Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free.
As we celebrate Independence Day this past week, I hope we thought about the personal freedoms that being Americans gives us. However, one of the myths circulating today is that Christianity stifles personal freedom. Even though scripture speaks of the liberty that Christ offers, some people resist Christianity as an obstacle to freedom. These people base their feelings on the problem of legalism in the church (a list of "dos and don'ts" rather than a relationship of love and grace) and their own desire for pure autonomy (the right to do whatever they want with no accountability). Both of these ideas are wrong. True Christian freedom is Christ-like freedom. Christ based His behavior on what His Father wanted Him to do (John 8:29). His freedom has no hint of legalism, but is centered around the absolute standards of God the Father. Let's enjoy our freedom as Americans and Christians, taking inspiration from the most liberated being who ever lived, Jesus Christ!
Sharon Armstrong
After Christ said he always did what was pleasing to God (in Jn. 8:29), he said if disciples continued with him and his words, they would know the truth and the truth would make them free (8:31-32). But some who heard him thought he was talking about political freedom, and claimed they had always been free (8:33). So Jesus told them they were still slaves of sin; his freedom was about freedom from sin (8:35-36). Unlike political freedom, which easily compromises with sin, Jesus' freedom is life under the power of his Spirit, rather than life under the power of sin.
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