What Freedom?

A few verses that God has shown me over the last week have illustrated another tension in the Christian life that I think I have needed to be reminded of.

Romans 6:18
You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

Romans 6:22
But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.

1 Peter 2:16
Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover up of evil; live as servants of God.

Being free means first as Romans says we are free from the bondage of sin. This also means that we are free from the bondage to the flesh and the sin of being a dead person. We are free from our old self, the ball and chain that the life of a dead person brings. We are free from the bondage of this world and free from the deep seated desire in us to call this world home and settle in for a long stay. We are free from making our selves happy and having happiness as the only pursuit in this life. We are free from the desire and passion in ourselves for our own good at all cost and the drive of self. Being free sets us free in many ways and gives us an ultimate freedom that a person not in Jesus could have.

But this freedom in Jesus does come with a cost and that cost is being a slave as Romans and 1 Peter highlight. So what does it mean that we are slaves to righteousness and servants of God? Simply put this means we are now captive and slaves to our love, desire, and passion for Jesus. Having become slaves we now lives lives that are in love with the person who set us free and that is Jesus. We then live to serve Him and work for His mission. We live lives that are in love with Him and we become slaves to that love of Jesus so our lives are then centered around a life of service and holiness for Jesus. We become slaves and servants to our passions and pursuit of Jesus. Our life is full of works and acts of service and love in honor of Jesus. We join and are a part of Jesus' bride, which is visibly His church. We spend time talking with Jesus and spend time reading His words and commands to us. In a life of slave love to Jesus we follow His commands and continually live as a broken repentant person knowing that we continually need Jesus to set us free from our sin struggle and tension. We are free with Jesus but now become slaves to the love and desire and want of Him.

This is the amazing tension of the Christian life and it is a great reminder for us as we wake up each day trying to follow and honor God with our words and actions. We are free but at the same time should be slaves. Amen