Bad Religion: Bondage
Bad religion presents to us the idea that to follow God is to introduce us to a life of bondage rather than freedom. Nothing could be farther from the truth. To walk in the true freedom that Jesus Christ provides, we need to expose the deception of false freedoms, embrace the price of freedom, and fill ourselves with the fuel for our freedom.
The Deception of False Freedoms
If we are to be mothered, mother must know best. . . . In every age the men who want us under their thumb, if they have any sense, will put forward the particular pretension which the hopes and fears of that age render most potent. They ‘cash in.’ It has been magic, it has been Christianity. Now it will certainly be science. . . . Let us not be deceived by phrases about ‘Man taking charge of his own destiny.’ All that can really happen is that some men will take charge of the destiny of others. . . . The more completely we are planned, the more powerful they will be...
Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience. They may be more likely to go to Heaven yet at the same time likelier to make a Hell of earth. Their very kindness stings with intolerable insult. To be ‘cured’ against one’s will and cured of states which we may not regard as disease is to be put on a level of those who have not yet reached the age of reason or those who never will; to be classed with infants, imbeciles, and domestic animals. —C. S. Lewis, God in the Dock
Matthew 12:22-32 (NIV)
22Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw. 23And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David? 24But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils. 25And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: 26And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand? 27And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges. 28But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. 29Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house. 30He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad. 31Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. 32And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.
Our present culture is bent on the idea of bolstering the mentality that whatever seems best to you is what actually equates to true freedom. Religion as a whole, and Jesus in particular, have been demonized, because it is thought that they interrupt our postmodern inalienable right for each individual to decide what is best for them. The problem is, that in reality, this is not how any viable relationship, household, or society functions. A lack of constraint by individuals strips us of our true freedoms as we move further and further away from imago dei, the image of God.
"The great church father Augustine taught that true freedom is not choice or lack of constraint, but being what you are meant to be. Humans were created in the image of God. True freedom, then, is not found in moving away from that image but only in living it out. The closer we conform to the true image of God, Jesus Christ, the freer we become. The farther we drift from it, the more our freedom shrinks." -http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2012/october/bonds-of-freedom.html
What people don't realize is that by throwing off the law, they are really demonstrating their slavery. Their bondage to lust, sexual immorality, drunkenness, perversity, hatred, discord, envy, unforgiveness, selfish ambition and all types of passions they cannot contain. The man who lives without the law has become mastered by the very things he was hoping to own and enjoy (Galatians 5).
There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death. (Proverbs 14:12 NIV)
The Price of Freedom
"The price of pleasure is pain. Legit pleasure comes after the price of pain. Illegitimate pleasure causes pain afterward." -Ravi Zacharias
The perfect law of God gives freedom: freedom to love, freedom from guilt, condemnation, and shame, freedom to obey, freedom to live a life full of purpose, significance, satisfaction, and peace, freedom to be who you were created to be. It is a false notion to believe that the law solely constrains you. As it does, it constrains a man from harm and walking to his death (Romans 3:23).
The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” (Genesis 2:15-17 NIV)
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do. (James 1:22-25 NIV)
For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. For he who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker. Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment. (James 2:10-13 NIV)
Only the man who lives in perfect volition, in submission to the law, as an act of continued self-control and as a fruit of the Holy Spirit of God, can truly say he is free (Luke 4).
The Fuel for Our Freedom
“In religion, as in war and everything else, comfort is the one thing you cannot get by looking for it. If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end: if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth -- only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin with and, in the end, despair.” ― C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
Matthew 12:33-37 (NIV)
33Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit. 34O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. 35A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. 36But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. 37For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.
To properly interpret and store up the good things in the Bible (a discipline called hermeneutics), ask these four questions as you read:
1) What does the Scripture say in its context? (A good commentary can help with understanding the culture and circumstances surrounding the text.) 2) What does the Scripture say about God? (This is what forms the foundation of your relationship with God through proper theology.) 3) What does the Scripture say about me? (This is what fosters proper identity.) 4) What does the Scripture say about the world around me? (This is what creates a worldview.)
Practicals:
1) Develop a daily time of reading and meditating upon the Scripture. 2) Join a community group through which you can identify areas of bondage. 3) Within the community, find the freedom of God as you tie up the strong man together in prayer.
Second City Church- Bad Religion Sermon Series 2013