From Galatians 5 (NIV) 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. You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
In times of turbulence, promises of God’s control can be very appealing to some people. Others resent it, resist it, and flatly reject it, not wanting to have anything to do with this restrictive, repressive religion that tries to put a lid on fun, fulfillment, and pleasure. Paul was writing to a church that was confused about the issue of God’s control, to a people who once felt they were at the mercy of emperors and evil spirits. Now they have discovered that they are only at the mercy of a loving God.
Paul addresses two forces that work against our freedom. One is forced faith, a faith that relies on fear and manipulates the tender side of commitment to gain control over someone’s life. Paul opposed a forced faith, presenting the truth in a way that respected people’s freedom. He acknowledged and encouraged the freedom to think and decide. Paul also cautioned against false freedom. There is a difference between being free and being adrift. A ship without a rudder is not free. It is only loose from its moorings to flounder in the sea.
Forced faith and false freedom are two spirits of slavery that come to us with enticing invitations. Forced faith offers us the security of simply being told what to think and believe and how to behave. The spirit of slavery sneaks like a rust over our life when we give an uncritical hearing to any individual or group. The spirit of slavery can also grab hold of us when we become defiant, when we take on the attitude that no one is going to tell us what to think or believe or how we ought to behave. Sometimes in our quest for freedom or in defiance we build a suit of armor around our life that isolates us from the truth and makes movement toward the truth cumbersome and difficult.
God is not out to control us but to set us free. Jesus offers the freedom of belonging. It is a freedom that a slave can never have, whether rebelling or conforming to the desires of the Master, because the master is still master. Freedom happens when the relationship is changed. Freedom happens when our soul sees that God is not a master that is seeking to order us around, but a loving Father who is seeking our best. Freedom is found and preserved by exposing our soul to the life of Jesus. God does not want to control us. God does want to conquer the spirit of slavery that seeks to conquer us.
From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope April 25, 1993
© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell Broyles
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