Freedom and Autonomy are Not the Same Thing

Freedom is a difficult subject. We can be free from certain things, but we can never be free from everything (e.g., gravity; the need to breathe). We can be free to do certain things, but we cannot be free to do things contrary to our nature (e.g., fly like a bird). It is relative freedom, not absolute freedom. And we can have freedom from certain things that will allow us then freedom for certain things (e.g., giving up being single so one can be married).

Autonomy is something else. In different fields of study, these words, freedom and autonomy, can be defined differently. But thinking Biblically, what I’ve said about freedom fits. And while the word “autonomy” doesn’t occur in the Bible, it is communicated by the phrase, “every man did what was right in his own eyes” (Deut 12:8; Jdg 17:6; 21:25).

In our current society, freedom is being re-defined as autonomy. People think they should be able to to choose whatever they want, and, they expect the government to back up their rights to choose whatever. They believe they should answer to no one but their own feelings. And, the Christian community has not been immune. Many people now believe that the Body of Christ should bend to their beliefs, whether they are right or wrong; whether they are Biblical or not. And, in our current setting, we have not sufficiently developed the skill of clearly and kindly saying, “You are wrong, and this will not be tolerated.”

Now, coming back to freedom, the Bible gives some context about what it means to be free. One important point is that our freedom is found within the framework of a covenant. That is, by grace, God bestows favors (e.g., forgiveness) and privileges (e.g., service) upon those who find freedom in Christ. But that covenant does not give autonomy. It binds Christians in a web of wonderful relationships which carry special privileges.

Because it is a gracious covenant, Christians have the freedom to be gracious. But they are also bound to be gracious. An un-gracious, un-kind Christian is oxymoronic. Also, Christians find themselves loved with an infinite and everlasting love, initiated by God, which they did not earn or deserve; and that freedom carries with it not only the security of being loved but also the obligation to love even people who are most difficult to love. This is not autonomy. It is Christian freedom, according to the Bible.

Negligence and Diligence are not Alike

 They sound alike, but their meanings are polar opposites. Generally speaking, negligence will come back and bite you. On the other hand, diligence will contribute over time to good ends.

In Daniel’s most famous story, Daniel’s adversaries were zealous to find any dirt on him that they could. But here is their result: “they could find no ground of accusation or evidence of corruption, inasmuch as he was faithful, and no negligence or corruption was to be found in him” (Dan 6:4). And so, as the text continues, they have to alter their method: 5 “Then these men said, “We will not find any ground of accusation against this Daniel unless we find it against him with regard to the law of his God.””

Now why did they think the could count on finding an accusation against Daniel with regard to the practice of his faith? It was because he was diligent in these things. “Now when Daniel knew that the document was signed, he entered his house (now in his roof chamber he had windows open toward Jerusalem); and he continued kneeling on his knees three times a day, praying and giving thanks before his God, as he had been doing previously” (Dan 6:10). Daniel’s opponents had convinced the king to adopt a deviously conceived law protected by a dumb custom (the law of the Meds and Persians cannot be altered). But Daniel’s diligence, practiced before, continued on.

The more common word “neglect” is used three times in Hebrews, with warnings against it:

Heb. 2:3 how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard,
Heb. 13:2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.
Heb. 13:16 And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

I’ll close with the passage we have been studying in these 50 days leading up to Easter: “Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.” (2 Peter 1:5–7 NAS95)

Bearing Fruit on Barren Ground

In Kenya, a drought used to occur every five years or so. Recently, it has quickened to roughly every two years. How can you bear fruit on barren ground? Clean Leap is an NGO that helps struggling farmers in Africa and Asia find solutions. They have introduced the Melia volkensii tree. It’s “fruit” is really it’s wood, akin to mahogany, and it allows grasses to grow in it’s shade, which is an added benefit. The point? Yes, one can bear fruit on barren ground.

We have endured a year of pandemic and a spate of unsettling medical diagnoses as a local church. We have had to restrict our schedules and our ministries. We have lost skilled and helpful leaders. And it would make sense to think that this is not a season for fruit-bearing - not in a botanical sense, but in a spiritual and ministry sense.

The truth is that most valuable and necessary spiritual fruit actually grows not out of prosperity, but out of adversity. And God knows the fruit that He desires, and what is called for at any particular point in time. God designs/allows the situations in which that fruit can be forged by the testing and improvement of our faith (the Bible often mixes metaphors, such as farming and foundry work).

The most valuable and necessary fruit is often the most basic. In prosperity, Christians have less urgency to pray. In good health, we tend to take things for granted. When the church is full, we can often value each individual less. These things are not right, but they are common. God changes the lay of the land in order to address these things. This is not be wasted time for fruit-bearing.

Our Adult Sunday school class used a book a summer or so ago, called Evangelism as Exiles, by Elliot Clark. Here is a quote that I saved from that book:

“If we continue the pattern of waiting for perfect opportunities, they may never come. And our fate will be that of the wary farmer who observes the wind and doesn’t sow, who considers the clouds and never reaps (Eccles. 11:4). Such farmers have empty barns in winter. We too, if we’re too busy trying to discern the times, raising a moistened finger to the wind to see if someone is ready to respond to the gospel, will likely never see a harvest of souls. We’ll never open our mouths to speak, because we’ll be waiting for a better day. But better days don’t seem to be on the horizon.” 

Honoring the Lord’s Table

We come this week to the first Sunday of the month. We plan to again observe Lord’s Table as a part of our Morning Worship. And, as we gather for worship in this way, we want honor, not profane, the Lord’s Table.

In the last book of the Old Testament, Malachi, the people were charged by the Lord with the offense of profaning the Lord’s table, or altar. Jesus, of course, had not yet instituted the ordinance of the Lord’s table, and yet the Old Testament community had been taught the standards by which they could approach the table/altar - only with acceptable sacrifices. They had been bringing blemished sacrifices, and the Lord was not pleased (Malachi 1:6-14).

Is this same offense possible for us today? Yes, in a sense. We come to the Lord’s table, and it is “the Lord’s” for two reasons: 1) because He is the Lord of the table; at the head of the table, so to speak; and 2) because He is the One who gave of Himself, so that the emblems of the table point directly to Him.

I would suggest that we can be guilty of profaning the Lord’s table if we make it more about us than about Him. How would we do that? By celebrating our goodness rather than our sinfulness. By coming proudly and arrogantly, as though we were saved in some other way than the abundant mercies of our Savior. By elevating ourselves in our minds over others who may not be present.

One of the amazing things about Malachi’s audience is that they were not even aware of their sin. Whenever God would bring a charge against them, they would say, “How have we profaned the Lord’s table?” They could not even see their sin when they were confronted with it! We must not think that we are naturally more perceptive than they. We need to take this warning to heart, and embrace the Lord of the table; the Savior who mercifully saves sinners, like us.

One further note: these “worshippers” in Malachi were also guilty of regarding their sacrificial offering as “tiresome.” Over and over again, they would come to offer sacrifices, and some were doing it on the cheap. And, over and over we come to the Lord’s table, “in remembrance of Me (Jesus).” If it becomes tiresome to us, then we are not grasping the wonder of Christ’s sacrifice for us. Let us come prepared, to set self aside, and to present our hearts open to Him.