Freedom Series: the divine perspective (Part 4)
From freedom to bondage
“Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.”
The exercise of free will, a gift granted by God, entails both upside potential and downside risk. In the case of the first couple, they focussed on the perceived upside (freedom from God’s rule) and rationalized the downside (death) by believing the serpent’s lie that their disobedience wouldn’t result in death. Put differently, they chose to abandon dependence on their Creator in favor of self-dependence. Here is the Genesis account:
“‘You will not certainly die,’ the serpent said to the woman. ‘For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’ When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.”
As discussed in the previous blog (link), the consequence of their high treason was spiritual death followed, eventually, by physical death. Playing to their desire to rule over creation (i.e., “be like God”), Satan (in the form of a serpent) persuaded them to choose personal autonomy over dependence on God. Ironically, their quest for freedom from God’s rule led them to submit themselves to the most pernicious form of slavery (one might even say cancerous) and it has infected the human race ever since. As stated by Jesus (see epigraph) and reiterated by the apostle Paul, we became slaves of sin.
Sin produces slavery, which may be seen as a loss of the perfect freedom God originally granted to humanity.
Thus, according to the Christian worldview, the default setting for humanity following what is commonly labeled “the fall” became rebellion against God manifesting in disobedience to His commandments. Such disobedience is sin, which Augustine of Hippo defined as “a word, deed, or desire in opposition to the eternal law of God.” And, as per the previously quoted scriptures, sin produces slavery, which may be seen as a loss of the perfect freedom God originally granted to humanity. And, as it happens, the solution to such slavery doesn’t lie in the mind of man but in the mind of God. Stay tuned!
Of course, we don’t have to look very far for empirical evidence supporting the sin-sick nature of humankind. While I could cite many examples, one stands out in my mind as a metaphor for this truth. During the Second World War, my father served as Lieutenant Commander on a warship in the Royal Canadian Navy. In 1948, the Fraser Valley suffered major floods and, as a reserve officer, Dad was called up to command a boat to combat a huge outbreak of looting. It seems that, with every disaster, we see the worst of humanity (in some cases made all the more vivid by contrast with heroic responses during the same disaster).
Alternatively, every time some sort of rule is promulgated by authorities, whether in government or business, people immediately think of ways to circumvent the rules. Indeed, the Bible tells us that God’s law awakens in us the desire to sin.
In light of humanity’s predisposition to sin, what was God’s plan for individual freedom in the context of social cohesion and the reconciliation of individuals with Him in light of our sin nature? To these topics we now turn.
Photo by Social History Archive on Unsplash
