Freedom. Janis Joplin defined it as “just another word for nothin’ left to lose.” But what is true freedom? Is it the liberty to do whatever we want? It is, in fact, just the opposite. “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.” (Romans 6:12) Freedom, or liberty, is the ability to NOT give in to the desires and urges of our carnal nature. It is the ability to walk away from temptation, to not cheat on your diet or neglect your exercise routine, to change the channel when the movie is risqué.
Paul urged the Galatians: “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” (Galatians 5:1) If you are in Christ, you are free. It is, however, possible to slip back into that sin that snared us and it is up to each of us to choose the liberty of discipline. “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” (Romans 6:16) A concert pianist will tell you that he or she spent countless hours practicing scales and playing exercises in order to be able to perform the most beautiful pieces freely and skillfully.
How do we enter into this freedom? It is in the presence of the Lord. “17Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 18But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” This is how we become more Christ-like. (2 Corinthians 3:17-18) “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:32) That truth is Jesus Christ and we can all know Him through the Word because He is the Word. (John 1:14)
