeper knowledge of God. Sin produces no fruit but ultimately leads to death. Having been set free from sin and now servants to God, this is the true righteousness of obedience, like that of Christ Himself. They had already received their fruit in holiness, and the end result would be eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23). 

Paul’s subject is judicial righteousness before God, and he connects his doctrine with John’s First Letter, which, on the other hand, addresses the doctrine of propitiation and acceptance when speaking of the impartation of life. The appeal is beautiful to a man in true freedom, liberty of grace, being dead to sin. He is set wholly free by death. To whom will he now yield himself? For now, he is free. 

Married to the Law

Or do you not know, brethren (for I am speaking to those who know the law), that the law has jurisdiction over a person as long as he lives? For the married woman is bound by law to her husband while he is living; but if her husband dies, she is released from the law concerning the husband. So then, if while her husband is living, she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress though she is joined to another man. Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God. For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death. But now we have been released [katargeo – freed, the Law rendered inactive] from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.                              Romans 7:1-6 

The Apostle introduces a subject that caused him difficulty: his struggle with his sin nature. Later in the passage, Paul confesses, For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not (Romans 7:18-19). He has explained above that the victory comes from a recognition of "Who" the believer is married to, the husband, a reference to the Law of Moses or Christ. He clarifies that this change in perspective results from dying to the husband, namely the Law, thereby being free from its requirements. Otherwise, the believer married to the Law of Moses must keep it in its entirety. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point `has become guilty of all (James 2:10). Paul is teaching that the believer cannot be married to the Law and to Christ at the same time.

The aorist, passive, indicative verb, katargeo, means that, through Christ's death and resurrection, the believer receives the benefit of this eternal work of God and not through his own efforts. Instead, the believer considers himself dead to the Law but alive to God. Nevertheless, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified (Galatians 2:16). Spiritual life is a proper perspective and not a series of actions.

Truly Free as a Son

So, Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, "If you continue [meno – remaining steadfast] in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." They answered Him, "We are Abraham's descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, 'You will become free'?" Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. So, if the Son sets you free, you will be truly free.                         John 8:31-36 

When Jesus said, the truth will make [or set] you free, what did He mean? When one considers that Jesus came full of grace and truth (John 1:14) and that grace and truth were realized or subsist in Jesus Christ (John 1:17), we come to understand that grace and truth are inextricably linked and manifested in the person of Christ. In Psalm 57:3, God will send forth His loving kindness [hesed – grace] and His truth. Truth is wrapped up in the person of Jesus Christ. In addition, the Word of God is characterized as truth in many places, including Jesus’s words in John 17:17: Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. The conclusion is that the disciple is the one who remains steadfast in receiving and meditating on the Word of God and is set free. When the believer occupies himself with the truth of God’s Word and God’s Son, he is freed from the slavery of sin, you will be truly free.

Paul adds to this conversation in Romans 8:14-15 when he says For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!" When the believer sees himself as an adopted son, he becomes more than willing to be led by the Holy Spirit. The son needs no longer to fear being a slave to sin. 

Enslaved No Longer 

It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore, keep standing firm [steko – steadfast in the faith] and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.                           Galatians 5:1 

For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love, serve one another. For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, "YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF."       Galatians 5:13-14

There are many things that can enslave the believer in this life, many not so obvious. Paul encourages the believers in Galatia to remain steadfast, to persevere as a way of life, so that he may avoid the pitfalls associated with worldly forces that seek to lure the believer away from their devotion to Christ. Paul further states that freedom is experienced when the believer occupies himself with his concern and care for others in loving your neighbor as yourself. 

Things We Leave Behind 

Michael Card writes about one of these subtle enemies of freedom that everyone should be concerned with and the victory that comes from a devoted life:

Things We Leave Behind

Michael Card 

There sits Simon, so foolishly wise

Proudly, he's tending his nets

And Jesus calls, and the boats drift away

And all that he owns, he forgets

 

But more than the nets he abandoned that day

He found that his pride was soon drifting away

And it's hard to imagine the freedom we find

From the things we leave behind

 

Matthew was mindful of taking the tax

And pressing the people to pay

But hearing the call, he responded in faith

And followed the Light and the Way

 

And leaving the people so puzzled; he found

The greed in his heart was no longer around

And it's hard to imagine the freedom we find

From the things we leave behind

 

Every heart needs to be set free

From possessions that hold it so tight

'Cause freedom's not found in the things that we own

It's the power to do what is right

With Jesus, our only possession

And giving becomes our delight

And we can't imagine the freedom we find

From the things we leave behind

 

We show a love for the world in our lives

By worshipping goods, we possess

And Jesus says, "Lay all our treasures aside

And love God above all the rest."

 

'Cause when we say no to the things of the world

We open our hearts to the love of the Lord

And it's hard to imagine the freedom we find

From the things we leave behind