Freedom to the Extent of Self-Mastery

I heard a great quote once again on a recent LLR subscription cd and I was reminded of how true this is. The quote is originally from the great Roman thinker, Sacrates.

"the truly free individual is free only to the extent of his own self-mastery." 

The principle of life still holds true: If you want something, you are going to have to work for it. We say that it is great to have freedom, that we should help get more people free. But if we don't help them earn it, freedom will soon be lost, given willingly to those that work for it.

I wonder though...does this hold true for Christians? We are given freedom in Christ. There are no requirements on us. But the bible also says we willingly become slaves to Christ, because of what He has done to save us from our lost condition. However, it is not the obedience that brings freedom, but the freedom that brings obedience. The gift comes before the action. Does this only work for God?

Aaahaa! Christ did the work of full obedience to God's law. He earned our freedom similar to Socrates' principle above. But then Christ gives us freedom (something which Socrates knew nothing about), in which our proper response is thankful obedience. Some choose to abuse this freedom, reject God's gift, and eventually lose their freedom when God must finally judge them justly for their actions.

It seems that in our sinfully deteriorated societies, we need rules to discipline ourselves, because we lack the rule of God's love in our hearts. You either submit to God's will (freedom) or you reject God's will (slavery). If we were in perfect unity with God, we would be perfectly free. And if we abuse our freedom in Christ, we choose the path of slavery to sin, punishment, and death.

I guess what I am getting at is this: Self-mastery is good and will earn you freedom in this world, but Christ-mastery is great and will lead to freedom both now and in eternity!

Christ, please always be my Master, Lord, and Mentor!

The Shack

I just finished this book today, and I thought it would be good to share what I've found. The read was enjoyable from the standpoint of exploring theological fiction writing. The basic premise of this genre is to help teach the truths of God through fiction, similar to how Jesus taught through parables. I have recently been diving into this category of literature with Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan, and also the works of C.S. Lewis. 

The Shack was a much easier read and more emotional inspiring than Pilgrim's Progress, but I fear that where William P. Young has succeeded in fiction, he has neglected in sound biblical teaching. As we should do with any book written by men, I encourage all readers to compare the principles taught through The Shack with the principles taught through God's inspired Word. A great place to start would be this Reader's Review by Tim Challies. Tim has done his homework and brings up many good points with scripture references to back them up.

Dig into God's Word, follow the example of the *Bereans and Be-readin from the source of Truth.

*Ref. Acts 17:10ff