Imagine living as a black man in the 1860s. Slavery is the only life you have known. Then, you receive news that you have been set free. Sounds wonderful to you! But, now you have to learn to read and write, earn a living, buy a home, learn to live and do business in an entirely different world. It was a difficult transition for many, if not all of them. There were several reactions to this harsh reality of freedom. A portion of slave owners “sharecropped” with their former slaves, but kept them in virtual slavery due to their lack of understanding and inability to read/write. Some suggested that because many former slaves had difficulty transitioning into a free society that they were actually better off as slaves. How much better would it have been if someone, particularly a former slave, had taken the time to teach this newly emancipated slave how to live as a free man-taught him to read/write, helped him find a job, taught how to manage money/finances, warned him about certain things/people, etc? Would it not have made that transition much smoother, at least for many of them?
We were all slaves once…slaves to sin. And, we have been freed from this yoke of bondage by the death of Christ.
We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Romans 6:6-7
For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. You were called to freedom. Gal 5:1, 13a
Christ’s words on the cross, “It is finished.”, were a kind of Emancipation Proclamation for every human being. The moment we believed in His atonement, we were set free. Christ died to give us our freedom! He did not die so we could enslave ourselves to another law. But, transitioning to a free life is not always easy. It’s difficult to learn how to life as a free man when slavery is all you have known. And, the reactions are varied.
Many of us spend all of our free lives living in slavery never fully realizing our freedom in Christ. Our former master has convinced us that we are incapable of living in freedom, that we need boundaries, fences, rules, etc. placed upon us so that we can truly “live free”. And, the fact that we push against these rules is all the proof we need that without them, we would die spiritually.
I have heard some say that we need more legalism[I would encourage these people to read Galatians]. To me, that sounds very similar to the whites of the 19th century saying that blacks were incapable of living free. They needed slavery. Many quoted the curse of Ham to mistakenly prove it was a biblical mandate that they be enslaved by the white man. And many today quote scripture to prove, mistakenly I believe, that we are incapable of living free and desperately need bondage-oops!-rules so that we can live holy lives.
I’ve often heard it stated, regarding rules, “Rules are like guardrails. No one would drive over the Bay Bridge if there were no guardrails.” At one time, I would have echoed with the heartiest “Amen” to that. Now, I realize, I have no need to fear, nor any need for man-made boundaries….I’M NOT DRIVING! My Daddy is! And, He doesn’t need guardrails!
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God. Gal 2:20
Now, if I take over the wheel….then I have need to fear. And, I do at times, but quickly learn that I am not capable of navigating through life. And, I repent and move over to the passenger seat again…..and the adventure continues.
Am I eschewing completely the need for boundaries? NO! But, if Christ, through His Spirit, sets a boundary for me, it is life-giving. It comes with the strength necessary to adhere to that boundary. It is freedom. But, if another sets a boundary for me, it does not come with the strength to adhere to it. It takes life, rather than give it. It is bondage.
There is a portion who equate freedom with license. But, if the freedom one is experiencing leads him into sin, rather than away from it, he is getting his freedom from a source other than Jesus and the Holy Spirit. The closer you walk with Jesus, the more freedom you will walk in and simultaneously the less sin you will walk in. Galatians also tells us, after telling us we were called to freedom that we should “not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” Gal. 5:13b
In this case, I believe the individual is looking for independence, not freedom. Freedom is not independence. Independence is the opposite of dependence. It is to live life depending on no one and steering clear of anyone or anything that smacks of control. Freedom, on the other hand, is recognizing my need of Father God’s guidance and my complete dependence on Him…knowing I can go anywhere as long as I’m holding His hand.
It is this very thing that causes many to both give up their freedom in Christ and declare that others must/should do the same. We have seen too many examples of people saying they are free and walking in sin. So, we hold out our hands for the shackles of men and sell ourselves back into slavery. But, we don’t have to! There is another choice in our response to new found freedom!
Some will embrace freedom and joyfully take up their new identity, experiencing the freedom in Christ that God intended, completely dependent upon His guidance. They know that if they “walk by the Spirit, [they] will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” They believe, correctly, that the two are antithetical. They make mistakes, but those mistakes drive them closer to the Master rather than building another fence.
If we are totally honest, we know that those guardrails on the Bay Bridge will hold no one back if their desire to go over is strong enough. They simply give people a feeling of safety; people who have no desire to go over. I can have a greater feeling of safety walking with Papa than any boundary could ever give me. And, herein lies the catch: We must draw closer to Papa. We must learn to know His voice. He desires to, as the Psalmist said, guide us with His eye. But, for Him to guide me with His eye, I must continually be gazing upon His face. I must have my eyes fixed on Jesus! But, it’s easier to put up the fences and allow our gaze to wander every now and then. And, we have fallen into the trap of encouraging others to trust the fences, rather than to keep their eyes on Jesus and allow Him to guide them with His eye.
So, what we need is former slaves teaching newly emancipated slaves what it looks like to live free. And, I believe we have it….most of the New Testament is written by former slaves. Romans to Revelation is written by former slaves and can help newly emancipated slaves learn what a life of freedom looks like. “Watch out for this….” “Be sure to…..” “Don’t forget…..” etc, etc, etc. But, there is a caution, I believe. If we attempt to live out Romans through Revelation without the transforming power described in Acts, we are running the danger of doing it in our own flesh, which will bring us back into bondage. We must rely on God! We need His fullness We need ALL of Him, not just 2/3 of Him! We need the Holy Spirit! We must have His overcoming power! We must learn to recognize His nudgings! We cannot attempt to live holy lives when we are fearful of the working of the Holy Spirit because in being fearful of the Holy Spirit, we push God away, because the Holy Spirit IS God. We need to embrace Him. It is the only way to live in freedom!
I believe that God has placed within us a desire for freedom….a desire that He wants to fulfill….in and through Him alone! He died so that you could be free! He has called you to freedom! Take off your shackles….and walk away from slavery and bondage….a free man forever!