What is Freedom?

India celebrated its Independence this week. 67 years ago, India got her freedom from the British Empire to be an independent Sovereign Republican State. From the national parade in the Red Fort to the Prime Minister’s speech, most of us in the most populous nation would have remembered something about what exactly the term ‘Freedom’ means. Just like the millions of gods in our nation, there are millions of definitions of ‘Freedom’ among our people. I read some articles in Internet as in how our nation thinks of ‘Freedom’. I found an interesting article in ‘The Times of India’ where some youngsters defined what Freedom is by holding a placard in their hands like in the picturehere. Here are some of them in their words. 

“#Freedom is:

Wearing what I want and not being called a slut.

Being able to choose my own sexual preferences.

Equal rights for LGBT

Not being looked up to as the ‘Breadwinner’ of the Family

Choosing to not to have kids”

These are just some of the many definitions which can be found among our people. Some of which are thought provoking. But there is still one question it begs: How can all of them have a totally different meaning of freedom? Say let us take the reasoning of a pro LGBT person. For him, Freedom is ‘not to be told that homosexuality is wrong’. There are two problems with these kind of reasoning. First, if telling a person that he is wrong is slavery, then ISIS militants and Nazi Germans would also say that they are denied of freedom to kill the minorities and Jews, since most of the world are criticising for their actions. Second, he is not practicing what he preaches. If a homosexual wants no one to tell that his lifestyle is wrong, then he has no right to say that people who are opposing his lifestyle is wrong. Conservatives can also cry like him saying: “Freedom is not being labelled as bigot by a homosexual”

This is the problem of our Post-Modern society. Our society is crumbling in front of our eyes without our notice. Each one has a meaning of freedom. Freedom for one can be a slavery to another. Nazi’s definition of freedom would have been slavery for the Jews. This brings us the necessity to have objective morality. Now you would ask me a question. So what about the objective moral laws like the Sharia law of Islam or Communist manifesto? Yes. They are objective but they were framed by evil sinful men. So though they are objective, they are far from Justice. So the laws should be given by a Just and a Righteous person. Who is the righteous person in this universe?

1.      Only God is good:

"The Rock, his (God) work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he. (Deu 32:4)

Only God is Holy and blameless. There is no one in this universe who is blameless, who is just. Bible says, "None is righteous, no, not one; (Rom 3:10)”. So whether it is the homosexual liberal agnostic or a conservative Muslim or a moralistic Hindu, all human beings are sinners by default.

2. Only good God can define what freedom is and what is good for us:

"And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD, which I am commanding you today for your good?

(Deu 10:12-13)

God created this universe. God created us in His image for His glory. Since only God is good, only He knows what is right and what is good for us. No human can define what is good because he himself is evil. How can evil produce any good? Rather like how this verse above says, God has given his commands and morality which is the only objective righteous truth. Only if we obey the laws, like the above verse says, we would have real freedom. These laws are not considered to be a bondage but rather as a fence to prevent us from falling down the cliff of slavery. And all these laws are given in Scripture (2Tim 3:16,17)

3.  Only God can give true freedom:

As I have shown you from above, all of us are evil. Evil is opposite to what the commands and precepts of God. So since we all have disobeyed his commands, all of us are under the slavery of sin. And since God is just and holy, He will punish us because justice requires punishment of evil doers. Since He is infinitely Holy and Just, our punishment will also be infinitely severe. But God in His mercy, He gave us His only Son, the Lord God Jesus Christ to become a man in earth, just like us and came to take the punishment we justly deserve. He took the punishment of those who would believe in Him and died, 2000 years ago, on a cross so that the justice of God and His wrath would satisfied. And God raised Him on the third day from the Dead to prove that He had succeeded in taking the punishment of His children and now He is lifted up in Heaven. Only Jesus can give us true freedom. So if you repent and trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of your sin, you would be truly free indeed and you will have eternal life.

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. (Joh 8:36)

But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. (Rom 6:22)

For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. (Gal 5:1)

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