Mastered

“All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable.  All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything.” 1 Corinthians 6:12

Mastered – The Declaration of Independence got it wrong.  Liberty is not an inalienable right.  From the Bible’s point of view, liberty exists as a gift under the authority of God.  It is bequeathed to men.  It is not owed to men.

For centuries, believers recognized God as the true authority because He is both the supreme lawgiver and because we owe Him allegiance as the Creator.  But a few hundred years ago, the question of freedom began to chip away at these assumptions.  People began to speak of the destiny of the individual, of the self-determining nature of reason.  An ancient conflict re-emerged.  Today we live with the natural result of this conflict.  We live in a world that no longer recognizes God’s right to rule or my duty to God as Creator.  Today, the question of personal freedom dominates the horizon.

Paul addressed this same question in his letter to the Corinthians.  The same Greek root word for “authority” is found here in the word “mastered”.  Paul says that nothing except Christ will be his authority.  The rules that previously acted as standards for his behavior no longer apply.  His life is not measured by a code of conduct but rather by a relationship.  He is a slave to his master, Jesus.

We are free, says Paul.  We are not to be mastered (put under the authority) of any code.  Jesus has liberated us from such formal ethics.  But this does not mean license to do what we wish.  Quite the contrary.  Our freedom from the code has been purchased at a price.  That price demands total devotion to a person.  We don’t live under rules.  We live under a voluntary submission to a relationship with the Son of God.  We answer to Him.  When we understand this kind of freedom, we see that it is the basis of the transformation of who we are, not just compliance to an external code about what we do.  We exhibit the character of the Christ because we take on his life, not because we take on his rules.

What kind of authority governs your life today?  Are you a rule-keeper, trying to live by a code in order to please God?  Or are you in such a vital relationship with the Son that your whole being is transformed into a life like His?  What motivates your actions?  Rules or devotion?