Romans 6:19-23 St. Mark 8:1-9

Freedom in Context

A priest and a pastor from two local churches stood by the side of the road,
pounding a sign into the ground that read: "The End is Near! Turn Yourself
Around Now Before it's Too Late!" As a car sped past them, the driver
yelled, "Leave us alone,

you religious nuts!" From the curve they heard screeching tires and a big
splash. The pastor turned to the priest and asked, "Do you think the sign
should just say 'Caution: The Bridge is Out'?"


Freedom is a prized possession in anyone's vocabulary. Many have been
willing to lose even their lives to keep it. But freedom comes embedded
within a context and if we miss the sign at the edge of that context we,
like the irate driver, will end up plunging back into the raging river of
slavery.

Many use the word "freedom" today in radically different contexts. On the
global political scene, "freedom" may mean little more than the exchange of
one form of political enslavement for another. On the personal level, the
financial advances that promise you untold freedom to do all sorts of
wonderful things eventually enslave you until you have paid back the last
penny. Most of us have learned by now that there is no such thing as a "free
vacation".we learn that as soon as our mail box begins to overflow with junk
mail and the "you've got mail" sound on our computers begins to sound like
someone hit the repeat button on our CD player. (Well, that's the closest I
could get to a broken record.)

"In terms of personal morality, the freedom of one person to expand their
business empire may well be at the cost of the freedom of their neighbour to
remain in business; and the freedom of people to express their sexual
potential regularly results both in the (diminishing) of the freedom of
others (to put it no more strongly for the moment) and also in their own
enslavement to destructive and dehumanising habits of mind and body."
(Wright)

Freedom of speech.freedom of expression.freedom of religion.freedom of
choice.all mean absolutely nothing unless we remain well within the
boundaries of the context in which freedom is to be found. True freedom is
not found in an "anything goes" lifestyle. If we may learn from recent
global events, the liberation of countries from oppressive regimes is simply
not enough. Freedom comes with certain responsibilities to both yourself and
your neighbour and to disregard these responsibilities may result in a
situation far worse than the first.

The same is true of the Church of Jesus Christ. The Gospel is essentially an
offer of freedom from slavery to sin, death and the devil. Yet, if the
purpose of this freedom and the manner in which it is to be enjoyed is not
maintained, then it will either be abused or entirely lost in the end. Many
have said and done things in the name of Christ claiming to be "freedom
fighters" for whatever cause, but those things, when examined closely, turn
out to be the complete opposite of what freedom really means. Christ's
freedom must reflect His character.it must be in keeping with Who He is and
what He has done and continues to do for the world He came to deliver.

However, as we saw in last Sunday's Sermon, Christ's freedom must also be
consistent with who we have become in Him. Not only have we moved from the
realm of sin, death and the devil into the realm of righteousness, life and
Christ, but in the Gospel Sacrament of Holy Baptism, our old selves were
buried with and in Him and our new selves resurrected with and in Him. Thus
we are no longer who we were. We are new creations. Therefore, as we have
been thus radically changed, our behaviour too must change. What we do must
mirror who we are in Christ - if indeed we are in Christ at all. It is
shameful for those who are thus privileged - who have sworn allegiance to
the God revealed in Holy Scripture - to then embrace various lifestyles in
direct conflict with those very same Scriptures. Such behaviour is surely
nothing less than treason.

In verse 19 of our Epistle passage for this morning, St. Paul presented the
Roman believers with a challenging contrast. "Just as you presented your
members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more
lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for
holiness." In other words, "if Christ has delivered us from.bondage, then
the thing which we ought not to do is to abuse our freedom by continuing to
devote our bodies to sinful self-indulgence." (Stibbs) Freedom is only
freedom when used well within the context in which it is to be found. To
claim freedom while continuing to live in the previous state of slavery is
to deceive ourselves, to deceive others, to mock God and to blaspheme His
holy Name before the world.

We must remember that we have been set free from one thing in order that we
might live for another. Not one of us is ever free to do as we wish, when we
wish, where we wish to whom we wish. We do not live our lives in a vacuum,
or, as the Anglican Divine, John Donne once said, "No man is an island". Our
choices and actions do not only effect us, but also all those around us. The
Pro-choice movement is a perfect example. The choice to terminate the life
of an unborn child is to restrict that choice only to the born. Or as late
President Ronald Reagan once said, "Have you ever noticed that the advocates
for abortion are already born?" The abuse of freedom always leads to the
enslavement, or in this case, the extermination, of others. Not all rights
are right.

The church revisionists are another great example.their self-centred actions
have had global repercussions and have threatened to rip asunder the very
fabric of the Anglican Communion (not to even mention ecumenical
dialogue).their non biblical behaviour has also confused millions into
thinking that that which the Bible bluntly declares an abomination is quite
acceptable to the Author of that same Bible. Brethren, we simply cannot tell
the King of all kings which parts of His Word we accept and which parts we
reject without violating our relationship with Him. If we determine what He
should or should not demand from us, then who exactly is the "god" in that
situation? It really is an either/or equation, isn't it? He is either Lord,
or He is not Lord.

There are only two paths to follow on the road of life - the right way and
the wrong way. Before Christ delivered us, we were slaves of sin.
Consequently, we gave up ourselves to things of which we are now ashamed.
But now, having been set free from sin through the Sacramental application
of the finished work of Christ, we are obligated to becomes slaves of God so
that we might yield our fruit to holiness, and in the end gain everlasting
life. Paradoxically, it is in this enslavement that we find perfect
continuing freedom. "For in Christ, thus obeyed as Lord, we are free from
the things that spoil and defile, and free to be our true selves and the
best for God." (Stibbs)

You see, the use of this new freedom in Christ is determined by the eventual
goal in sight. If we choose to consistently commit ourselves to a life
contrary to God's will revealed in the Holy Scriptures, then our lives will
not only lead to lawlessness, but will inevitably and increasingly lead to
more lawlessness, culminating in a final separation from the God we have
effectively rejected.

On the other hand, if we choose to consistently commit ourselves to a life
in keeping with God's will revealed in the Holy Scriptures, then our lives
will not only lead to righteousness, but will inevitably and increasingly
lead to a growing holiness, culminating in eternal life in the presence of
the God we have effectively accepted.

Those who enjoy these merciful and gracious privileges are mindful of the
difference between these two choices. We who truly know our Lord know that
we deserved nothing but death.the just penalty for sin.the real wages we
have earned and have merited. Therefore, the life we enjoy through Him and
increasingly devote to Him is one which should reflect this knowledge
through grateful, thankful and, indeed, obedient living.

Of course it is not enough to simply know these things. For the irate driver
who ignored the sign, knowing what the sign said did not stop him from
plunging headlong into the river. The Apostle Paul's concern for his readers
was to get them to act upon what they had come to know.not just to know it.
The same Spirit Who inspired these words, now speaks to us too, urging us on
to a greater degree of freedom as we seek it within the boundaries set for
us in Holy Scripture. Biblical holiness is true freedom, because biblical
holiness is the true purpose and goal of freedom.

Dearest brethren, as we come to partake of the Gospel Sacrament of Holy
Communion, let us remember that it was the broken Body and shed Blood of our
Lord that bought us this freedom in which we now stand. Let us then strive
to thankfully accept and diligently maintain this freedom by living well
within the boundaries of that context wherein freedom is found.

© Johann W. Vanderbijl 2004