What is Freedom?
May 14 2024 - Eric Buresh
We often sing, echoing the words of 2 Cor. 3:17, “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom!” Two questions come to mind: 1) what is this freedom in concrete terms? 2) being persons who have the Spirit (i.e., we are where the Spirit of the Lord is), why is it often the case that we don’t feel free?
According to the Oxford dictionary, freedom is the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or compulsion. Oddly, no one is free by that definition. Everything we do or don’t do is under either hindrance or compulsion. For example, let’s say hypothetically that I wanted to punch an obnoxious opposing fan at a baseball game. Something (most likely the flesh inside of me, but possibly a demonic temptation from outside of me) is compelling that desire. So, if I were to follow through, I would be acting under compulsion. Alternatively, if I restrain myself because of fear of punishment, I would be acting under hindrance. I’m not free on either path. No one is ever free. Everyone in every moment is controlled by some compulsion. 2 Peter 2:19 (“They promise freedom, but they themselves are slaves of sin and corruption. For you are a slave to whatever controls you.”).
While we aren’t free in an absolute sense, we can be free in a relative sense. In other words, we must choose the freedom we want. At the highest level, there are two paths: the broad path where we are mercilessly compelled by (slaves to) our own self-interests and God-less desires; or the narrow path where we are lovingly compelled by the Spirit toward freedom in Christ. On the broad path, humans are free from God’s sanctifying push toward righteousness. On the narrow path, God frees humans from being compelled by their own passions, desires, and the darkness within.
Which freedom we choose is literally a life and death choice. Romans 6:20-22. In concrete terms, when we take the narrow path, the Spirit produces in us:
Love – freedom to no longer be compelled by callous selfishness, hate, or prejudice.
Joy – freedom to no longer be compelled by discontent, depression, shame, guilt, or sorrow.
Peace – freedom to no longer be compelled by anxiety, fear, discomforts, rivalries, or feuds.
Patience – freedom to no longer be compelled by intolerance, annoyance, or frustrations.
Kindness/Goodness/Gentleness – freedom to no longer be compelled by anger, malice, conceit, envy, or jealousy of others.
Self-control – freedom to no longer be compelled by a bad temper or an addiction or any dopamine inducing actions.
This is the freedom that brings life. It is the fruit (Galatians 5:22-23) that yields abundantly. Without this freedom, the narrow path leads to spiritual death even in physical life.
Being persons who have the Spirit, why is it so often the case that we don’t feel free? In my life, there have been (still are at times) two primary reasons. First, we may not be heeding Jesus’s instructions for how to obtain freedom: “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:31-32. True, sustained freedom over the long haul, freedom that does not wither and fade, requires continual abiding in the Word of God. It requires deep knowledge of the truth that is continually refreshed so it is at the front of our always drifting minds. This abiding, immediate knowledge of the truth, ministered under the powerful tutelage of the Holy Spirit, is what makes us free. Have you committed to deeply knowing the Word? What are you doing to know it better? Is the pattern of your life to continually abide in the Word? If not, you will have glimpses of true freedom, but those glimpses will quickly fade.
Second, we often find ourselves trying to produce this freedom through our own power and actions. We strive to create our own freedom. One of the things a knowledge of the Word will teach us is our dependence on the Holy Spirit to be the power that produces the fruit that is freedom in us. We do not take freedom, we receive it. There is a prayer in 2 Chronicles 20:12 that I often pray to remind myself that I am dependent and that I can’t fix the compulsions that are still assailing me in my flesh and taking away my freedom. I modify the prayer to fit my immediate struggle. For example, when I am finding myself being compelled by fear or anxiety, I pray:
“Lord, I have no power against this great [feeling of fear] that is coming against me; nor do I know what to do, but my eyes are upon You.”
Or when I’m desiring to act selfishly against another, I pray:
“Lord, I have no power against this great [desire to be selfish] that is coming against me; nor do I know what to do, but my eyes are upon You.”
The Lord uses this prayer to increase my faith, to drive my eyes back to the Word, to push me back to the path of life, back to true freedom. And I commend it to you. Be diligent in your dependent abiding, brothers and sisters, and life-giving freedom from the Spirit will be yours.