"Give me liberty or give me death" as American founding father Patrick Henry so famously and passionately said nearly two-and-a-half centuries ago. Yet defining liberty and what it means to us can prove surprisingly difficult.
I was reminded of this difficulty last night during the weekly meeting of our In Gladii Veritas writing club when one of my fellow club-members brought the question up during one of our routine discussions of theology, politics, and philosophy.
Maybe I am a simple man, but I first think of what John records Christ as saying in the eighth chapter of his gospel.
“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
After this, I think of what Winston says in George Orwell's novel '1984.'
"Freedom is the freedom to say that 2+2=4."
Taken together, Christian liberty is inseparably tied to truth, goodness, and beauty being defined by God. As such, liberty for the Christian cannot divorce itself from a commitment to being a slave to Christ for the sake of righteousness as opposed to being a slave to sin.
Consequently, Christian liberty is the opposite of slavery to sin, which leads to death. Freedom is the freedom to obey God, and for the life of a living sacrifice holy and pleasing to God.
