Psalm 116.16 says:
O Lord, I am your servant;
yes, I am your servant, born into your household;
you have freed me from my chains.
It wasn’t until David started serving God that He found true freedom. We have a strange view of freedom in the modern age. Recently, several people have told me they will not be at church on Sunday because “it is their birthday”. I find that crazy that your birthday present to yourself is to skip church and skip serving and assembling with the people of God. I know people who skip church to meet family, to tile their bathroom, and if you ever speak to them about it, the answer normally includes the word “free” or “freedom” – “I’m free to do whatever I want”. That’s not freedom. Paul taught the Galatian church about grace, and they became a church full of grace, but they then began to use their freedom to serve the flesh. Paul had to write to them and say that is not freedom! Galatians 5.13 says “Do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another”.
In one sense, yes you are free to skip church and go and have some birthday cake. You are free to skip church and wash your car, you are free to skip serving and go and watch the football. You are free to get offended at the pastor and not go to church and stay at home and sulk. You are even free to text people how much you hate church. You are free to go on YouTube and make a silly video telling silly lies about the church! You are in one sense very free. But here is the issue that most people do not realize until it is too late – that kind of freedom will always lead to being trapped.
Once, one of my sons fell down the stairs and bite his lips so severely he bit all the way through it. My wonderful wife, Amanda, and myself laid hands on him and prayed in tongues for 45 minutes until his lips was totally and completely healed by God. Why was I free to do that? Because I have used my “free” time for many years to pray in tongues and develop faith in the Word.
Maybe that illustration is too spiritual for you. Ok, here is a natural illustration. After this blog post, I am going to go to my local gym, I am going to put 120kg on the bar and I am going to bench 120kg. Why am I free to do that? Most people cannot do that. Because I have used my freedom to do it over and over and over and over and over and over until I am strong enough to do it with heavy weights.
You are supposed to use your freedom to discipine yourself. Let’s say you skipped church for your birthday, and God wanted to speak to you during the worship to pray a little more in the week, you missed it, so you didn’t pray more, so your heart wasn’t sensitive for a situation and you lost your temper and ruined your witness. You were not free to keep your cool in a tough time because you did not use your freedom to go to church and hear God, you did not use your free time to pray, rather you were playing computer games and watching rubbish in TV, so you get chained up. You wake up sick and cannot rebuke the sickness because you did not use your freedom to serve and be in the Word and love.
True freedom is found in discipline. It is found in obedience. It is found in serving. The more we serve others, the more our heart blossoms, the more we find freedom, the more we win in life.
I do not have a more powerful way of saying this than Paul did in Galatians 5.13, so here it is again, in several versions:
For you, brethren, were [indeed] called to freedom; only [do not let your] freedom be an incentive to your flesh and an opportunity or excuse [for selfishness], but through love you should serve one another. (AMPC)
It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life. Just make sure that you don’t use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom. Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love; that’s how freedom grows. (MSG)
For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. (NLT)
For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another. (NRSV)
Brothers and sisters, God has called you to freedom! Hear the call, and do not spoil this gift by using your liberty to engage in what your flesh desires; instead, use it to serve each other as Jesus taught through love. (VOICE)
Serving is indeed awesome, it is the path to freedom. True freedom!
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