Title: Romans 12:1-2 Freedom in Christ
Contents
Romans 12:1-2) Freedom in Christ
Are you a free person enjoying freedom now?
'Freedom!' How good and wanting to own it? It would not be an exaggeration to say that the history of mankind is the history of struggles to enjoy ‘freedom’. People speak of my own freedom, but I don't enjoy true freedom. So, what is true freedom, and how can we obtain it and enjoy it?
Spiritually or theologically, man is a slave under the law of sin and death. In John 8:34, Jesus said, “… Everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.” This is the saying, 'If a man commits a sin even once, he is a slave to sin.'
There is only one way to true freedom. That way is ‘Jesus Christ’. Only Jesus can set us free, and there is freedom only where the Spirit of the Lord is. In John 8:36, Jesus says: “Therefore, if the Son sets you free, you will be truly free.” In this way, true freedom is freedom enjoyed in Jesus Christ. The freedom you enjoy in Jesus Christ is the freedom that comes from submitting to the truth, the Word of God.
Kanzo Uchimura of Japan described freedom this way:
“External freedom without inner freedom is worthless. Even if I am freed from succumbing to external pressures, what is the use if I cannot control my own mind from ignorance, sin, selfishness, fear, etc.? I would like to say that only those who: In other words, a person who is willing to sacrifice himself for the happiness of mankind without being obsessed with himself, in which pride, anger, and negligence are active, can be called a person of true freedom.”
People in the world think of it as freedom if there is no external oppression or interference. But we forget that the reality is that tying is too many pitiful servants. There are many things that people are bound by, voluntarily or not, in their lives. Bound by money, bound by power, bound by affection, bound by love, bound by grudge, bound by pride, bound by honor, bound by desire. To be bound by something means to be controlled or influenced by it.
The Hebrew word for “freedom” is “deodor”, which means “natural”, “clean”, “pure”, etc. So freedom is not doing what you want to do, but doing what you ought to do. That is, freedom in a given environment. The freedom of a train is only possible when it is on track. Freedom for plants is possible only in the conditions of the sun, water, air and soil. Earth and celestial bodies must orbit in their orbits. It is a self-evident fact that if "Earth" is tired of the orbit around it all the time, and if it deviates from that orbit and wanders around the universe at will, the result is ruin.
Humans are no exception to this principle. Man has a human law that God has set. Human freedom is freedom in God the Creator. Death came to man because he wanted to be free from God, the Lord of life.
In Genesis 3, there is a scene where man, created by God, broke his promise to God the Creator and sinned. In the process, the serpent tempted Eve, and the temptation was to become like God, to be free like God. But the result of sin was neither becoming like God nor gaining freedom. There was only destruction. It's like a train going off track and derailing to run, or a fish insisting on living on land. Even today, people leave God in order to enjoy freedom and peace and live their lives according to their own will. But instead of being free, they are bound by more things, and are hastening their own ruins. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ;-
1. The Lord has called us to freedom.
Let's look at Galatians 5:1. “Christ has set us free,” he says, “so stand firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery!”
What is the "yoke of slavery" here? In John 8:34, “Jesus answered, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.” Do you not know that you are obedient, or that you are slaves to the one whom you obey? Or, the slavery of sin leads to death, and the slavery of obedience leads to righteousness.”
As such, ‘servant’ means ‘servant of sin’, and the yoke of the slave of sin is ‘death. Therefore, in order for a person to enjoy true freedom, he must overcome sin. However, human strength cannot overcome “sin” and “death” caused by sin. That is why God has called us to freedom from the insurmountable sin and death of man.
God sees one faith in Jesus Christ and makes him a child of God, and children are naturally given freedom.
- John 1:12, "To all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God" / Romans 6:17-18, "I will give thanks to God. You were originally slaves of sin, but you Having obeyed from the heart the pattern of doctrine given to him, he was set free from sin and became slaves to righteousness." 22-23, “But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, you have obtained the fruit that leads to holiness, and the end is eternal life. The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
In this verse, 'freedom' is expressed as 'being a slave to righteousness' after being set free from sin. So, let's take a closer look at what this freedom means so that we can actually enjoy it in our lives.
2. Freedom is in Jesus Christ.
Let's look at verse 3. “By the grace given to me, I say to each one of you, do not think exceedingly as you ought to think, but think wisely according to the measure of faith that God has given you.”
It speaks of the freedom enjoyed by the saints who have been set free from sin through Jesus Christ and become slaves to righteousness. Among these verses, what do these verses mean, “thinking more than we ought to think” and “the measure of faith given to each person”?
This means the trajectory of life that God has given to each person. For example, a father, mother, son, daughter, etc. live together in one family to form a family community. However, each individual is different in appearance, talents, lifespan and health. They are one family, but each has its own unique life trajectory. It cannot be transferred to another person, nor can it be entrusted to live on its behalf. In John 21, Jesus continued to question Peter and told him about the future. Then Peter asked, ‘What will happen to this man?’ about John who was next to Jesus in the sense of ‘Why are you doing this with me?!’ Then Jesus said, “If I want him to stay until I come, what does it matter to you? You follow me!”
This means that each person must accept the environment given to them and faithfully cultivate the trajectory of life given to them within it. However, you must cultivate the trajectory of your life within the will of God. Therefore, Christian freedom is only possible in Jesus Christ. Freedom in Jesus Christ is obedience to the providence and word of God. The reason that the creatures must adapt to their environment like this is because it is the will that God has ordained for each creature.
3. You have made us free in Jesus Christ.
The requirements of obedience to God's providence and His Word are not meant to bind man. It is God's consideration for safety and complete freedom. When a person faithfully lives the path given to him in God's will, he can transcend all human desires. The phenomenon that appears in a person who transcends all human desires is “self-sufficiency”. In other words, it means 'I am satisfied with everything.' Such a person is not governed by the environment. So, we will be able to give thanks in everything without being shaken by the material or desires of the world. This is the true freedom you can enjoy in Christ. Listen to Paul's confession.
- Philippians 4:11-13, “I am not saying this because I am in need, but I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances. I also learned all the secrets. I can do all things through him who strengthens me!”
The power of faith to do all things in Jesus Christ also begins with a life of being “satisfied”. ‘Satisfaction’ comes from God’s will, that is, ‘submission to God’s word and providence’, and submission to God’s will is possible ‘in Jesus Christ’.
This principle makes ‘spiritual worship’ at the beginning of the text and ‘practical life’ at the end of the text possible, and naturally connects the two. We cannot offer spiritual worship without a heart of obedience to God's Word and providence. Moreover, serving and serving outside of God's will is meaningless. Only those who truly enjoy freedom in Jesus Christ can worship and serve God according to the will of God.
I will conclude
Jesus said that he appeared at the end of the world as the fulfillment of the law. The fulfillment of the law is 'love'. In other words, when we deal with the Word of God, we cannot find the true meaning of the Word without a heart of love and obedience. It is because Jesus Christ is love that we can be free only in Jesus Christ.
What we read, hear, and do is in no way intended to achieve my religious knowledge or salvation. It is only for the sake of love, to enjoy freedom and to preach the liberating Jesus Christ. If we love God, love our neighbors, and obey in Jesus Christ with sincerity and sincerity, the Lord will properly grant our salvation and reward.
I pray in the name of the Lord that your life will be a blessed life in which you can fully enjoy true freedom in Christ and spread the word as today's Word.