Freedom

​It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. (Galatians 5:1)
 
This is my favorite verse in Scripture.  It seems so obvious, and it seems so simple.  However, this concept is one we have struggled with since before Paul first wrote this letter.  Like the Galatians, we begin to assume that freedom is dangerous because it means license to do whatever we want.  We assume there must be expectations, and limitations on that freedom, or else…well, who knows what would come from it?  Anarchy? Chaos? Licentiousness?
Yet, there it stands – it is for freedom that Christ has set us free.  It doesn’t say Christ has set us free except for, or but, or partially, or in this way but not that.  It says it is for FREEDOM that He has set us free.  Paul does a very good job of explaining what true freedom is, and beyond encouraging you to read his description, I am not going to try to rehash his explanation.  Instead, I want to give you some suggestions on ways to identify when you are not living in true freedom. 

1.  Should’s – when you hear yourself telling you what you “should” be doing, you have bought into the enemy’s lie of shame and condemnation, and in so doing you have bound yourself back to the Law and under the yoke of its slavery.  (Romans 8:1, Galatians 2:19-21).
2. Have to’s – when you hear yourself admonishing a have to, you have bought into the enemy’s lie of fear (because have to’s are an attempt to exert control over outcomes), and once again, you have bound yourself to the yoke of slavery to control. (Romans 6:14, Romans 7:6).
3. Can’ts – when you hear yourself saying “I can’t”, you have bought into the enemy’s lie of victimization, you have abdicated your God-given authority and responsibility for your choices, and you have bound yourself under the yoke of slavery to Satan’s usurped authority.  (Philippians 4:13, Mark 10:27).

Instead of the should’s, have to’s, and can’ts , we have been given “want to” and “choose to” by God as replacements.  These phrases are the expressions of freedom.  We are free to be fully and completely who God made us to be, and we are free to choose according to our true hearts.  We are free from restriction to our choices based on shame and condemnation, or based on external expectations.  Some may say, like those who opposed Paul, that God still expects us to follow His Law or that God still requires something of us beyond declaring with our mouths that Jesus is Lord and believing in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead in order to be saved (Romans 10:9-10).  However, that belief does not agree with Scripture, and is fear-based (therefore lie-based; a tactic of the enemy to reintroduce shame and limit our choices, undermining our freedom).  As my husband has explained it, “if I have no desire to kill anyone, and I would not ever choose to do so, then a law telling me I cannot kill is irrelevant for me, and unnecessary.” 
We are truly free from the Law because the Law has been fulfilled in Christ, and our sins (past, present, and future) are already paid for and forgiven.  If I follow God’s Law, it is because I know His instructions are for my good, for my protection, for my benefit, and for my well-being – not because I fear God’s judgment or feel trapped into it.  In that way, my heart’s desire informs my choices, and the Law is rendered irrelevant.  I choose to love God with all my heart because my heart does love Him; I choose to love myself because I know how much He loves me; I choose to love my neighbor as myself because His love has permeated my heart and overflows into others.  Actions motivated by fear are limited to the presence of some punishment, an external source of control.  Choices motivated by love are truly free.