Bible teaching on Freedom and Liberty
Hello friends. My name is Danny and I was an active Latter-day Saint for 60 years.
This weekend on the 4th of July here in the United States of America, we are celebrating the 250th anniversary of our freedom and independence as a nation. We know that through the hand of God’s grace, inspired men formulated the framework for the freedoms we now enjoy – and often take for granted. Many men and women have paid the ultimate price in protecting these freedoms during these past two and half centuries. We should be forever grateful that God has preserved this nation to be the greatest country in the world.
Today, in this video – I want to address what the written word of God has to say about freedom and liberty.
Freedom is a multidimensional concept in the Bible. The story of mankind begins with freedom gone awry. In Genesis 2:16-17, God tells Adam and Eve, “you are free to eat from any tree in the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” Nevertheless, even with all that freedom and all those privileges, our first parents misused their liberty, sinned against God, and introduced death into the world.
It’s always God’s desire for His people to be free. Remember in Exodus, God’s direct message to Pharaoh through Moses was “Let My people go!” Then God released His people from Egypt and brought them out of slavery. The freedom God granted the nation of Israel becomes a fitting picture of the spiritual freedom God grants to us in Christ. It’s the same message God is telling religious institutions today, “Let My people go!”
Luke 4:18-19 records that at the start of Yeshua’s ministry, while standing in a synagogue He opened the scroll of Isaiah and read this about the foretold mission of the Messiah and the freedom He would bring, 16:1-2 “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound.“ Yeshua is speaking of liberty to the captives and releasing those who are bound in prison. But, from and to what? Liberty from sin, death, and the controlling confines of man-made religion, into a personal independent relationship with God.
This idea of freedom must have been music to the ears of those who tried unsuccessfully to meet the demands of the, Mosaic Law. Paul said this about Yeshua in Acts 13:39 “Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses.”
The believing, forgiven sinner not only enjoys the promise of eternal life in Christ, but he or she also has the power to live free from sin. Isn’t that such good news? The power and control of sin over us has been broken. Romans 7:25 “Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” Paul uses the struggle between slavery and freedom to illustrate the believer’s transformation. Romans 6:6-7 “For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin may be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died (to the old self) has been set free from sin.” Christ paid for the sins of the world. Our past, present, and future sins have been imputed or accredited to Christ - as Christ’s righteousness has been imputed to us. This is the Great Exchange! 2 Corinthians 5:21 “For he (God) hath made him (Christ) to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” So, in this way, we have freedom from the power of sin. And when God looks at us - He sees the righteousness of His Son in place of our sin. Isn’t that wonderful!
Then there is the Freedom from the burden of Law. One of Yeshua’s condemnations of the religious leaders of His day was in Luke 11:46 “You load people down with burdens they can hardly carry.” In contrast - Yeshua’s promise to them then, and to us now is found in Matthew 11:28-30 “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Our faith and love are all Yeshua asks of us. His yoke is easy and light. He wants us to rest in Him and to stop striving to earn and trying to qualify our own worthiness. He has already made us worthy in Him. I hope that makes sense. It’s so important to understand.
Paul then warns us not to return to that bondage, 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.” An important aspect of Christian freedom is our responsibility not to return to living under religious laws. Continuing to live like that - is merely a legalistic form of religion. Catholosim, Mormonism, and many Christian denominations, fit into that category. Their theology is legalism. We cannot earn righteousness through the Law and commandment-keeping and covenant-keeping that religion has imposed upon its followers. Christian freedom involves living not under the burdensome obligations of laws and commandments, but under God’s grace. Paul writes in Romans 6:14 “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” Remember Ephesians 2:8-9 affirms that we are saved by grace, not by our works.
The Bible does caution us about our freedom in Galatians 5:13 “For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.” So, our freedom from commandment-keeping is tempered by our service and love for others. We must also exercise self-control. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 6:12 “All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient.” With our freedom in Christ there never is an excuse to deliberately sin. 1 Peter 2:16 “As free and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God.”
Again, Paul gives a practical illustration of Christian freedom in 1 Corinthians 10:23 “All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.” Paul is saying, ‘everything is permissible,’ but not everything is beneficial or constructive. Our freedom in Christ must be balanced by a desire to build up, and to love others. When deciding how to exercise our Christian freedom, we ought to seek the good of others before our own good.
Yeshua said in John 14:6 that He is “the truth.” And He told His hearers who believed in Him, John 8:32 “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Yeshua has freed us from bondage. Religion has attempted and has unfortunately succeeded in reversing that by putting shame and guilt on those - who do not follow and obey their laws, commandments, and covenants. Religion says, “shame on you!” Instead, Yeshua says, “shame off you!”
We have a responsibility to use the freedom Christ gives to choose to do what is right in every circumstance. Clearly, God wants His children to experience the joy of freedom. The believer is free from the power and penalty of sin and is promised eternity with Him. That fact should stir immense joy and gratitude in the heart of every believer.
Through His sacrificial death, Jesus Christ fulfilled the Law, setting believers free from sin and death. Under the New Covenant, God’s laws are now written in our hearts through the Spirit of God, and we are free to follow and serve Christ in ways that please and glorify Him.
The following passage is a nutshell the definition of Christian freedom and liberty. Romans 8:2–8 “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law (then and now) could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh, do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So, then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.”
Yeshua is all about liberty and freedom. To the children of God, Christ says in John 8:36 “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” When a person receives Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, the Spirit of the Lord takes up residence in that individual. Romans 8:9 “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.” Then we are set free to serve God in the fullest sense of liberation. Again, the apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 3:17 “Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”
So, trust in God alone to live your life freely without the constraint of man-made religion governing over you.
For us as citizens of the United States of America - liberty is as cherished as life itself. Not just freedom OF religion – but freedom FROM religion. Prompting the American revolutionary Patrick Henry to declare, “Give me liberty, or give me death!” Well, Christ gave us liberty and freedom through His death - and resurrection – for which we are eternally grateful. May we always appreciate this precious gift God has given us.
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God Bless you all! And God Bless America!