Clowney on the true freedom of being enslaved to Christ our Saviour

I relate with the desire to live life "my way." Anybody, especially authority figures who have yet to win my respect, would find that I would do the opposite of whatever they try to force me to do. Because then I felt that I am the master of my own destiny and nobody can make me do what I do not want to do. It almost seemed that rebelling would be the most energising of endavours!

Oh boy, what a journey I have been on since then! While I still do not "show face" to authority figures who try to "pull rank" on me, I guess in many areas (previously zero areas) of my life I am periodically seeking to bring in line with God's will (as best as I can discern it). 

A quote by C S Lewis (from his book The Great Divorce) comes to mind:

There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, "Thy will be done," and those to whom God says, in the end, "Thy will be done." All that are in Hell, choose it.

I recall how obsessed I was with earning money, because my self-worth and self-identity depended on my grades and bank account. Materialism, alongside laziness, will be a continual temptation, and I have to continually remind myself of what the Jesus has done on the cross for me, and what that demands of me.


From pages 74-75; 98 of: How Jesus Transforms The Ten Commandments

Sinners lambaste God's structures and portray them as restrictive and tyrannical. But the "yoke" that Christ took on himself and the one he asks us to take up is the obedience that brings freedom, peace, joy, and honor...

True freedom is not that shown by the man possessed by a legion of devils in Mark chapter 5. He was free—free of home responsibilities. He did not have to care for a wife or children. He could leave them and do his own thing. He resented the confinement of clothing. He took it all off. He could live where he wanted, so he lived in caves and howled all night. He disliked people. When they came through his haunts, he beat them up. When he was seized and chained, he had the preternatural strength to rip off the bonds and break the chains. Young people who resent the restraints of life at home need to reflect on the total freedom that Satan offers. The freedom of the demoniac was total bondage to a legion of devils. Satan is a destroyer, not a creator...

Apart from Christ, no true freedom exists. Submission to him delivers us from bondage to our pride, our evil desires, and our service to the devil. When we pray, "Deliver us from the Evil One, " we pray for freedom by enslaving ourselves to the will of our Savior, Christ...

To submit for Christ's sake is to submit to Christ where he has placed us. No other is master of our hearts. The submissive Christian is an odd combination. The world does not understand such a position. There is a strange power and independence to a man or woman who is not "for sale." How many times has a boss fired or refused to hire a Christian, when he realized that his heart was not for hire! On the other hand, submission to others for Christ's sake calls for service with dedicated dignity, "like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men" (Eph. 6:6-7). As Christians submit to the obedience to which God calls them, in the place of service where he has put them, they are strengthened by the Spirit to submit. In that strength. they serve with full hearts, and it is the Lord himself who will honor such service.