Liberty/Slavery

Liberty/Slavery

2 Peter 2:19 “While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.”

There always seems to be a debate whether mankind is morally good or evil by nature. Moral evil is any deviation of a moral agent from the rules of conduct prescribed to him by God. It must be misguided thinking that our sin-nature of the flesh is not a factor in our heart’s core beliefs and behavior. I read that this chapter of 2 Peter consists of a strong denunciation of false teachers. They are, among other things, sensuous, beguiling, covetous, and accursed. They desire personal wealth, but their message is empty, and even destructive, and will be judged, appealing to the pride and lusts of their hearers.

In the Bible verse above, we see the false teachers are quick to make promises. Promises are cheap; they cost nothing. Satan first revealed himself to mankind with a promise: “Ye shall be as gods” (Genesis 3:5), and later attempted to seduce the Son of God with “all the kingdoms of the world”. Empty promises are Satan’s golden hook, and many are the foolish ones who believe the lie and take the bait.

In this case, the false teachers promise liberty—liberty to act without the shackles of responsibility and moral law. But they themselves are “servants of corruption,” slaves of a most abhorrent mentality. And who are they to offer liberty? These are indeed “great swelling words of vanity”, for slaves cannot rightly offer liberty.

Romans 6:16 “Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living.”

The article asks: How is this promise kept? Bondage. Bondage to that which has overcome. The liberty that sin promises is slavery, and the greater the sinner, the greater the bondage to the sin. There is perhaps no more wretched a state than to be in bondage to abject corruption in the name of liberty. It is a bondage of the spirit; a captivity of the soul. Of all states of slavery, it is the most lasting.

John 8:31-32 Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

On the other hand, through grace we can “stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free,” with no need to be “entangled again with the yoke of bondage”. Liberty is in Christ.

Luke 4:18-19 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.”