What Does “Freedom in Christ” Actually Mean?

When I was younger, I remember singing songs in Church about freedom. We sang, “I’m free to dance, free to sing, and free to run.” While the songs were fun to sing, I also thought the lyrics were a little silly. After all, I really don’t need Christ to be able to dance, or sing, or run.

Today, worship songs that refer to having “freedom” seem to be increasing in popularity. One common refrain is a biblical quotation: “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Corinthians 3:17).

Ideas of Freedom

Some worship songs that mention “freedom” make only a vague reference to “freedom,” but without giving much of a sense of what that “freedom” actually is. This leaves each worshiper to their own imagination to determine in their own mind what they mean by “freedom.” For some it might simply mean “freedom to express emotionally my appreciation for God in this moment” (as one of my friends put it).

Contemporary society likes the idea of “freedom.” We like the idea of having freedom from obligations so that we can do whatever we want. And so, we gain “freedom” when we retire or go on summer vacation. And many people today also want to be free to determine for themselves what is right and wrong.

I don’t imagine too many Christian worship artists have this in mind as they write songs about freedom. And this certainly doesn’t cohere with what the Bible means by freedom.

Freedom or a Servant?

The biblical authors actually aren’t as concerned with “freedom” as we are in contemporary society. In fact, depending on the Bible translation you search, you might even find the word “freedom” less than 10 times in the Bible.

More importantly, the apostle Paul does not shy away from referring to himself as a “servant” or “slave” of Christ (the Greek word doulos).

Those who are followers of Christ are not free to do as we please. We are to become “slaves to righteousness” (Romans 6:18) and slaves of Christ (1 Corinthians 7:22), and even servants of one another (2 Corinthians 4:5). Clearly, our freedom is not an absolute freedom.

Freedom from Sin

At the same, in some sense a Christian is free in that they are “no longer a slave, but a child” of God (Galatians 4:7, similarly Romans 6:22). Jesus said that “if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36). By this he meant that a free person will no longer be “a slave to sin” (verse 34).

But what is freedom from sin?

When Paul speaks of being freed from slavery to sin, he says that we should become “slaves to righteous living so that [we] will become holy” (Romans 6:19). So part of being freed from sin means that we will intentionally seek to live a righteous, holy life.

Another part of being “free from sin” is that we are freed from a consequence of sin, namely spiritual death (Romans 6:22-23). Instead, our freedom results in “eternal life” (verse 22).

Freedom from the “Veil”

In 2 Corinthians 3:17 Paul writes “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” The context of the verse indicates this freedom here means “the veil [of misunderstanding] is taken away” (verse 16). The result is that believers “have unveiled faces” and can truly “contemplate the Lord’s glory.” Moreover, just like being freed from slavery to sin, the result is that believers “are being transformed into his image” by the Spirit (verse 18).

Freedom from the Law

The other major emphasis we find in the Bible is that “the freedom we have in Christ” is a freedom from the Old Testament Law (Galatians 2:4). The result of this “freedom” is that Christians are not “obligated to keep the entire law” (5:1 & 3).

Throughout Galatians Paul is aiming to safeguard the reality that “in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith” (Galatians 3:26), rather than through the Law. By “the Law” he means the rites of Jewish religion and the practice of circumcision in particular (Galatians 2:3). Many preachers rightfully expand on this idea to say that we are free from the need to earn our salvation through religiosity, good works, or some other means.

Of course, this doesn’t mean we don’t need to obey God or that we can live however we please. With this concern in mind, Paul cautions his readers, “Don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature, Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love” (Galatians 5:13).

Freedom from the Law of Sin and Death

Within the context of another discussion of the Old Testament Law (Romans 7), Paul states “the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2). Being free from the “law of sin” means that sin is not our master. Instead, we are enabled to live “according to the Spirit” (8:3-9).

The result of this freedom from the Spirit is expansive, including things such as “life and peace” (verse 6) rather than “condemnation” (verse 1). These are things that the Law could not provide.

And being free from the “law of death” (Romans 8:2) means that, like Christ, believers will receive eternal life at the resurrection (verses 10-11 and 23, cf. 5:21). Given this, we can say that some aspects of the believer’s freedom are future, since we have yet to fully “obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God” (8:21).

The book of Hebrews connects freedom and death as well. There we read that Jesus Christ died in part to “free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death” (Hebrews 2:15).

What then is Freedom in Christ?

When the Bible refers to the Christian’s freedom, it is referring to some aspects of our salvation. In summary, our freedom comes because of Christ’s saving work and the Spirit that he gave us. Through this, Christians are freed from:

• the Law—following religious rites to achieve salvation (notably, circumcision)
• the metaphorical veil that keeps us from grasping the truth of the Gospel
• slavery to sin or the law of sin
• the law of death—the eternal death that results from sin
• fear of death.

And, as a result of this freedom, the Bible emphasizes that Christians:

• are children of God
• have no condemnation
• become slaves of Christ
• become slaves to righteousness, leading to holiness as enabled by the Spirit
• receive other benefits from living according to the Spirit, such as life and peace
• will be resurrected to eternal life.

Praise the Lord!

What Else?

This is what the Bible emphasizes when it comes to freedom in Christ. Yet it would likely be fair for us to add to these lists. For example, we might justifiably say Christ sets us free from shame (Romans 10:11), even though the Bible never explicitly says this.

But we must be careful. For example, the Bible wouldn’t agree that our freedom in Christ means that we should only expect blissful days of happiness (John 16:33) or that we should expect freedom from all sickness (1 Timothy 5:23).

Nevertheless, I’m pretty sure we are safe to say that Christians are free to dance, and run, and sing.

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Andrew K. Gabriel, Ph.D., is the author of Simply Spirit-Filled: Experiencing God in the Presence and Power of the Holy Spirit as well as three academic books, including The Lord is the Spirit. He is a theology professor and VP of Academics at Horizon College and Seminary and serves on the Theological Study Commission for the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada. You can follow him on Facebook or on Twitter.