You Gotta Serve Somebody

Is Freedom An Illusion?
By: Dr. Danny Purvis

While this does seem to be an intentionally provocative title, it does bear some inquiry. In our National Anthem we refer to ourselves as the “land of the free”. In our nation we constantly talk about freedom and what it means to be free. We point out laws, policies, and positions that we believe threaten our freedom. We point out other countries in the world that do not cherish or protect the freedoms of their people. But when you get right down to it, oftentimes freedom is very difficult to define and operationalize. For example, I have the freedom to buy a house. I do not, however, have the freedom to not pay taxes on my house. Or my house would become the government’s house. So, freedom can be difficult to define sometimes.

What we cannot do with this construct (or any other secular construct) is to let our cultural, political, civic, and economic ideas of freedom bleed into our theology. And believe me…it does. We talk about this nation being the freest nation in the history of the planet. You can certainly make that point. But just because we may live in the freest nation in the history of the planet, that doesn’t mean that we can take that political and civic freedom and superimpose it on our spiritual condition. Why am I even talking about this? I am glad you asked.

In Romans 6:15-23 we see a clear and unambiguous statement of fact written by Paul under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Want to hear that truth? Here goes. No one is free. Not one single person on this planet is free. This is not hyperbole or allegory. God could not make this clearer. In these last 9 verses that end up chapter 6, Paul uses the word slaves 8 times. Eight times in 9 verses. I think maybe He is trying to make a point. And what is that point? That all people are divided into two categories: Those who are slaves to sin…those who are slaves to God. Note the word that describes both of these groups: slaves. And I don’t know about you…but I’ve never heard of a free slave. In fact that phrase is the technical definition of an oxymoron.

In Romans 6:17-18 Paul writes, “you who were once slaves to sin” are now freed from that and now “have become slaves of righteousness”. In verse 22 Paul writes that Believers are now “slaves of God”. We are not free. That is not the same as saying we do not live in a free country. We actually do live in a free country. But that is not what God is talking about. He is not talking about political, cultural, or civic slavery. He is talking about our very nature. Our very will. Therein lies the point. We have superimposed upon our enslaved reality this idea that because we experience freedom in this country…can make our own choices…do our own thing…that this also applies to our very existence from a spiritual standpoint. We have way too many Believers who keep throwing around the idea that when it comes to salvation, that we have “free will”. There is just one problem with this thought. It is not supported by Scripture at all.

Not just here in the latter parts of Romans 6 but spread throughout the Bible are reminders that our will is not free. It is enslaved one way or the other. Either we are enslaved to God…or enslaved to sin. The Bible says that. In fact…here is a partial list of what God says we can’t do…that we are not capable of in any way, shape, or fashion. We can’t understand Him. We can’t seek Him. We can’t understand Him. We can’t seek Him. We can’t have faith in Him. We can’t do anything good at all. Maybe it’s just me…but that doesn’t sound like we have free will. Can we make some free choices in our lives? Yes. But it is our will we are talking about here. And that will is enslaved. Either to God or to sin. The only question for us is…where are we enslaved? That’s the only question on the table.    

-Dr. Danny Purvis

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