I woke up at 2 am and the only word that has been blasting into my mind from then till now is the word, “freedom”. Many people have gone far into the study of true freedom and in search of it, lost themselves. Adolf Hitler, Karl Marx, Stalin and many other ordinary, unmentioned, people have found freedom in fear and control just to realize a tragic end in their lives. Others have found freedom in liberal, almost insane justifications of a world without God so as to indulge in reckless revelry and earthly pleasures. Most of them brilliant philosophers and thinkers.
And my mind churned out a whole universe of scriptures, ideas, definitions, examples and testimonies of the word, “freedom”. I know that one day, I will have to share it and my fears will be no more because fear is the antonym of freedom and, to be an agent of change, one has to first change. Freedom is best taught in the classroom of the free. This blog post is a brief account. Much more had been thought through in the past months and I still stand corrected as I’m also prone to err.
Those who have been freed by Christ are free indeed. Many proclaim and declare that. In fact, sing that but do not practice that. Take sin for example. So many people I have met are so fearful of sin that when a friend sins, they jump into judgment mode. Sin has the power to corrupt but we have the power to overcome! That is part of freedom. We do not judge sinners. God does. What we can judge and bring justice upon, is sin itself. Not the sinner; The principalities, dominions, rulers, and powers of darkness, but not, the sinner itself.
We have taught, by way of our judgmental actions and reactions, that sinners have no power to take responsibility for their sins and we, as the “past” sinners, have to punish them. This, isn’t practiced by members of churches that much, but rather, leaders. Check out what happens when a member of a church smokes. Who gives the stigma? The church. Suddenly, whatever ministry he’s in is suspended and he has no longer any avenue to utilize his spiritual giftings in areas of the church. We fear the power of sin to corrupt in the body of Christ more than the redemptive power of God to change a person both inwardly and outwardly. When the suspension is given, freedom is robbed and whatever was once a gifting, can now, be a vicious cycle because he can no longer utilize what he is passionate about.
What I am saying is not that we do not address the sinful act in that person’s life but more so, the ways and methods we do so. Freedom comes with consequences. We work those consequences into that person’s life and allow the conviction & empowerment of the Holy Spirit to mold and change the innermost beings while encouraging that person in pursuit of the path of holiness. This is so, because we are all made righteous only because of Jesus and are in no way, any better than anyone else. A redeemed sinner does not judge a sinner but aids him in the way of redemption and restoration. The only time we do suspend is when the one who commits the act doesn’t see it wrong and isn’t willing to repent. He/she still feels that it is rightfully so and that, brings into effect the suspension from ministry and even, the church itself as stated in the book of James and in portions of the epistles. There is a difference between a sheep that is lost or gone astray and a wolf in sheep’s clothing. God seeks, retrieves and restores the lost & stray, but, brings judgment & justice upon the wolves hoping to benefit in wickedness within the flock.
In the bible, the word, “justice” and “righteousness”, both in Hebrew and Greek, are the exact same words. The only difference, is its dimension. Righteousness is obtained by Jesus’ death on the cross and we, receive it by grace, through faith in believing in Him. It’s a personal dimension. Justice, however, is the social dimension that we, the righteous, ought to uphold. That is, to bring God’s righteousness into the life of others. if we, being righteous, seek not to make others righteous, then, we are only but self-righteous and pride sets in to tear us down. By grace we are made righteous in order that grace may be extended to make all righteous. That is, justice. Justice isn’t going against people or institutions, concepts or ideas, but rather, to introduce God’s grace in making people righteous in areas like politics, governance, leadership, education, family and all other facets, aspects of life.
Therefore, in minor conclusion, the way to introduce freedom in its initial stages is to introduce the definition of righteousness. We are not made righteous by anything we have done. Not by merit, not by works. It is and only is by the death if Jesus on the cross and the faith with which we use to accept, believe and receive it. Which means, we are already forgiven, past, present and future. There is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. It doesn’t mean that we continue sinning(rom 6), but rather, in this journey of repentance from sins, we are never condemned and if so, never to fear anything and if we do not fear anything, we do not shun from trying even the impossible. It is unnatural for christians to not attempt the impossible.
The same power that conquered the grave lives in me. That power enables me to achieve the unattainable, attempt the unattempted, pursue the impossible and to live lives bigger than life itself. Now, this is freedom. Fearless, empowered and untainted. Righteous to make others righteous. Blessed to bless the community and the nations.
