What Freedom Isn’t
“Richard Ragnarson, MD, Psychiatrist wrote, “True freedom is not in the future. You can be free now. Try this. Stop forming mental judgments and opinions on your present experience. Now. Stop judging your emotions, your thoughts, your circumstances. Now. Stop resisting your present. Now. Then do whatever you want.”1
He advises not thinking about and evaluating anything now. Then you will be free to do whatever you want. He suggests unthinkingly going with the flow of life without any reality sensors. The only freedom you will have is to do something foolish. We do too much of that when our brains fire on all cylinders!
Self-driving cars continue to monitor their environment and adjust accordingly. I am not confident enough in their danger avoidance to consider buying one.
Dr. Ragnarson suggests you don’t have to do any of that if you want to be free now. Shift into autopilot, he says, and you can do whatever you want. That works no better than trusting safety to a self-driving car with no guidance systems.
True freedom is not doing whatever we want. Those who live that way are slaves to self-direction and sin. Doing whatever we want and an unthinking approach to life control us. Pay no attention to the “expert” solution to true freedom which is dangerous psychological babbling.
Psychological explanations without a Christian core are useless. Psychological babblers are slaves of sin and corruption pretending to set others free. “They promise freedom, but they themselves are slaves of sin and corruption. For you are a slave to whatever controls you” (2 Peter 2:19 NLT).
Only Two Controlling Options
Only two controllers exist. “Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?” (Romans 6:16 NLT). We are slaves either to obedience to God or sin with no other options.
Freedom in Jesus to Serve God and Others
True freedom is the ability to do what we ought without our sinful natures mastering us. Such freedom is found in Jesus alone. We look for it elsewhere in vain.
Jesus said, “And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). Lies are the shackles of our slavery. The truth is the chain cutter that frees us. Jesus is the epicenter of that truth—who He is and what He has done for us.
“Who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins” (Colossians 1:14 NLT). “But the Scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin, so we receive God’s promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus Christ” (Galatians 3:22 NLT). Scriptural freedom is always the freedom to obey God. “I will walk in freedom, for I have devoted myself to your commandments” (Psalm 119:45 NLT).
Guard Your Freedom and Use It Responsibly
We must guard that freedom carefully. “So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law” (Galatians 5:1 NLT).
We use our freedom responsibly—to serve God and others. “But you must be careful so that your freedom does not cause others with a weaker conscience to stumble” (1 Corinthians 8:9 NLT).
“For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love” (Galatians 5:13 NLT).
Only God’s Sheep Are Free
Those who become God’s sheep by His grace through faith in Jesus experience true freedom. “I will say to the prisoners, ‘Come out in freedom,’ and to those in darkness, ‘Come into the light.’ They will be my sheep, grazing in green pastures and on hills that were previously bare” (Isaiah 49:9, NLT). They will enjoy freedom from death and decay (Romans 8:21). Wherever the Lord’s Spirit is, there is freedom (2 Corinthians 3:17).
Looking for freedom anywhere except in Jesus is eternally frustrating and wrong. See additional free spiritual growth resources for Christians. #freediscipleshipresources #freeevangelismresources #freechristianleadershipresources
See free spiritual growth resources for Christians at https://www.christiangrowthresources.com
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