Yesterday, we covered Peter’s exhortation to do good. While I think his call to live free is bound up with do good, I felt it necessary to cover live free on its own. It is an important topic, probably for all ages. But, I don’t live in all ages, only in this one. In this present age, the concept of freedom has become twisted such that it is in no way what Peter intended. For myself, and for you dear reader, I think it is important to thoroughly define our terms. So, today, let’s really dig in and define what Peter intends when he calls us to live free.
13 Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, 14 or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. 15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. 16 Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. 17 Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.
18 Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. 19 For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. 20 For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God.
1 Peter 2:13-20
Remember, do good for the Lord’s sake
Please keep in mind the paraphrasing we applied in the previous studies. Especially in For the Lord’s Sake, and Do Good. In those studies, we took Peter’s words and repeated them where I believe Peter intended. Obviously, it would be poor writing to repeat yourself endlessly, so I am not saying Peter fell short. I am just repeating his words for him in order to drive the point home. Let’s do the same thing here with the phrases live free, do good, and for the Lord’s sake.
15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good for the Lord’s sake you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. 16 Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God, doing good for the Lord’s sake.
Freedom vs license
There is no good without God
I wanted to put the paraphrase above in here, so that from the first we can understand what Peter means by live free. Peter has a concept of freedom that does not equate to license. What is the difference between freedom and license? License means that a person may take any action that he pleases, and to hell with consequences for those around him. Freedom means acting according to your own will within the bounds set by God. These bounds used to be called Natural Law, or Moral Law. Natural Law referred to the common morality which all mankind can perceive through reason. C.S. Lewis captures this best in Mere Christianity.
If you don’t believe in God, what do you mean by good?
Basically here’s the idea. If you ever appeal to “fairness,” “equality,” or “rights,” on what basis are you making your appeal? This is where evolutionists and materialists are so inconsistent. They want to believe in something which their own worldview makes void. If we are all merely the result of an explosion millions of years ago, random chance, natural selection, etc., and now we are just the latest random thing that happens to be walking about and happens to have desires and hungers, etc., then those desires and hungers are themselves just random events brought about by random selection. In this way, materialism is the ultimate determinism. Everything is what it is because it just ended up this way. You want what you want because you are a result of evolutionary selection and random chance.
Do you really believe in survival of the fittest?
The survival of the fittest types, we’ll call them Darwinists, are consistent as long as they support the strongest, fittest, most wealthy people hoarding all the resources for themselves and taking advantage of, or at the very least neglecting, the rest of humanity. That is after all what the survival of the fittest theory supports. But, do you see them saying, “It just makes sense that we have all this inequality because, after all, survival of the fittest!”? I submit to you that they do not. Instead, these evolutionists inconsistently claim to believe in “good,” by which they mean freedom of choice, rights, equality, fairness, etc., and claim to believe in natural selection and survival of the fittest. The two do not logically fit together.
Materialism and Darwinism are deterministic
If you are a determinist, then recognize (you have to, anyway, right?) that you have no power to change anything, and accept your fate. Why protest or argue? Isn’t everything in the world exactly as it had to be? Decisions, desires, and choice must all be an illusion. Your fate is, after all, determined by random selection. If you are a Darwinist, then get what you can while you can, and do not begrudge those with more resources than yourself. Why waste time with clever slogans and marches and campaigns, etc.? After all, you are merely acting out the deterministic progression of survival of the fittest.
What do Christians believe?
So, what do I believe? I believe there is a God. He is the Creator, who created all things through Christ. I believe that all mankind carries within him the knowledge of what is “good” because good is a real thing. And, I believe that evolutionists and Darwinists also believe in this good, though they claim to not believe in God.
Cue Monty Python
They are like diners at a restaurant who see an expensive and decadent meal enjoyed by others at a neighboring table. They demand the waiter bring them the same.
“Ah, yes!” says the waiter. “The chef’s choice! I will head to the kitchen and tell him.”
“Look here,” says one of the diners with a mocking grin. “There’s no need to bring in the idea of a chef. We’re all adults here, not simpletons. This is a real restaurant, not some make believe restaurant from a storybook.”
“Yeah,” says another dismissively. “And don’t come talking a bunch of nonsense about a kitchen. We’re too sophisticated to believe in any of that bs! We just want that,” he continues, pointing to the table where the people are laughing and eating. “That same meal those people seem to be enjoying so much. It’s that simple.”
“But,” protests the waiter. “It is up to the chef, you see? Our chef prepares each meal especially for each guest. I will ask him to make you something delicious. But, in the end, it’s the chef’s choice.”
“I doubt that very much,” says one suspicious diner, now standing to his feet. “You’re just covering for those people with all the food! They probably stole it all from the people at the tables around them. We told you, we know there is no chef!”
“And I’m not asking, I’m telling,” says another diner also standing, visibly angry and with a butter knife in his hand. “We want that exact same meal!”
“I do apologize,” says the waiter. “It is all up to the chef. Some meals look more grand than others, but all may be enjoyed, and each meal is exactly what the chef knows is best for each diner.”
Then, irate, yelling, “Damn the chef!” the diners assault the waiter, overturn their table, and resolve to take their neighbors’ meal by force.
What’s all this then?
A bit silly, perhaps. And, I am not sure my metaphor worked as well as I thought. Before anyone accuses me of it, let me firmly state that I am not preaching prosperity gospel here. I am not saying Christians get a delicious meal and other people get boiled meat. I am just saying that Christians are enabled to live free and eat with joy whatever meal the chef prepares for them. Why? because they acknowledge there is a chef, and know that whatever the meal, it was the chef’s choice. And, they trust that the chef knows what meal is best for them. But, I think you get my point. You cannot consistently believe in objective goodness, but not God. You cannot believe in a delicious meal without admitting there was a chef who prepared it.
What about live free?
But, I thought this was about live free, or something like that? Right! Where was I? Oh, yes. All that to say, there is no real freedom without there first being good. Real freedom means each man living his life as he pleases within the bounds of moral law. And this moral law, and goodness itself, are created and determined by God.
Live as people who are free…as servants of God. This is vitally important, and we could do a whole week of study on the concept of freedom vs. license. As Christians we have wonderful freedom in Christ.
Freedom from works of the Law
Galatians 5:1 says, For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. And, it seems this flies in the face of Peter’s initial dictum, be subject. But, in fact, we have always to go back and read the whole of scripture. At least, in my studies we do not follow the verse of the day approach to scripture. So, if Christ brought us freedom, what at least is this first freedom of which Paul writes in Galatians?
Paul was addressing a schism in the churches of Galatia which were adding all the requirements of the Mosaic Law to the gospel. There were factions preaching that circumcision, strict observance of Jewish holy days, dietary restrictions, etc., were requirements for salvation. To this, Paul asks,
O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. 2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 4 Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? 5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— 6 just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”?
Galatians 3:1-6
So, we see that Christ has set us free from the requirements of the works of the law. But, is that the only freedom in Christ? Of course not. If it were, those of us born outside of the law (from our individual perspectives) might not perceive anything wonderful in becoming servants of God.
Freedom from the yoke of sin
In Romans, Paul writes of our freedom from the prison of our sin.
5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Romans 6:5-11
Remember, we are to live free as servants of God. Today’s topic is not simply “live”, but if it were, what amazing verses! Read it again: 7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. But, of course, our topic is live free. Praise God we can live free from the yoke of sin and death thanks to Christ’s sacrifice!
Freedom from sin and death
Here’s Paul again, writing to Titus.
Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, 2 to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. 3 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. 4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. 8 The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people.
Titus 3:1-8
Live free as heirs of the kingdom
In these verses, Paul combines the same notions as Peter. We can see be subject in Paul’s reminder to be submissive and obedient. Finding live free is not as direct. Paul uses no similar words. Instead he describes his former situation as that of a slave, and his current situation as one who has been rescued. But, you’ll notice, I’m sure, that Paul does not paint a picture of being saved from slavery, given a sack lunch by his rescuer, and then sent on his merry.
No. In fact, Paul describes a complete transformation not only of situation but of status. Paul says we live free according to God’s mercy, by the washing and regeneration of the Holy Spirit, through Christ, so that through grace we become heirs of a kingdom! We were slaves, now we live free as a members of a royal house – a royal priesthood, even (1 Peter 2:9). So, Paul and Peter confirm that we are called to live free as servants of God.
Alack and alas
There is so much more I could touch on here, but this study has gone far too long. Rest assured, as we cover other epistles, we will be offered many opportunities, Lord willing, to explore how the Christian can truly live free thanks to the will of God and the sacrifice of Christ.
