Freedom is a concept that I have both experienced and thought about for a long time. My Grandpa served in World War II, fighting in both the European and Pacific Theaters, so the gift of freedom was never taken for granted in my home. I was taught that freedom is not free; there are always those who desire to impose their power at the expense of the freedom of others (cf. Luke 22:25). As a child I spent every day that I could exploring the woods and the mountain where I grew up, often staying out well past dark. Then, as a teenager, I did not have a curfew (I was a good student, I didn’t really get into trouble, and I tried to let my grandparents know where I would be). Theologically, I have often thought about the freedom we have in Christ, especially the freedom we have from sin. Jesus said, “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36). Because of His life, death, and resurrection, the curse of sin (Genesis 3) has been broken (Isaiah 53:10-11; 1 Peter 2:24-25). When we have put our faith in Him, we experience true freedom! We were once imprisoned, but now the shackles have been broken and the prison door has been opened.
Yet far too often, we run back into that prison cell that reeks of death and try to put those broken shackles back onto our wrists and ankles. If that visual strikes you as implausible, it should – after all, it doesn’t make any sense! But that is precisely what is happening whenever we return to our sin. We have been set free, but we want to return to the prison that once held us. Even though we know that sin brings death and destruction (and this is not merely a theoretical knowledge, because we have ourselves experienced what the Puritans once called the “utter sinfulness of sin”), our flesh still longs for that which is sinful. James describes this pattern in 1:14-15: “But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.”
What are we to do, then? Later in his letter, James encouraged his readers to resist temptation and draw near to God (4:7-8), a theme repeated often in Scripture. We are not to indulge the flesh, but rather we are to grow more mature in the Spirit through the study and application of the Word. The investment we make in our spiritual growth pays not only eternal dividends, but earthly ones as well, since we become stronger and better equipped to stand against the schemes of the Devil (Ephesians 6:11). But I want to warn you about one particular temptation that can carry away even seasoned saints: the temptation of freedom. There are many false teachers who will tell you that once you have been saved, many things that had been sinful are no longer so; therefore, have at it! Peter wrote in 1 Peter 2:16: “Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.” We have not been made free so that we might return to that which brings death, but so that we might serve fully the God who gave His life so that we can have life eternal and abundant. Brothers and sisters, I pray this for you all often, and am thankful to our Lord for the growth I see in you.
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