Freedom: From What, To What?

Last week, one of the latest rising stars in Christian celebrity, Jen Hatmaker, wrote a piece on freedom that just made me shake my head for having a complete lack of direction.  But maybe that was the point of it.

Hatmaker opened the post with an anecdote about the chickens they are raising.  When the doors of the coop were opened, they would quickly escape the confines of the building, but after building a larger fenced-in area, these same chickens would not leave that area if the fence gate was left open: the chickens no longer craved freedom.  She followed this with the Christian-sounding teaching that God wants us free as well, citing:

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.  Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1).

Concluding with

That first sentence is everything.  Why did Jesus set us free?  So we would be free.  That’s basically it.  He emancipated us from everything that imprisons because freedom is its own reward.  To hear the Bible tell it, Christians should be the freest, most unstuck, unrestricted, liberated people breathing air.  [Emphasis hers]

Do you see a problem?  She says that the first sentence is everything.  It all sounds pretty good because there is freedom in Christ, except she never does say what we are free from.  She simply sets up this esoteric, ethereal, vague conception of freedom that a person can apply howsoever he or she wishes within the current experience of life.

What are we free from?
Hatmaker goes on to explain that people enjoy remaining in bondage.  I can agree.  Old patterns are comfortable like an old pair of blue jeans: they just fit.  Even when destructive, patterns of conduct and thinking built up over years stay with us.  This is a demonstrable social phenomenon.  She continues:

Who told you imprisonment was your only option?  What narrative have you believed that keeps you trapped, forfeiting your own freedom?  And how long have you chained yourself inside?  The prisons, they are many: toxic relationships, abusive churches, soul-crushing jobs, addictions, sorrow, impossible expectations, deferred dreams, the lie of scarcity, fear, regret.

Her entire thesis is that God makes us free from societal ills to change our attitudes and actions.  Have you noticed what is missing from her comments?  There is nothing about freedom from sin.  The apostle she is quoting, Paul, seemed to think that freedom from sin was the vital element, but Hatmaker has ignored it, except to give minor credence to her argument, as she continues with

“…through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:[2]).

but then goes into a diatribe on how Christians love imprisonment and misery over freedom.  Why is there no instruction on those things we are now from to perform in Christ?  She advocates Christians to flee bondage and pursue freedom in Christ without ever telling us what we are free to do.  Isn’t that as important as knowing what we are free from?  All we get is:

There is so much life out there, so much to see, so much to experience, so much to enjoy, so much space to heal and find your legs again and run.

And this means what?  Chickens run like crazy when their heads are cut off.  Is that what she intends?  I rather doubt it, but there is nothing solid on which to grasp.  This is all emotional fluff.

What are we free to do?
Since Jen Hatmaker failed to provide any meaningful direction for believers, allow me to offer some.

We are free to walk in newness of life (Rom 6:4).

Once we were dead, but now we are alive in Christ Jesus.  As a result, the life we live is lived in and through Him: it is His life lived through us.  We abide in Him, and He in us.  Having been brought from death to life, from slaves of sin to slaves of righteousness, we present our members as instruments of righteousness for Christ’s sake.

We are free to do good works (Eph 2:10).

This is more important than we realize, because we do not understand that good works are only truly good in Christ and that they are prepared by God Himself for us to do.  We have a stewardship that must used properly, for the kingdom and not handled lightly or selfishly.

To whom are we free to do these good works?

To our neighbor.  And who is our neighbor?  When a lawyer asked that question of Jesus, he got more than expected.

Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead.  Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side.  So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.  But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion.  He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine.  Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him.  And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’  Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?”  He said, “The one who showed him mercy.”  And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”  (Luke 10:30-37)

That outcome was unexpected.  The Law and Prophets singled out widows and orphans to be given care because they were needy and defenseless, so the robbed and beaten man in the parable would have been acknowledged to be a neighbor.  This was easily grasped.  Jesus turns things, though, by pointing out that the outcast was also a neighbor.  Those who were once afar off are now brought near through the blood of Christ (Eph 2:13).

This list is not close to comprehensive, but I wanted to make the point that any attempt to give a biblical response about freedom in Christ can be answered with little attempt.  If an author is unable or unwilling to provide guidance to answer a question raised, then we must assume that person is either unqualified to teach or is attempting to subvert sound teaching.  In either case, we are free to recognize that person should be marked out and avoided.  Let us rather move on to maturity in Christ.

Freedom from the Truth Leads to Lawlessness

Man-made or divine, from Scripture or from history, nothing is sacred once mixed with the cocktail of freedom.  Lawlessness brings with it the spiritual gift of immediate and total authority.… Whatever else anyone has to say, they cannot assail the firm belief in Christian freedom and your soul's liberty.

• "Humility" is knowing that truth can never really be known.
• "Mercy" is looking the other way when your friend is active in what those old, legalistic people would dare to call sin.
• "Wisdom" is knowing that all those traditions and doctrines that were here before you were most likely made up by ignorant, totally bigoted people and don't really have a point anyway.

…

Receiving the past is what makes us who we are.  It forms us as something bigger than ourselves.  It helps us grow on a foundation  raised above isolation and ignorance, and it aids us in passing on what we learn to those who come after us.  The handing down of statements, beliefs, legends, customs, and information from generation to generation is exactly what Dr. Luther once pointed out God wants all Christians to do when he wrote, "God solemnly commands us in Deuteronomy 6:6-8 that we should always meditate on His precepts, sitting, walking, standing, lying down, and rising.  We should have them before our eyes and in our hands as a constant mark and sign."  (Large Catechism, Longer Preface 14).

