The Gospel Way CatechismSample

QUESTION 10: What Is Freedom?

ANSWER

True freedom is submission to God. Freedom is not casting off all restraints and pursuing whatever we want. It is embracing the right restraints and aligning our wants with God’s will, so we can pursue what is true and good and beautiful.

In today’s world, freedom is often associated with individual autonomy and the ability to make choices free from external coercion or influence. Americans, more than most, value freedom and choice. The phones in our pockets allow us to access thousands of choices with our fingertips. We are engulfed in a cauldron of competing desires, trying to decide what we want.

An older view of freedom, what we might call “positive freedom,” focused on the freedom to pursue some good aim. But today’s idea of freedom has morphed into something we might call “negative freedom”—the absence of all outside constraints, influences, and forces. The modern understanding of freedom sounds enticing, but it is actually a form of slavery.

The problem with today’s vision of freedom is that it doesn’t work. No relationship can grow unless each person sacrifices some liberty to serve the other. In friendship, we set aside certain freedoms whenever someone else’s needs impinge upon our time. In marriage, we give up a measure of freedom and independence in fidelity to our spouse. In parenting, we give up the freedom to do whatever we please so we can serve and support our kids. True freedom always involves surrendering lesser freedoms, trading one set of constraints for another, and submitting to new limitations. Freedom is about embracing the right limitations that lead to a fullness of life.

In today’s world, instead of being bound by outside constraints, we become slaves to our internal desires. This is where the Bible’s vision of freedom stands out. True freedom is not found in following our desires and impulses but in aligning ourselves with God’s will and pursuing the good he intends for us.

True freedom is not merely freedom from constraints, but freedom for something. When God set his people Israel free from slavery in Egypt, his purpose was that they would worship him in the desert. They were freed from captivity for worship. Freed from slavery to Pharaoh for service to God.

The theme of freedom runs through the whole Bible. Our ultimate bondage is our rebellion against the God who made us. When Jesus preached his first sermon (Luke 4:16-21), he declared himself the long-promised Liberator. “[The Lord] has sent me…to set free the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18-19 CSB). Bringing this rescue required Jesus to give up his life. He submitted to death as a slave so that those who are slaves to wrongdoing might live his life of freedom. In the New Testament, when the apostle Paul wrote about how Christ set us free from the law, his focus was on what we are freed for: not a license to do wrong, but to live according to the Spirit and to follow God’s will (Galatians 5:13-25).

True freedom isn’t about doing whatever you want. It’s about wanting what is true and good and beautiful and then pointing your life in that direction, choosing the right constraints as you walk in the freedom supplied by Jesus.

Reflection Questions

In what areas of your life are you prone to pursue negative freedom (freedom from all constraints) instead of positive freedom (freedom for what is true, good, and beautiful)? Reflect on how today’s understanding of freedom as the absence of constraints has shaped your actions and mindset. Consider how this vision might have led to isolation or self-centeredness and how it contrasts with the biblical vision of freedom.

How can you shift your understanding of freedom from pursuing your desires to pursuing what is true and good in alignment with God’s will? Consider practical steps to align your pursuits with God’s desires. Reflect on how this shift can lead to a more profound sense of true freedom and fulfillment, moving beyond personal autonomy to a life of meaningful service and obedience to God.