"Such confidence we have through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
"Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, transitory though it was, will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? If the ministry that brought condemnation was glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. And if what was transitory came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!
"Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to prevent the Israelites from seeing the end of what was passing away. But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." (NIV)
Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
America is a country established on the idea of freedom, of individual liberty, of self-determination. And over the years, that idea of freedom has evolved. Initially, it was understood that with great liberty came also great responsibility. But now, freedom has become equated with license.
In looking at partial definitions of liberty and license, there is a comparison that is helpful:
Liberty: "Freedom from arbitrary or despotic control; the positive enjoyment of various social, political, or economic rights and privileges."
License (third definition): "Freedom that allows or is used with irresponsibility; disregard for standards of personal conduct." (Both from the Miriam-Webster Dictionary)
Perhaps the most important is the phrase for the definition of license: "disregard for standards." When we read the word "freedom" in scripture, we have to understand that Paul wasn’t talking about "license," but rather about a very specific kind of freedom.
The word translated freedom (or in the NKJ liberty) in 2 Corinthians is eleutheria (Strong’s G1657). Vine’s elaborates:
"The phraseology is that of manumission from slavery, which among the Greeks was effected by a legal fiction, according to which the manumitted slave was purchased by a god; as the slave could not provide the money, the master paid it into the temple treasury in the presence of the slave, a document was drawn up containing the words ‘for freedom.’ No one could enslave him again, as he was the property of the god."
This was the context against which Paul wrote Romans 6:
"For if we have been united with him (Christ) in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been set free from sin." (v. 5-7 NIV).
This is the freedom to which Paul refers in 2 Corinthians, the freedom from being enslaved to sin. This is always Paul’s definition when he speaks about freedom. He never speaks about or encourages license (separation from standards of behavior). How do we know this? Because of the verse before and after Romans 6:5-7:
"What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
"In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace." (v. 1-4, 11-14 NIV).
Paul couldn’t make it any clearer. The freedom that is given to the believer is not the freedom to choose to do whatever we want. It is the freedom to be able to choose righteousness. And with boldness and emphasis, Paul states, not once but several times in Romans, that we are to turn from sin at every point and to choose righteous and holy living. Unfortunately, we have taken this idea of freedom and decided that Christians can do whatever they want to do. After all, we’re saved, right? Our sins are forgiven, right? We have grace, right? But Paul argues that it is the Spirit that gives life; he makes this argument in Galatians 5:
"I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control." (Galatians 5:16-23 NKJV).
Paul compares two kinds of behavior, the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit. But then, Paul makes this condemnation: "Those who practice such things (the works of the flesh) will not inherit the kingdom of God" (v. 21). And Paul begins this passage by saying (my loose translation): "If you want to not do all the stuff that goes with living by the lust of your flesh, then you must walk in the Spirit." And how do you do that? By living out the fruit of the Spirit on the daily basis, by living righteous and holy lives.
The freedom of which Paul speaks in 2 Corinthians isn’t a license to do whatever our emotions tell us we should do. We aren’t allowed to be angry or hateful or jealous or selfish. We can’t justify our sins or hide them and think they don’t exist. We can’t be what comes naturally for our sin nature will lead us astray every time! The freedom, the precious freedom, we have been given is the freedom to live by and through the Holy Spirit of our Savior and to be loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled in every situation. It is the freedom to trust God in the midst of the worst circumstances and know that we can never lose because He is always in control. It is the freedom to know that our life is in His service and that our death promotes us to Glory in His eternal presence. Our freedom is the Hope the one day soon we will see our blessed Savior face to face, never to be separated from Him.
© 2015 Robin L. O’Hare. All rights reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.
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