BARBARANNE KELLY | CONTRIBUTOR
As Americans we’re rather fond of freedom. Every July our communities are clothed in red, white, and blue, and fireworks pierce the sky in jubilant displays of national pride and celebration. “Give me liberty or give me death!” was the rallying cry at the birth of our nation and we repeat it again whenever we feel our freedom slipping away. At best our freedoms are enjoyed together with the mutual responsibilities that make living in community possible and pleasant. At worst, they descend into demands for unfettered individuality—the freedom to do whatever I want without restriction—when our personal Declaration of Independence is reduced to “Don’t tell me what to do!”
As Christians however, we are blessed with a different kind of freedom, a freedom that goes spirit-deep and lasts eternally. Our freedom is found in our Lord Jesus Christ. But what exactly is the nature of this freedom? What are we free from, and, conversely, what are we free to? The answers lie in the very name and title of our great Savior: the Lord Jesus. His earthly parents named Him Jesus because He would save His people from their sins (Matt. 1:21), and His title is Lord, because we owe Him our loving obedience (John 14:15; Eph. 1:20–22).
Give Me Liberty and Give Me Death
There is no true liberty apart from God. He is our Creator and we live in the world that He made. The freedom enjoyed by our first parents was a limited freedom, as creatures before their Creator, and depended upon their perfect obedience to him…
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