This article is part 1 of the “How to Walk in Freedom” series. The full series can be found here.
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THERE MUST BE A MASTER
This is the first article in a new series from Matt’s Notes called How to Walk in Freedom. In this series, we will be discussing how to walk in freedom from sin and condemnation.
Before we get into the how of walking in freedom, first we need to talk about what we even mean when we use the word freedom in a biblical context. In the next few articles, we will dive into God’s Word and see what it says about freedom in Christ.
Many people seem to be under the misconception that being free in Christ means complete autonomy — having no master at all. In other words, because I’m free, I can do whatever I want. While that is often what we mean when we use the word freedom in modern speech, that is not what the Bible means when it speaks of freedom.
In the Bible, there is no such thing as having no master. Instead, the Bible presents only two options. We are either servants of sin or servants of righteousness:
“Know you not, that to whom you yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants you are to whom you obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But God be thanked, that you were the servants of sin, but you have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, you became the servants of righteousness.” Romans 6:16–18
The freedom that we have in Christ — which is the kind freedom this series will discuss — is not the absence of a master. Instead, it is freedom from sin, which is freedom to serve Jesus Christ.
In Romans 8:2, the apostle Paul made the following declaration of freedom regarding himself:
“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” Romans 8:2
The same apostle Paul who declared himself to be free in the passage above also declared himself to be a servant of Jesus Christ.
“Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ . . .” Romans 1:1a
So, in defining freedom in Christ, principle #1 is that the freedom we are seeking is not freedom to serve sin, or freedom from any master whatsoever, but freedom to serve Jesus Christ, with Him alone as our Master.
Insofar as we are not serving Christ, we are walking in bondage.
SERVING SIN = SERVING SELF
We will discuss this more later in the series, but every person who is still alive in the flesh has a law of sin in their fleshly members that produces in them a desire to think, act, and speak contrary to the Law of God (see Romans 7).
When we encounter the Law of God and learn that it says, “thou shalt not covet,” the indwelling law of sin produces in us all manner of covetousness (Romans 7:7–8).
When indwelling sin produces these ungodly lusts in our flesh, and we fulfill them, we are serving indwelling sin. We are making sin our master.
What is the nature and essence of serving sin, though?
We’ve already discussed that serving sin is acting contrary to God’s Law, but let’s go deeper. The Bible repeatedly tells us that love for our neighbor is the fulfillment of God’s Law:
“Owe no man anything, but to love one another: for he that loves another hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Love works no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.” Romans 13:8–10
“For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” Galatians 5:14
“If you fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, you do well:” James 2:8
If love for our neighbor is the essence and fulfillment of God’s Law, then the essence of serving sin must be failing to love our neighbor as ourselves.
To put in another way, the essence of serving sin is serving self.
When self is our master, we are serving sin. This is why freedom isn’t about being free from all masters. Someone will always be the master. Either self will be the master, or someone else will be the master. To be free from all other masters is to be our own master — which is to be a servant of sin.
Even though he was free from all men, the apostle Paul taught that his service to Jesus Christ compelled him to be a servant to all men.
“For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more.” 1 Corinthians 9:19
To serve Christ means following His command to love our neighbor as ourselves. As such, to serve Christ means making ourselves a servant unto all. The cross that we bear as servants of Jesus Christ is that our lives are not be used to fulfill our own fleshly desires; instead, our lives are to be a living sacrifice unto God in the service of others.
SUMMARY
In sum, freedom in Christ is freedom from serving sin and freedom to serve Christ.
Said another way, freedom in Christ is freedom from serving ourselves and freedom to serve one another in the service of Christ.
“For, brethren, you have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” Galatians 5:13–14
