Are We Free?
“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” Galatians 5:1 (NIV)
Jesus Christ came to free the human being in mind, body, and spirit. His death and resurrection brought mankind back into alignment and union with God. This union is realized, or made manifest, and brought the perfection through the indwelling Anointing/ the Holy Spirit.
I love this verse from Galatians because it tends to misunderstood and misquoted. Paul says that Christ has come to bring freedom. This freedom is freedom from sin, yes, but also freedom from the patterns and mindsets of the world. This includes the patterns and mindsets of the church itself.
This was exactly the problem in the Galatian churches. The Galatians fell victim to teachers who told them the only way to relationship with God was remaining strictly loyal to religious rules, dogmas, and regulations. In other words, they became slaves to religion.
We think that this error is impossible for us, but it is all over the Body of Christ today. Ministers use fear-based, manipulative tactics to get us to tithe, go to church, or buy their books. We are taught that unless we believe certain facts and information about God, we will go to hell. We believe all of this because we are taught to trust and submit to our religious leaders and this information implicitly. If we don’t, we are cast away as heretics or dissenters. This is something we are taught to believe from a young age.
As I said, spiritual freedom is freedom in mind, body, and spirit. The anointing of the Holy Spirit is about freedom to think and act freely. Under this anointing, we ultimately become accountable to One - God Himself. Freedom is about breaking away from the rules, regulations, paradigms, and mindsets of the religious system, so that our hearts become attuned fully to God’s perfect Law - the Law of love. We are called to be free, for better or for worse. This is what the gospel is about.
Despite our access to this freedom, we prefer our bondage. This is because we are full of fear, materialistic interest, and addiction to comfort. Personal and spiritual growth is hard because it requires deep surrender - in mind, body, and spirit. We are not willing to enter into this surrender because surrender to God’s will can manifest as pain in the short-term. God breaking down our ego and illusions costs something. We love our spiritual, mental, and physical idols.
Humans tend to be spiritually lazy. We want someone else to tell us what to believe and do, because it doesn’t require as much from us. This is why Israel preferred the bondage of Egypt and why they cried out to Samuel for a king. This is why in America we see the rise of a nationalist movement that wants to turn America into a pseudo-theocracy.
The transformation of the world into God’s image doesn’t start with religious dogma and everyone thinking the exact same way. Freedom begins within you and me. Freedom is God breaking down our illusions, worldly mindsets, and religious paradigms so that our thinking can be free from outside influences. We are called to think and act from this place of freedom.
We have to have the bravery to face our own hearts, to be broken, to be willing to suffer. This is the message and Way of the Messiah. We talk about spiritual freedom - even praise it - but few truly want it. We prefer the comfort and safety of the religion of the age we live in. We prefer to be spoon-fed stale bread by our local minister on a Sunday morning.
We have to be brave against our fear of change. The Holy Spirit can help us! We are God’s anointed children.
“For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship…” Romans 8:14-15 (NIV)
“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” 2 Corinthians 3:17 (NIV)
