Threats to Freedom

Freedom is not the freedom to do whatever we want, but the freedom to love God and others. True freedom is sourced in Christ and carries with it responsibility. There are two primary threats to freedom. One might be tempted to think foreign armies, despotic rulers, and gun laws are primary threats to freedom, but that misses the point.

Freedom found in Christ is threatened first by false teaching. 2Peter 2:19 says, “They (false teachers) promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him.” False teaching leads to slavery. It moves away from the power of the gospel, the Word, and the Spirit. It focuses on self, law, or a false god that brings only slavery. As believers, we need to be careful who we are listening too. We need to use discernment, and test what we are hearing just as Paul commended the Bereans (see Acts 17:11). False teaching threatens freedom.

A second threat to freedom is a false understanding of what freedom is. “You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love” (Gal 5:13). Freedom is not the freedom to indulge the flesh. Freedom is not the freedom to do whatever we want. Freedom is not the freedom to use, abuse, or manipulate others. Freedom is the freedom to live according to the purposes for which God created us. Freedom is the freedom to act and speak in sync with the nature, character, and purpose of God. Freedom is the freedom to love God and others as we were intended to do.

Thinking of freedom as self-indulgence, or as no personal limitations leads to slavery, not freedom. We become enslaved to our own appetites. We enslave others to our will and whim. We find less and less joy in life while pursuing what we think will bring us fulfillment. Self-indulgence leads to slavery not freedom.

The primary threats to freedom are not the cultural shifts we see around us, the foreign nations that seek to exploit us, nor the hordes of immigrants wanting in. No, the true threats to freedom are false teaching and self-indulgence. The false teaching that freedom is self-indulgence is what will ultimately destroy our freedom. Rather, turn to Christ and find the true freedom to be what God designed you to be. “Do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love” (Gal 5:13).