God Created Us To Be Free God gave man some parameters of life to abide by, but told him he was free to choose whatever he wanted to do. God placed the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the garden to ensure that man had the option to do as he chose. Adam could have chosen to obey God and live in paradise or disobey God and certainly die. Everyone knows what his choice was. He did not choose wisely. He chose according to his own desires instead of the desires that would be good for the many. The freedom Adam and Eve took advantage of has cost mankind their lives. We have the same choices today. We have the freedom to decide what we can or cannot do. We have the freedom to decide if we are to accept freedom that God gives us to live in eternal life through His Son or choose to live without Him which is a life of disparity in Hell. We are free to choose life.

God Created Us To Be Free

God gave man some parameters of life to abide by, but told him he was free to choose whatever he wanted to do.

God placed the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the garden to ensure that man had the option to do as he chose. Adam could have chosen to obey God and live in paradise or disobey God and certainly die. Everyone knows what his choice was. He did not choose wisely. He chose according to his own desires instead of the desires that would be good for the many. The freedom Adam and Eve took advantage of has cost mankind their lives.

We have the same choices today. We have the freedom to decide what we can or cannot do. We have the freedom to decide if we are to accept freedom that God gives us to live in eternal life through His Son or choose to live without Him which is a life of disparity in Hell. We are free to choose life.

Slavery Is Not Acceptable

When slavery was introduced, the free man forgot what it was like to be enslaved and thus enslaved others. The black man was enslaved and forced to live in bondage to others. It should be stated that most slave owners were white, but there were black slave owners as well. These black men also forgot about the nature of freedom and enslaved their brothers. However, God has instilled in men that slavery of one to another is not acceptable. Therefore, the Civil War was declared and an injustice was dealt with. Men were once again free to live as God had intended from the time of Adam and Eve.

Nevertheless, the lesson could still not be learned and man continued to try to enslave man for his own profit. People who could not cope with the idea that God created each of us in his own image tried to remain in control of his fellow man.

Today is no different. Even though there is no legal slavery in the United States of America today, men seek to enslave others in other ways. Not through race but through money and power. Mankind is still trying to control the outcome of the sovereign world in which we live. As men and women seek power for their own benefit, people’s lives are ignored.

America: Founded on Christian Principles

This country was founded on the premise of freedom. The Pilgrims traveled from England to the New World in the sixteenth century on a quest for religious freedom. Unfortunately, they were on a quest for freedom of “their” religion and no one else’s. They were intolerant of other religions and persecuted those who opposed their own religious views. However, that is the topic of another book. Nevertheless, they sought out freedom to live as they determined, away from the tyranny of England.

The people and founding Fathers of America sought to break the chains of bondage placed on them by the, then, British Empire. They sought independence to be a free people and govern the way they desired. They wanted a life in which they chose to live. They wanted to be in control of their own destiny. You know the story. America fought for its independence and won the right to be free in 1776. Even so, there was much to be learned about this freedom.

God's Word Places Him in Control

I get chills when I do the pledge to the American Flag and sometimes emotional while singing the National Anthem. Nevertheless, my true allegiance is to God. If my patriotism is stronger than my allegiance to God there is a problem. If anything takes precedence over Christ, it must be purged. Thankfully, the American Way of life has always been parallel with Christian values. However, today the line has been skewed. 

There has been much said about freedom in past days; especially the last couple of years. Freedom is that which is granted by God for a person to decide his or her own fate according to God’s Word. Ironically, deciding one’s fate by God’s Word places Him in control, thus removing the decision from the Believer and placing it on God.

Bondage Comes from Rejection of Christ

Neil Cavuto of FOX News has freedom. Even though he is afflicted with pain and disease and in constant pain, he has freedom of the Spirit to know he has a choice whether to be miserable or content. In a series of interviews on FOX News, Neil was criticized for his interview with Dr. Kavorkian by some of his viewers. He was told that he could not possibly understand what the afflicted felt in their anguish and their deep desire to end their life while he sits in the perfect life of his ivory tower (Sep 3, 2009); not understanding the constant pain Cavuto lives in, those who made the allegations of Cavuto are the ones who truly do not understand the circumstances they purport. Cavuto has found true freedom and it did not come from suicide. 

When Kavorkian was asked about his life in prison, ironically what bothered him most was the lack of freedom. If he did not accept the freedom of Christ before his death, he is experiencing bondage today beyond comparison to this meager existence; The bondage of being without God for eternity.

True Freedom is Manifested in the Fruit of the Spirit

The freedom of the flesh quickly turns to dependency, despair, disease, separation and loneliness. What was perceived as freedom becomes manifest in bondage and literally traps one in his or her body, or worse leads to eternity separated from God.

In Galatians 5:13, Paul says believers were called to freedom. We who are in Christ are called to be free. That freedom is manifested in the fruit of the Spirit that is spoken of in Galatians 5:22-23. The freedom the believer possesses manifests itself by the power of the Holy Spirit who resides in all who accept the message of Christ.

A rock singer of the 1960’s named Janis Joplin sang, "Freedom’s just another word for nothin’ left to lose." That is the typical cynicism of the world. Freedom is not understood because it is looked at through fleshly eyes; eyes that only see freedom as something that is granted by men for our own fleshly desires. Quite the contrary, freedom is another word for everything to gain.

Twenty-first century America equates freedom with the ability and opportunity to possess the good life. However, it is much more than that. It is the opportunity to obtain freedom from the trappings of the world around us and embrace the world of eternal life offered through faith in the only one who can make such an offer; Jesus Christ. Christ is the only one authorized to give freedom.

Freedom must be defined by more than circumstances or surroundings in which one finds him or herself. It must encompass more than what a person knows as reality of the moment. It must be a state of mind. It must be how one can see their surroundings in the future. Otherwise, no one would venture out of the present situation he or she resides in.

Freedom in Christ Gives True Contentment

Freedom in Christ gives true contentment. Freedom of the Spirit allows one to be strong in his or her faith and rest in the freedom who is Christ. Freedom, other than spiritual freedom is an illusion.

When I prepare to board an airplane I once again recognize the freedoms we have taken advantage of. You cannot freely enter an airport and board a plane. You must endure all of the constraints placed upon you if you wish to "freely" move about the country or the world. Most of us endure these constraints to be able to do what we want to do. 

It is much the same with spiritual freedom. When you accept a loving Christ into your heart, you gladly accept the limitations placed on you. However, unlike the airline industry, the constraints of Christ do not limit. Rather, they empower you walk in the strength of the freedom of Jesus Christ. 

For example, sin places constraints on your life that place you in bondage; prohibiting you from living the abundant life. Drugs, alcohol, sex and other “liberties” of the flesh give the illusion of freedom. However, in a short time one learns of the bondage placed on him or her by the very "liberties" in which one thought was freedom; those same “liberties” lead to broken relationships, bad health and even death. Those “liberties” are the opposite of the abundant life.