Chuck Larsen

There are two things that will rob us of our freedom in Christ. One is legalism. If we insist on writing laws for ourselves or submitting to the manmade laws of others, we end up focusing on the “have to’s” of life rather than the “want to’s.” We build another man-made system of do’s and don’t’s, which simply rob us of our freedom. Jesus fulfilled the law on our behalf, and as he said on the cross, “It is finished.” Now, this legalism is one extreme. The other extreme can enslave us as well. That’s licentiousness. Paul starts to describe what slavery to this might look like in Colossians 3:5-10. Just as we are to put to death the rituals and rules that make slaves out of us, he wants us to put to death licentiousness. He writes, “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these, the wrath of God is coming. In these, you, too, once walked when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.”

Sin is another great taskmaster. When we surrender ourselves to sin, we become its slave, and we lose our freedom. There are more 12-step recovery programs than you can count. Each one is designed to help slaves of any particular sin find freedom. Our freedom from the tyranny of legalism and licentiousness is not total freedom. Since Bob Dillon is right, “everybody serves something,” We need to think carefully about freedom and slavery. “Many people, driven by a desire for freedom, have ended in slavery. The Russian people revolted against the control of the Tsars only to discover themselves enmeshed in a new tyranny. We are free to jump from a high building but not free to suspend the natural consequences. This is because whatever freedom we have is a limited and responsible freedom; it is a degree of freedom within boundaries.”^[1] Surrendering to the sins of the flesh is like taking drugs. We get hooked easily. We are then slaves to our particular sin. Christ sets us free from that slavery, and we can now willingly submit ourselves as slaves to Christ. Paul talks more about this in Romans. We are to be servants (slaves) of Christ. Paul refers to himself that way many times in his writings. When Jesus sat his apostles down, he once informed them, who argued about greatness, that the greatest was the one who would be the “servant of all.”

Martin Lloyd-Jones said, “If you are a Christian, you are a servant of God, you are the slave, the ‘bond slave of Christ,’ even as was this mighty Apostle. Show it in your work, show it in everything you do — in your home, in your pleasure, in your recreation, at your lunch, at your tea, everywhere, always, let this come out. So you will realize that, whatever your calling, whatever your lot or position in life, it is a glorious one.”

^[1] Seccombe, David. 2013. Romans: Dust to Destiny. Edited by Paul Barnett. Reading the Bible Today Series. Sydney, South NSW: Aquila Press.

I’ve often used the title “Siren Song” to describe the calls and appeals of the false teachers that Paul had to deal with. It’s appropriate for us today as well. I’ve assumed everyone knew what  Siren Song is. Its origins are rooted in Greek mythology. The Sirens were beautiful women with the upper bodies of humans and the lower bodies of birds whose bewitching songs lured sailors to their doom. So irresistible were their songs that sailors who heard them would be tempted to navigate the ship close to the shore and risk crashing, or they might jump overboard into the water and drown. In Homer’s Odyssey, the hero Odysseus cleverly stops the ears of his crew with wax to keep them from hearing the Sirens’s song. He tied himself to the mast so he could hear the song yet survive. The Sirens also appear in another Greek epic poem called the Argonautica. In that, the mythical master musician Orpheus helps a crew survive the Sirens’s song by drowning them out with lyre-playing. I use the phrase to refer to any teaching that attempts to beguile us away from the simple message of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

The attractions of the siren songs in this life, as well as the shadows of legalistic spirituality, often cause believers to stumble along their way. Therefore, Paul calls us to focus on eternal issues in his second letter to the Corinthians. In verse 2 of Chapter 3, Paul urges us to “set our minds” on things above and not on the things of this earth. He says, “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. ² Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.”  The Greek verb for “setting the mind” implies the intentional direction of all mental energies on a particular object. In this case, it’s Christ in the heavenly realms. I guess we’d call that concentration. “Set your mind” is a very strong action. Fill your ears with wax so you won’t hear the siren songs of the world to draw your heart from Christ. Strap yourself to the mast and hold fast to that which saves you. Setting our minds on Christ will silence the calls of the world around us.

The things around us will grow dim when we do that.  An M.I.T. mathematician was walking across the campus.  He was so absorbed in thought that when a student greeted him, he failed to respond. But after a few steps, he turned and said, “Pardon me, could you tell me which way I came from?” The student pointed and answered, “That way, sir!” “Thanks,” said the prof. “Now I know I’ve had lunch!” This is a bit extreme, but the point is our minds cannot be set on any object without concentration. One commentator said, “No one will ever learn anything about the subject being considered without it.”  Isaac Newton said the key to his understanding was, “I keep it before me.” Fixing our thoughts on Jesus takes time. You can’t appreciate the scenery at 30 thousand feet. You can’t see the beauty of the country as it flies by on the interstate. We must stop and focus. We must sit still and gaze at the beauty. We must sit still and gaze at the Savior and let the landscape seep into our hearts and fill our souls.

Once Christ has set us free from sin, we are indeed free! But many false religions in Paul’s day, and in ours, will attempt to diminish the merits of Christ and force into our lives a system of performance based on rituals and man-made standards.  Faith in Jesus is not enough. Some said you have to be circumcised. Others argue that one must observe the Sabbath day. Others say that the Lord’s Day observances are mandatory. Others might focus on one’s diet and insist on observance of all the dietary laws of the Old Testament. There are many religious-sounding siren songs that lure us away from the full sufficiency of Christ.  We should not let any of them distract us. Paul warns us all, “Let no one rob us of our freedom in Christ.” Verse 16 says, “Let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath.” Verse 18 begins, “Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism…”

“Some in Colossae were placing more emphasis on particular meals and days than they were on Christ. Much of this came from the Old Testament Law. Paul declares the people observed the shadows more than the One who created the shadow. There were many types and pictures of Christ in the Old Testament, but they were just a shadow of things to come. Christ had come! God’s plan of redemption had been fulfilled. It was ridiculous to place more emphasis on the rituals that pointed to Christ than the risen Savior Himself.”^[1] While acknowledging Christ as the savior, many in Paul’s day and in our day insist on a form of synergism. Man assists God in his salvation. God does His part, and man does his part. A monergist, like myself, insists that the word of salvation was accomplished completely by Christ on our behalf. We cannot contribute to it in any way. I’m convinced that Paul was a monergist.

Augustine, Calvin, and others have defended monergism throughout church history. It is one of the chief canons in the Westminister Confession of Faith. They argue that this tradition has consistently affirmed the doctrine of monergism as that which is taught in Scripture and has rejected various forms of synergism as unbiblical.”^[2] Verse 17 says, referring to the Old Testament rules, “These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.” He did not come to destroy the law but to fulfill it. It’s like a debt that has been paid off. We do not need to make more deposits in that account. One of the last words of Jesus on the cross was, “It is finished.” That Greek phrase is one word only. It’s Tetelestai. This word has been discovered on paid-off mortgages and loans during Christ’s Day. It is literally “Paid In Full.” I remember how happy I was when I got that stamped on my mortgage for my house! O, Happy Day. How much more so the day Jesus washed my sins away? “O, Happy Day.”

^[1] Benfield, Chris. 2015. “Avoiding Modern Pitfalls # 8 (Colossians 2:16–23).” In Pulpit Pages: New Testament Sermons, 1094. Mount Airy, NC: Chris Benfield.

^[2] Barrett, Matthew. 2013. Salvation by Grace: The Case for Effectual Calling and Regeneration. 1st ed. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing.