Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves.
If I put on my “ignorant” and “foolish people” glasses1, it is easy to see this verse as a contradiction. After all, Peter says, “Live as free people…” and then in the same sentence he says, “live as God’s slaves.” Which is it, Peter? Free or slave?
How are we to understand this apparent dichotomy?
I see two questions here that we need to delve into. What does it mean to be “free,” and what does it mean to “live as God’s slaves?”
The question of freedom is a tricky one. Some people have said that freedom is doing whatever you want. A mugger would understand that to mean they ought to be able to club people over the head and take whatever they find on the person. While that might please the mugger, being robbed and beaten is not pleasant for the victim. So freedom, meaning to act without any constraints at all, is not a viable way to behave if there is to be order in society.
So what about being a slave to God? As a slave, one has no personal choice. A slave does what they are told when they are told. So what does God tell us to do?
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22: 37-40)
Jesus also says:
“But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.” (Luke 6: 27-31)
So let’s apply the same test to being a slave of God that we used for freedom. As a slave to God, a mugger would love God above all else and his neighbor as himself. If he thought people hated him, he would do good to them. If someone offended him, he would expect more of the same. If someone needed something and he had what they needed, he would share. In every way, he would do for others what he wanted people to do for him. I guess the only way he would still qualify as a “mugger” would be if he “mugged” for the camera!
If we freely choose to be a slave to God, are we not still free? So which world would you rather live in? Which kind of freedom would you choose?
Application: Freely choose to be a slave to God. Discover the ultimate freedom!
Food for Thought: How is freedom a coverup for evil?
1 Easy to do! I used to be one.
I think it is easy to use Christian freedom as a cover up for selfish pursuits. I have had people use their Christian freedom to get drunk, drink in front of a recovering alcoholic when he politely asked them not to, to not going to church – ever, to even pursuing an affair. All in the name of freedom in Christ.
In the Greco-Roman world, people who were slaves (that was the majority of people) could be redeemed through a process. If they or relatives had enough money, they could go to the priest of the local pagan temple and give the priest their money to purchase their freedom. There was a different redemption price for a doctor who was a slave than someone who was a common laborer – everyone had their own price tag. The priest would then negotiate with the owner of the slave and would then purchase the slave in the name of that particular god. The slave was now free, but considered still a slave to that god.
Jesus paid the price for us – all of it. It was free to us. But we are now to be considered His property. We belong to Him – we were bought at a price (1 Corinthians 6: 19 – 20). Now we are to be dead to sin and alive to Christ and slaves to living in a right relationship with Him (Romans 6).
Christ brings grace, mercy and love. But to use our freedom as a cover up for our own evil pursuits is an abuse of that freedom. It also shows we do not love God as we should and that perhaps we really are not aware of how much we have been forgiven and how much we cost.
Keep our eyes on the cross and the One who paid the price for our freedom. If we do, we will want to use our freedom to serve Him rather than ourselves or our false gods.
Rich,
Your comment today is a powerful and passionate plea not to abuse the love of Christ! Thank you!
The truth has set believers free. When a believers accept Christ, we are baptized by the Spirit into Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. We immediately cease to be a slave to sin and become a servant of righteousness: All things are lawful, BUT NOT PROFITABLE for our ministry. We are to stand firm in our freedom. Not freedom to sin, but FREEDOM TO NOT SIN and to serve one another in love. It is our responsibility to not put the yoke of slavery in any OTHER form back on.
John 8:32, Romans 6:17-18,1Corinthians 10:23-24, Galatians 5:1,Galatians 5:13,
In the life of Christ we see our Righteous God choosing to come and live with evil, He wept over the power of evil in Jerusalem, and healed those broken by evil, both physically and spiritually. We see Christ on the cross, choosing to lay down His life for the evil of this world, all humanity. With His resurrection, we see Christ bringing about the end of the power of evil and death.
Evil has been overcome once and for all in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Our calling is not Christians against the world, but Christians for the world. We remain to live IN BUT NOT OF this world, just as Jesus commands us. We serve God by allowing Christ to continue His ministry, serving the world through us.
When we deviate from this calling ( which we do each day ) we are exercising our freedom for something other than Gods purpose. A coverup for evil.
Thank you, Ron!
I appreciate your perspective on this challenging topic. How can one accept the love of Christ on one hand and then turn around and do what hurts Christ on the other? It seems to me that it is only ignorance that excuses such behavior.
I am free to live as a slave to the righteousness of God,..and because I am a free slave,..I am destined for greatness because God is great and He has created me in His image,..but it’s all because of the blood of Jesus there is any greatness in me at all,..
Great John,
Well said only those who becomes slaves to righteousness, understand the freedom received from God.
Blessings brother,
Ron
John,
Thank you so much for sharing! You bring it all together in the phrase a “free slave!” We have indeed been freed. It is all because of Jesus. Well said!