One of the distinctives of the Evangelical Covenant Church is our commitment to "Freedom in Christ." What is your understanding of that freedom? What are its limits and responsibilities?
First and foremost, a Christian is free from the power of sin and death, by which the Devil holds this world in bondage. This freedom allows the believer to say "yes" to the power of obedience and life in Christ, which requires that the believer not hold up any of the world's values as his or her ultimate goal. Any worldly pursuit, however good or noble it may be in and of itself, must be submitted to the lordship of Jesus Christ.
The Christian is also free to acknowledge sin for what it is, in his or her own life and in the world. Because Christ has canceled the power of sin, His followers no longer need to ignore evil or cover it up with "fig leaves;" rather, we must expose it honestly in the hope that God might redeem it and ultimately use it for good.
Within the fellowship of the Church, Christ through His sacrifice gives us freedom from all the burdens of religious ritual and obligation. Instead of being held in bondage to any such institutional sacrifices, we are free to offer relational sacrifices: to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God (Micah 6:8). In other words, we are no longer in bondage to a self-serving religiosity, and we are free to serve God and others selflessly.
Finally, with receiving the gift of freedom comes the responsibility to extend freedom to others. This means that we must give individuals outside the Church the absolute freedom to disagree with us and to hold their own convictions, that we must never attempt to force our doctrines or moral precepts on unbelievers, even though we may respectfully disagree with them and challenge them in fair and open dialogue. Within the Fellowship of Believers, this means that in matters of secondary importance, we must humbly give others the right to disagree without breaking fellowship or causing unnecessary turmoil in the Body. We must follow St. Augustine's famous dictum: "In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; in all things, charity."
1 comment:
Thanks, Jeff, for an excellent and thought-provoking reflection on the radical freedom that Jesus Christ makes possible.
One of the Bible studies that I am beginning this month focuses on Galatians, a letter that, in so many ways, revolves around the issue of our freedom in Christ. Your post is, for me, a helpful doorway into that study.
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