Jonathan Fisk, Broken, 210-211, 212

The Church Survives by Remaining Bound to God's Word

Christianity has endured and outlasted every kind of human kingdom and philosophy history has ever thrown at it, largely because Christian Scripture contains words with meaning that never change.  It doesn't matter the culture or time, the Bible remains the same words.  It holds no secrets, no new information, no hidden truths that haven't been known from the beginning of the earliest Church.  It is a rock, a lack of freedom to change what we believe.  This slavery to the mind of Christ is why Christianity has endured and why it will endure to the end of time (1 Corinthians 1:10).… When false teachers are given the leisure and license to tinker with the insides of the Church in the name of of Freedom, then it is only a matter of time before the day comes when no one remembers the Word of the Lord at all, and all that remains is a "God" without any power to say this or that for certain, whatever this or that may be.

Jonathan Fisk, Broken, 206

Who's the Boss?

The following outline is from Aaron Telecky's message based on Col 2:16-23 in his continuing series on that book.  The audio can be found here.  I thought it appropriate in view of what I posted yesterday concerning those who come in to our churches with an established legalistic mindset.  The outline is a bit sparse but gives the core of the message.


Who's the Boss?

Introduction
1.  You will often meet other believers who are interested in improving your Christian walk (vv. 16-19)
2.  You will be tempted to adjust your behavior to look or to feel "more spiritual" (vv. 20-23)

Three warnings meant to guard the purity of our walk
1.  Danger of settling for lesser things (vv. 16-17)
      We chase shadows rather than walk in Christ.
      We come to love the routine more than the Savior.
2.  Deception of following lower authorities (vv. 18-19)
      Beware those who want to improve you by subtraction (i.e., asceticism)
      Beware those who insist that certain spiritual practices not in scripture are the best method for growth.
3.  Disappointment of obeying legalistic standards (vv. 20-23)
      Self-imposed rules can be the worst for us.  Those things are temporal; seek for the eternal.

Three questions to ask when faced with legalism
1.  "Where did you get that?"  Is it biblical?  Am I being told something that can be identified in God's word as for his people?  More times than I care to think, what someone has told me with good intention is actually a preferential, inconsequential matter.
2.  "Are you sure that's what it means?"  Assuming the argument is biblical, what is the context of the scripture being used?  People latch on to Bible verses without seeing the balance of the passage.  Greg Koukl of Stand to Reason continually tells people, "Never read a Bible verse."  For more on that go to this post on the STR website.
3.  "What makes this so important?"  Why is someone telling me this?  Do I really need this (it is possible), or is someone trying to rob me of my freedom in Christ and is needing to be resisted? (Gal 5:1)

Big Idea: The Lordship of Christ Leads to Freedom

Let the Sins of the Past Go; Act Like Free Men

On Sunday, Feb. 7, I read an opinion piece carried in our local paper that really bothered me.  The writer did not understand that there are things that transcend the color of one's skin.  I responded to both the writer and the local editor (who published it on Feb. 13).  Here is what I wrote:

Let the sins of the past go; act like free men

Syndicated columnist Leonard Pitts Jr. asked (Feb. 7 column) why black men would “fight for ideals that exclude them,” citing the treatment received because of skin color.  The answer is as self-evident as the truths for which these soldiers are fighting: freedom.

This struggle, though birthed in a desire to overcome enslavement, transcends the pettiness of class and ethnic distinctions to demonstrate the right of equality based on performance.  Yes, these soldiers suffered indignities at the hands of those they swore to defend.  Shame on those who caused it.

The question for today should be obvious: What now?  We should not remain mired in the putrefying sins of the past with the hope of politicizing and fighting them once again.  That does no good.  Stop the class warfare fomenting bitterness for a bygone day.  Cease striving for entitlements as some kind of reparation.  Rather, pursue what can be gained as a republic with citizens of varied ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds.  Act like free men.

My point should be clear: we do not need to live in the past.  Experience shows that those who dredge up these things are attempting to make a case via an emotional ploy with the intent of weakening the will enough to relent on a position.  Rationalization ensues and a conclusion forms based on faulty reasoning.  The underlying premise is that someone or some group is unable to overcome circumstances and therefore must be given a privileged status to make life for the victim easier whether or not deserved.

The said truth is that Christians do this to themselves quite often.  Many times I have been in the company of a believer bemoaning bad habits and lack of spirituality while at the same time running directly into danger at every possible convenience, then wonder later why victory cannot be gained.  Excuse me?

One benefit of the Christian life is that we have victory over sin there for the taking.  Paul told the believers in Rome "that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness." (6:17-18)  Unless I have a seriously deficient translation, that looks rather certain.  We are to leave this former life behind us and move forward, not revisiting our past manner of life, but moving on the freedom and power that we have in Christ.  Paul says as much in a letter to the Galatians when he writes, "For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery." (5:1)

I will not deny the reality of temptation and testing.  Paul does so as well in Romans 7.  He admits that sin still works in him, but he does not dwell in his circumstance or the inadequacy of a weak flesh.  Instead he rests on the completed work of Christ and sums up his thoughts this way:

Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?  Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin. (7:24-25)

Fellow believers, it is time to do as I said in the opinion letter.  Understand your true citizenship.  Live accordingly.  Act like free men.