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Jeremy McKeen
Good News
Freedom is awonderful word.
In fact, freedom or liberty is at the
heart of what it means to be an
American, “where at least I know
I’m free.” In the height of any
election season, protecting the
various American freedoms is
rightly at the forefront of the
political debates. But have you ever
asked yourself, “What is true
freedom? Is freedom simply the
accumulation of my various civil
rights? Is freedom merely an
outward experience or more of an
inward experience? Am I truly
free?”
True Freedom
There’s a famous scene in the
movie
Braveheart
where William
Wallace (played by Mel Gibson)
shouts to his followers, “They may
take our lives but they will never
take our freedom!” Yet how is that
possible if freedom is simply the
right to vote or to peaceably
assemble? This quote captures
people’s innate desire to experience
a
type
of
freedom
that
imprisonment, injustices and even
death cannot touch. But is there
really a freedom like that?
Christianity answers with an
emphatic, “Yes!” Jesus said, “If the
Son sets you free, you will be free
indeed” (John 8:36), and the
Apostle Paul pointed out, “For
freedom, Christ has set us free”
(Galatians 5:1). In other words, in
Jesus, people can experience a
freedom that transcends any
political freedom a nation or
people group may or may not
currently have. But if someone
frees you, then you’ve been set free
from
something. So what does
Jesus free people from?
FreedomFromSomething
Jesus said, “Everyone who
commits sin is a slave to sin” (John
8:31). Jesus taught that the greatest
formof slavery is the slavery to sin.
What this means is that rebellion
against God brings people under
the just penalties of sin, the
destructive power of sin, and leaves
themfacing the eternal presence of
sin. Yet Jesus frees people from sin
through his own life and death. But
how does this work exactly? In the
famous novel,
The Count of Monte
Cristo
, Edmond Dantes tries to
escape from prison, but his plan
fails. Yet, something happens to set
him free. Faria, a priest and
innocent cellmate who has
befriended Edmond, suddenly dies
and the prison guards put the
priest’s dead body in a sack and
sews it up to be taken away.
However, before they come back
for the sack, Edmond sneaks into
the priest’s cell to say his last
goodbyes and suddenly is struck by
an idea. He thinks, “Since only the
dead leave this place freely, let us
take the place of the dead.”Without
wasting any time, Edmond
removes the body, hides it in his
cell, slips into Faria’s sack and sews
it up from the inside. Moments
later, the guards come and remove
the body, but the body is actually
Edmonds who is brought out of
prison and escapes as a free man.
This is a picture of how Jesus
alone can set someone free. Jesus is
the truly innocent Priest who
befriends the sinner and dies on
the cross for sin, but the only way
Jesus’ death sets you free is when,
like Edmond, you identify by faith
with Christ’s death as your own
death. When you receive Jesus’ life
and death as your life and death,
you’re then brought out from
under all the demands and
penalties of God’s lawbecause they
have already beenperfectly fulfilled
in Jesus.
Imagine if you committed a
number of terrible crimes and you
get caught, but on the way to court
to receive your sentence, you
happen to die.What can the lawdo
to you now that you’re dead?
Nothing! Because you died, the law
can no longer enforce its demands
or enact its penalties. This is
precisely why the Apostle Paul
reminds Christians that they have
all “died with Christ” (See Romans
6:8 and Colossians 3:3). By faith, a
Christian is united to Jesus and his
life and death brings about his or
her freedom. Yet, in order to be
truly free, you must also be free to
something.
Freedom
To
Something
A Christian has not only died
with Christ, but has also risenwith
Christ. This means that the
powerful Spirit of the risen Jesus
has been given to every Christian
to experience the freedom of
overcoming sin and living the way
a person is designed to live; in
dependence upon God. As Pastor
and author Tim Keller says, “The
birth
of
America
is
our
independence day, but the birth of
a Christian is our
dependence
day.”
What he means is that true
freedom is not living as your own
authority and master, but coming
under the authority and liberating
power of the right Master, namely
Jesus.Many today seemto confuse
liberty with license. However, true
freedom is not living simply the
way you desire to live but living in
the way you were designed to live.
Freedom is actually when your
desire and design come together in
Christ. A Christian is someone
who has been set free
from
sin and
death and set free
to
a life livedwith
and forGod forever. This is the true
freedom
that
Christians
everywhere should be the most
passionate to share with others,
and fight to uphold, because this is
the only freedomthat can never be
taken away.
Fighting for Freedom
In the political passion of
another election season, and in the
godly pursuit of maintaining and
establishing ethical policies that are
good for society, Christians should
remember that the gospel has
nothing to do with getting your
particular political party into the
WhiteHouse. No, there is only one
person who can truly set people
free, and his name is Jesus.
Therefore, churches andChristians
must tell about the One who
liberates the soul, renews themind,
and also changes theway you relate
to thosewho disagreewith you. As
Bono, the lead singer of U2, said,
“The Left mocks the Right. The
Right knows it’s right. Two ugly
traits. How far should we go to try
and understand each other’s point
of view? Maybe the distance grace
covered on the cross is a clue.” It is
only in remembering the true
freedom that Christ purchased
that aChristian, nomatter how the
elections turn out or whatevermay
happen to him or her in life, can
always say, “At least I know I’m
free!”
>
REAL LIFE
48
October 2012
Good News - Broward Edition
True Freedom