LAW OF FREEDOM

Freedom of our wonderful nation India is the highest held and most celebrated of all the blessings. Independence Day, is observed annually on 15 August is a national holiday in India commemorating the nation's independence from the British Empire on 15 August 1947.On 15 August 1947, Jawaharlal Nehru, who had become the first Prime Minister of India that day, raised the Indian national flag above the Lahori Gate of the Red Fort in Delhi. On each subsequent Independence Day, the prime minister has raised the flag and given a speech. And we thank God for the freedom that we have, as Indian citizens and also as a believer.  But here is something interesting, 12th of August has been declared as International Youth Day by U.S. And after three subsequent days, we have something called Indian Independence Day celebration. So some way or the other you find these two events having to do something with each other. Differently put, concept of youth and the freedom are closely connected in terms of their occurrence.

THE FOUR TYPES FREEDOM:

1) National Freedom- It simply means a nation’s freedom from foreign rule.

2) Political Freedom- It means the right of citizens to be actively involved in their government, often referred to as being a democracy or a republic.

3) Individual Freedom- It refers to just those individual rights and liberties guaranteed by law or a constitution. Individual Freedom refers to just those individual rights and liberties guaranteed by law or a constitution. Some national leaders do grant their people some rights, choices and liberties but in reality these are gifts that can easily be taken away at any time.

4) Spiritual Freedom- it means Salvation that is freedom from bondage of sin and guilt.

James 1: 25, "But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom, and continues to do so not being a forgetful hearer, but an effective doer, he will be blessed in what he does."

James here refers to the gospel of Jesus Christ, which, although it is called here a law, is not, strictly speaking, a law consists of necessities and enforced by consents. Rather, it is a statement of righteousness and salvation by Christ, a remedy of forgiveness by Him, and a free promise of eternal life through Him. The juxtaposition of the two clashing words, law and liberty. This referred, especially, to the Jews, that this was a completely fresh way of philosophising about both. Paul uses this same system when he refers to the “law of faith” in Romans 3:27.

When we look into the law (O.T.), we see our own unrighteousness. We understand about shackles of sin that Satan has bound around us. Perhaps the shackles signify addictions and obsessions that we have never been able to breakdown or inclinations that we continuously fight with. We see that we are needed to be washed and brought back into the alliance with God’s holy standard.

This is for the one who knows about God and His law. And for the one who doesn’t know this has tablets of common law in their conscience as pictured in Romans 2:15.

John Piper’s comments on John 8:30-36:

1) If you don't have the desire to do a thing, you are not fully free to do it. Oh, you may muster the will power to do what you don't want to do, but nobody calls that full freedom. It's not the way we want to live. There is a constraint and pressure on us that we don't want.

2) And if you have the desire to do something, but no ability to do it, you are not free to do it.

3) And if you have the desire and the ability to do something, but no opportunity to do it, you are not free to do it.

4) And if you have the desire to do something, and the ability to do it, and the opportunity to do it, but it destroys you in the end, you are not fully free that means not free indeed.

To be fully free, we must have the desire, the ability, and the opportunity to do what will make us happy forever. No regrets. And only Jesus, the Son of God who died and rose for us, can make that possible. If the Son shall set you free, you shall be free indeed.

Here, we should notice something. As mentioned above, we are all three kinds’ freedom as an Indian, national, political and individual but what people at large don’t have is the spiritual freedom. Freedom costs too much.

What is freedom anyway?

According to Oxford dictionary, 

“The power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants: we do have some freedom of choice. Or the power of self-determination attributed to the will; the quality of being independent of fate or necessity."

The popular definition of freedom is, as answered by the youth; ability to follow your heart, freedom of expression, for many its holiday, for others its acceptance, for others no discipline, no homework, no assignment, no extra work, no punishment for crime, no censorship, no sting operation, for youths un-interrupting parents and elder or younger siblings, for government officials it is more holidays, for an army soldier it is freedom is absence of enemy, for a doctor freedom is more patients and list goes on and on. 

McAfee Youth Survey Report

66% of youth feel free and more accepted on social media than in a person.

72% feel secured or significant when received likes

58% upset for not getting likes and responses/ so created fake likes

52% of parents don’t care what child is doing on the internet

61% parents are technically illiterate

30-40% youths get online bullied

70% children hide form their parents what they do socially on the media

Lancet commission adolescent health and well-being also approves the similar data.

