Freedom Without God's Law Is Enslavement!

Man has searched diligently for the most sought after ideal in history – freedom – yet has never attained it. Why after violent protests, revolutions, struggles, civil and world wars can this elusive quality not be found? They continue to fight for it, but do they really understand it?

Biblically, this is also a major issue. The Apostle Peter talked about freedom to those whose idea of it was in error:

“They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption; for whatever overcomes a man, to that he is enslaved (II Pet. 2:19).

That may be a strange verse to some, but it makes perfect sense when examined through the lens of God’s wisdom. Take alcohol or drug abuse. Both have staggering price tags, socially and economically. Billions are spent each year to cover health care and welfare services for these problems.  Work productivity plummets, divorce rates climb and crime, automobile accidents injuries, depression and suicide skyrocket.

No one in their right mind would say those struggling in these addictions are free, yet the persons involved are certainly free to continue in their habits. Drug users sniff, smoke, inject and swallow escapist drugs while alcoholics struggle with the same end results.

Is spending portions of family income on an addiction at family expense or committing unsavoury activities to fund drug habits real freedom? No, instead it is an enslavement to the addiction, as the Bible states.

Many reading this now will say that they are not addicted to alcohol or drugs. Great, but what about sex addiction? This is a common and widespread problem taking center stage in our culture and entertainment. Look at the increasing levels of filth on television and in the movies, as well as the availability of pornography on the internet. What does it say about a Western society that has turned from a moral standpoint to a degenerate cesspool of depravity.

Again, most people would say that viewing foul mouthed swearing, sexual content, gay and lesbian agendas and pornography as freedom. They would say it is their choice and to leave them alone, as they are adults. But ultimately, they fail to understand that they are destroying marriages and families. Kids are watching this stuff as well and grow up with distorted ethical values about themselves and others. Marriage partners are treated more or less like roommates in our throw away culture. If we don’t get along, we simply divorce – no problem. But that’s not freedom, it’s a perversion of values, a destruction of moral character and definitely a breaking of God’s law.

Courts now overturn laws restricting sleazy sex shows on television, saying interference restricts free speech. But ultimately, these liberal judges want people to have access to pornography day and night. They don’t care about the effects of their rulings, or the fact that marriages are destroyed as respect is lost for a wife or husband. I can’t fathom that watching this stuff strengthens any marriage vow or endears men to wives. Children also become vulnerable to drug and sex addictions themselves.

God is also deeply concerned. He tells men to honour their wife (I Pet. 3:7). How can they treat their wife with honour or command a stable marriage with obedient children in an environment that lacks authority, love and respect?

What is true freedom?

True freedom means being free of dishonour in our marriage. Men need to show more love and not less, for their wives. Children cannot honour mother and father (Matt. 15:4) if they are addicted to sex or drugs. It doesn’t matter what statistics say, it is a fact that fighting, divorce and perversion create instability. Children desperately need parents that love them, guide them and teach them properly. Rather than encourage this filth, parents need to show children how to resist it by being strong and to face life without the interference of these addictions.

Is propagating free speech really worth it when we allow marriages and families to be destroyed – when we allow the foundation of our nations to be swept away? Can anyone really say with a straight face that pornography is free speech? We reject the Bible and contemptuously scorn our own history of moral values, which is a certain recipe for disaster.

The more we are addicted, the more we destroy our minds. This is a sad state, as our minds are the only thing separating us from the animal kingdom. You have to wonder why kids do this stuff and the only reason is to understand that their willpower is lacking due to weak or absent parents, leaving a void which must be filled.

Free speech is a valuable commodity, but it means little when we use it in activities which cause a destruction of values that have made our nations great. If we don’t get our definition of freedom from the Bible, it simply is an enslavement, packaged to look like the real thing:

“And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32).

False freedom is simply the pull of human nature, which God defines as being deceitful above all things  (Jer. 17:9). Allowing a desperately wicked heart to run free may seem like freedom, but it isnèt – it is enslavement to things which harm us.

Only God can help us with this problem, when He puts His law into the minds of all people (Heb. 8:8-10). The world believes that Godès law enslaves and that we have to be free from it, but this is an anti-biblical stance. No man can give you freedom – only God can – to protect us from evil, and protect our families, our children, our marriages. We have to live as free men, but yet without using that freedom as a pretext for evil; and living as servants of God (I Pet. 2:16 RSV). That is how we can be truly free.