What Does the Bible Say About Freedom?

   In America we read about freedom, dream about freedom, celebrate freedom, teach, promote, and hope for freedom, but do we really know what freedom is? 
   Freedom means different things to different people. For some the opportunity to vote in an election is freedom. For others it’s freedom of speech, where one has the liberty to voice their personal opinion or perspective.  Others seek to free themselves of financial debt. But what does genuine freedom look like? Is freedom like someone walking out of prison or like someone who gets free from the bondage of debt?
   There are two sides to freedom. The Bible says quite a lot about freedom, though many people view the Bible as a bunch of “thou shalt nots” that stifle their freedom. Let’s see if the Bible can help us figure out the difference between what it means for us to be free from something and what it means to be free to do something. Freedom from something and freedom to do something are opposite sides of the coin. Many of the freedoms we are looking for today are ends in themselves.  We think that once our particular freedom is attained, that will be the end of all our problems.  Why? Because we’ll have FREEDOM! But freedom from what? Or FREEDOM to do or be what?  
   As an example, let’s say that we’re in overwhelming financial debt. We realize we are in a critical mess and we begin to t ...

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