False Freedom

by Brett Heintzman

I remember riding in the back seat of our 1966 Dodge Polara as my mom was teaching my sister to drive. The car was massive like many ’60s sedans. From the sofa-sized back seat I could hear that my sister was having trouble judging if she was staying in her lane.

“Look at the hood ornament,” my mom instructed. “Line it up with the edge of the road, and you’ll be fine.” Remember hood ornaments? Our Polara had one that resembled decorative crosshairs so you could aim with precision for the road’s edge.

As incomplete as my mom’s method may have been, it worked. It gave my sister a very specific way to keep the car under control and on the road. Her anxiety turned to confidence over time, and she has become quite the driver.

Freedom is only true freedom when it operates within boundaries.

When did we come to believe that the absence of godly restrictions is OK? Love is inextricably bound to discipline, boundaries, instruction, guidance, warnings against what is wrong and encouragement to do what is right. Healthy and holy restrictions are life-giving. God-Given Revelation is the way we align our “hood ornament” with the edge of the narrow road.

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” (Matthew 7:13–14).

If you and I choose the wide road, we choose destruction. Jesus’ instruction is loving — He’s warning us to keep away from destruction. He’s also truthful, that only few will find this narrow way. Jesus knows us better than we know ourselves. He also prophetically announces that only a few will choose God-Given Revelation as their way.

The amazing simplicity of this seems to become tangled and confusing when we begin to argue with the meaning of Scripture. We argue because we can’t seem to attain self-control. We argue with Scripture when we try to justify behaviors, feelings, urges, or selfish desires. We argue with Scripture when we just don’t want to submit to its authority. We seek to reinterpret and redefine — recontextualize and reassess what God really meant when He said, “(fill in the blank).” When it comes to truth, you and I will never win the argument.

So what do we do?

We let Scripture instruct us, encounter us, reflect any dissonance between what is holy and what is not. We let it study us, examine us, inquire of us as to the state of our soul. We believe it to be breathed by God and accept it as the best way to a life of holy love and freedom. We sacrifice our struggles — whether trivial or costly — and we keep our eyes on the grand “hood ornament” of Scripture, refusing to step off the narrow road that leads to life for even one moment.

It goes without saying that not everyone sees Scripture this way. A cursory glance at today’s society is adding new layers of meaning to casting off inhibitions of all kinds. We can expect that in the world, but when it creeps into the church, we must instruct and correct — admonish and discipline with the same love, truth and grace found in the same Scriptures. To do otherwise would be reckless and not in keeping with God’s character. Because this way is not for everyone, not everyone will join us. This shouldn’t be a surprise. Hear Jesus speaking to His own, dearly loved Jerusalem:

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing” (Matthew 23:37).

If Jerusalem was not willing to accept Jesus when He appeared in the flesh, we must come to terms with the fact that not all people will accept Him today.

But what about you and me? I believe that our strength as a family of faith in the Free Methodist Church will come in our mutual submission to the authority of the Word of God. Regardless of our background or experiences, this single thing holds immense power to unite us.

So let’s shed all forms of false freedom and embrace the narrow road of God-Given Revelation — willingly, joyfully, decisively — knowing the amazing benefit of walking in the ways of Jesus, that this earth may look more and more like heaven because of Christ in us, the hope of glory.

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