Perhaps one of the best
statement of liberty is found in the American Declaration of Independence: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are
created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable
Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.’ Liberty is indeed a self-evident inalienable
right endowed by God. It is built in. He designed us that way. Picture an eagle
in a birdcage or a dolphin in a fish tank or a lion in a pen. These
environments restrict what God created these great creatures to be. Yet man,
the greatest of all of God’s creatures, would rather live in bondage in the
service of tyrants than accept the liberty God offers through His Son. Try the
following example of this where Jesus says, ‘If
you love Me, keep My commandments’ (John 14:15). How can we be free if we are
to keep commandments? Aren’t rules and regulations, laws, the stuff of bondage?
Of course not! Paradoxically freedom comes from keeping God’s Law. Do you think
driving your car on the wrong side of the road is loving God and your neighbour
as yourself? Cheating on your tax form? Cheating on your husband or wife? Dishonouring
your parents? Lying? Inventing gods to replace God with? Ignoring Him? We could
go on, but it’s not hard to see that keeping the Ten Commandments makes for a
better society in which to live. No one is at liberty to break the law,
especially God’s Law. So, why do we break it? It’s because we don’t love Him as
we ought.
The preamble to the Ten
Commandments handed down from God on Mt Sinai is, ‘I am the Lord your
God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage’
(Exod. 20:2). God could have easily said the following before He listed the
Decalogue, therefore ‘If you love Me, keep My commandments.’ If you love the One who set
you free from your slavery would you not show your gratitude by striving with
His assistance to keep His commandments or would you murmur and complain about
it for forty years? Would you long for the prison food? You felt safe and secure in the land
of slavery, the house of bondage? Yes, some who taste liberty spit it out
again. ‘What the true proverb
says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow,
after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire” (2 Pet. 2:22). Thus, they reject God’s Ten Rules for Freedom and instead
return to the Rules for Radicals in the house of bondage.
Jesus said, ‘And you shall know the truth,
and the truth shall make you free. They answered Him, “We are
Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You
say, ‘You will be made free’?” Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly,
I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does
not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore
if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed’ (John 8:32-36).
True liberty comes only with
true love for the truth. How so? Because Christ is the truth (John 14:6).
Therefore, if your heart is yearning for freedom, ‘Repent, and believe in the gospel’
(Mark 1:15).
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