Suicide is the major cause of death among youths in India, said by Bangalore CMCA youths survey (children movement for civil awareness).

Today youngsters, across the globe, so called free, are endangered and entrapped in the multiple forms of snares weaved up by Satan and his evil angels.

And apparently, our government has failed, social activists have failed, parents have failed. Youth crimes have increased by 47% in the past 5 year, the government told Rajya Sabha in June 2016.

The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) in 2014 reported 50-60,000 youth suicide deaths each year. Some of the most heinous crimes committed by juveniles: 2012-16; Over 50% of this crimes are sex offences.

In a recent presentation `The Loss of Hope’, one of the key researchers of the Lancet report and an international mental health professor, Dr Vikram Patel raises the first key question why are the youth at risk? He tries to debunk myths like `youth behave the way do because of their hormones’ and `the brain has completed most of its development by middle childhood’. The fact is that the brain is `plastic’ well into young adulthood and the `front’ of the brain matures last as late as mid-20s. Patel says that it essentially means the youth are biologically `primed’ to behave the way they do.

We look at our nation and we see those things that exhibit to us how we misuse and abuse our freedom, high crime, for example, drugs, alcohol consumption which is destroying us. We continually want to make laws that have a greater latitude which allow the criminal more rights and more freedoms and which give more place to drugs and alcohol and things like that are finally damaging. The media through television and music and films and books and everything else literally drowning us in sensuality. Violence and sensuality are the two things popular in the media today. You can just subscribe to any news channel and see what kind of news they update you with.

All in the name of freedom, freedom of the press, freedom to believe, to think, to speak, to see and to entertain yourself in any way, shape or form, this has polluted our nation beyond remedy. Then there is feminist movements rising up which are born out of lesbianism and homosexuality leading to gay rights and gay pride week and gay parades and even gay kissing booths and all of these kinds of things, fornication and adultery, flaunting polluted relationships, dirty minds, abolishing marital relationships.

All of those things that mark our society are the abuses of our freedoms.

Fredrick Nietzsche before a century talked about Perspectivism. This means there no single way of understanding reality, its about perspectives. For something can be good then for others the same this is right. It is completely anti-theistic and self-defeating. May be boozing is wrong for your parents but for you its right. Going out in the night is wrong doings for one and for others it is right. In the name of business cheating people is wrong for Consumer forum but right for profit making businessmen. So all the definitions of freedom are good and popular but all of them are subjective. Now to have a right definition let’s have a look at the word of God. 
Bible says in Jeremiah 17:9

9"The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it? 

Therefore the idea of from coming from man's heart is wicked, subjective and destructive.
To solve this conundrum lets look at the scripture.

Bible says in John 8:32, “you shall know the truth and the truth will set you free” and on the other hand Jesus said about himself, “I’m the way, the truth and the life” who has the son has the freedom. 

John 8:36, if the Son has set you free you are free indeed” you and I are freely justified freely by His grace (Romans 3:24).Romans 6:7, free from sin and servant of righteousness. Verse 20 vice versa.Romans 6:22 made free to bear fruit of HOLINESS.Romans 8:2 Jesus made me free from law of sin and death. John 8: 30-36 If you started and did not continue you are not free, said Jesus.

Jewish thought themselves free politically and physically but were in the bondage of sin as today many Christians.

Freedom is always used with a word, namely struggle; freedom-struggle. It is never been easy. You go studying history of India or any other country, it is always crowned with freedom struggle. Over blood, pain, rebelling, shooting and killing is the backdrop of every freedom story. Today when you see yourselves how free you are, you should remember how bound you were?

Many people are Conditionally free but not Positionally free. Jesus sets people positionally free unlike Satan who makes you feel free, temporarily which in the end turns out to be bondage. 

A train is free only so long as it stays on its tracks; a train that jumps the tracks is "free" of the rails but no longer free in the most important sense of the word. It's a freed wreck that can't go anywhere. "Free," but no longer truly free. Similarly, The great church father Augustine taught that true freedom is not choice or lack of constraint, but being what you are meant to be. Humans were created in the image of God. True freedom, then, is not found in moving away from that image but only in living it out. The closer we conform to the true image of God, Jesus Christ, the freer we become. The farther we drift from it, the more our freedom shrinks.

