THE BONDAGE FROM WHICH CHRIST FREES US
Why, I wonder, do we so often long to live under a yoke of bondage that Christ has already lifted from our shoulders? Peter asked a similar question long ago: why do we impose burdens on one another—burdens which neither we, nor our forefathers, could bear (Acts 15:10)? How easily we forget that the Lord has called us to stand fast in the liberty with which Christ has made us free (Galatians 5:1).
It is true: Christ has not freed us from obedience. We are still called to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. But He has freed us from the shackles of man-made laws, rigid interpretations, and the endless opinions of men. These are the chains that weigh down the spirit, stifle joy, and obscure the simple delight of serving the Lord.
Consider the assemblies of the early Israelites. God gave precise instructions—festivals, sacrifices, and rituals—each day measured, each act commanded (Leviticus 23). He ordained these to guide, to teach, and to show His holiness. But notice how Christ does not command us in such rigid detail. He does not specify how we lift our hands in praise, how we clap or kneel, how we gather or sing. He leaves our hearts free to worship, our spirits free to rejoice, and our service free from the bondage of ritual.
Yet there are those who fret over every gesture in worship—whether hands may be lifted, whether one posture or another is “right.” They miss the sweetness of the truth: God does not desire that we serve under a yoke of ritualistic law. He desires that we serve Him in liberty, out of love, because the joy of freedom flows from the cross. The ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper are not meant to burden us, but to remind us of grace, to celebrate what Christ has done, and to draw our hearts nearer to Him.
It is a sad thing to see hearts that shrink back from freedom, seeking instead the comfort of human rules. We live as if these chains were easier than trusting the Spirit. And yet, the truth is that liberty in Christ brings a far sweeter obedience than the heaviest of laws. Paul wrote to the Galatians, “For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another” (Galatians 5:13). Freedom in Christ is not a license for self-indulgence; it is the pathway to joyful service, the life of love made possible by the Spirit.
Imagine a bird in a gilded cage. It may seem safe, it may be shielded from storms, but it will never experience the wind beneath its wings, the rush of air across its feathers, the joy of soaring toward the sun. So it is with those who cling to human ordinances as if they were the measure of holiness. Christ has opened the door and removed the bars. To enter into His service with liberty is to know the true joy of worship, unburdened, unafraid, and wholly devoted.
Our freedom is not careless. It is holy. It is a liberty grounded in obedience to God’s Word and obedience of the heart, not the mindless following of human traditions. Christ has called us to a higher law: the law of love. Love for Him, love for our neighbor, love that flows naturally out of a heart made alive by grace. There is no more delightful yoke than this. It is light, easy, and freeing, for the Master Himself has borne it and invites us to walk in it.
Let us, then, reject the unnecessary shackles of human opinion and man-made ritual. Let us not be afraid to lift our hands in praise, to kneel, to sing, to rejoice openly, to celebrate baptism or the Lord’s Supper without fear. Let us serve Christ freely, for He has made us free indeed (John 8:36). In that freedom, we find strength. In that freedom, we find joy. And in that freedom, our hearts rise like the morning sun, fully alive to the beauty of the Lord we serve.
Lord, thank You for the freedom we have in Christ. Teach us to cast off the heavy burdens of man-made rules and human opinions, and to serve You in love and joy, not fear. Help us to worship freely, to celebrate baptism and the Lord’s Supper without hesitation, and to walk boldly in the liberty You have given, letting our hearts soar on the wings of Your grace. May our service be pleasing, our love sincere, and our lives a reflection of the freedom You purchased for us with Your blood. Amen.
Bryan Dewayne Dunaway