Dwight L. Moody once told the fable of an eagle who was envious of another that could fly better than he could. One day the bird saw a sportsman with a bow and arrow and said to him, "I wish you would bring down that eagle up there." The man said he would if he had some feathers for his arrow. So the jealous eagle pulled one out of his wing. The arrow was shot, but it didn’t quite reach the rival bird because he was flying too high. The first eagle pulled out another feather, then another – until he had lost so many that he himself couldn’t fly. The archer took advantage of the situation, turned around, and killed the helpless bird.

D. L. Moody visited a prison called “The Tombs” to preach to the inmates. After he had finished speaking, Moody talked with a number of men in their cells. He asked each prisoner this question, “What brought you here?” Again and again he received replies like this: “I don’t deserve to be here.” “I was framed.” “I was falsely accused.” “I was given an unfair trial.” Not one inmate would admit he was guilty. Finally, Moody found a man with his face buried in his hands, weeping. “And what’s wrong, my friend?” he inquired. The prisoner responded, “My sins are more than I can bear.” Relieved to find at least one man who would recognize his guilt and his need of forgiveness, the evangelist exclaimed, “Thank God for that!” Moody then had the joy of pointing him to a saving knowledge of Christ; a knowledge that released him from his bondage of sin.

Some may say that Christian perspective of freedom, then, paradoxically is a kind of bondage. Because we are bombarded from childhood with the message that freedom means self-assertion, insisting on your rights, throwing off constraints, and creating yourself. The highest virtue in contemporary society is "Be true to yourself."

1 Peter 2:16 as free not using our freedom as a pretext for sin.

Gospel tells us freedom through obedience… Jesus said those who want to become master first become servant.

God created man as free creator unlike robots and puppets. With the freedom of will comes, freedom of choice and responsibility. It means potential evil and good both are options for the one who is choosing or taking a decision. Genesis 2:16…you can freely eat.

We know, however, how formidable that sort of freedom turned out for Adam and Eve, and indeed for the whole human race. It's a story of shame, hiding, alienation, enmity, toil, and death. In short, the absolute antithesis of freedom. In Paradise Lost, John Milton parodied humanity's Promethean rage against limitations when he had Lucifer declare, "Better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven!"

True freedom is found only in obedience to God because the fellowship that comes with it is the freedom…where there is the Spirit of God there is freedom.

Another reason why God made us free; 

Psalms 119:108, Accept my freewill offerings of praise, O Lord, and teach me your rules. 

So you can offer real praise and worship to God.

Worldly Freedom 

Bible tells you that people in this world promise you true freedom but they themselves are slave of corruption…!!!

2 Peter 2:18-2218 For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. 19 While they promise them FREEDOM, they themselves are the slave of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. 20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. 21 For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. 22 But it is happened to them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.

Jesus’ Freedom 

Luke 4:16-19“Where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: 'The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim FREEDOM to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD” (Emphasis added throughout).

The Scriptures point out that Holy Spirit guides us to truth (John 16:13). It helps us to understand the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 2:10-14). This spiritual understanding leads to freedom.

Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 3:17, “Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”

We know that the Holy Spirit is a precious gift that God grants based on repentance, the acceptance of Christ, water baptism, a willingness to obey and the laying on of hands (Acts 2:38; 5:32; 8:14-17).

Galatians 5:1…not to be entangled again with yoke of bondage, v.13 …don’t use freedom for an occasion to the flesh

Psalm 119:44-45 44 So shall I keep Your law continually, Forever and ever. 45 And I will walk at FREEDOM, For I seek Your precepts. 

Christian concept of freedom is within paradigm of God's stipulated command for man to live in obedience with the capacity to choose freely. It is through obedience and submission to Christ man can be free indeed.
You may have been born into a Christian family or be a Christian for a significant long time yet you may have failed to know Jesus, so also failed to know true FREEDOM in Christ. Being Indians as we celebrate Independence Day in the joy of political freedom we have experienced, let's also endeavour and pray to make our beautiful Nation free Spiritually through the LAW OF FREEDOM IN JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD.   

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!!! 

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