By Oyewole Sarumi
There is perhaps no word more beloved in the modern world than freedom. It is the rallying cry of political revolutions, the anthem of advertising campaigns, and the defining value of Western culture. Yet it is precisely because freedom is so universally celebrated that it has become so dangerously misunderstood.
The postmodern age has redefined freedom as the absence of all constraints, the right to believe whatever one wishes, and the autonomy to define one’s own truth. This redefinition has not remained safely outside the walls of the church. It has seeped into our pews, our pulpits, and our leadership structures, shaping the way Christians think about discipleship, obedience, and the very nature of the gospel itself.
The statement under consideration cuts through this fog with apostolic clarity: Christian freedom does not mean believing whatever you want. Christian freedom is the freedom to believe in Christ, to belong to Him, and to walk in His truth.
This is not a narrow sectarian claim but the very heart of the biblical gospel. The Apostle Paul, writing to the Galatians, declares, “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another” (Galatians 5:13). And Jesus Himself, speaking to those who had professed faith in Him, said, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31–32).
These two texts form the twin pillars of a biblical theology of freedom. They teach us that Christian liberty is not libertinism, that truth is not a private possession, and that the freedom Christ gives is a freedom for something, for Him, for His truth, and for His people.
For leaders in the church, this is not an abstract theological puzzle. It is the ground upon which every pastoral decision, every doctrinal conviction, and every discipleship relationship must rest. If we lose the biblical meaning of freedom, we lose the gospel itself.
THE CONTEXT OF GALATIANS: FREEDOM FROM THE YOKE OF SLAVERY
To understand Paul’s teaching on freedom, we must first understand the crisis that provoked it. The churches of Galatia were being troubled by a group of false teachers, often called Judaizers, who insisted that Gentile converts must be circumcised and observe the Mosaic law in order to be fully justified before God. These teachers did not deny Christ outright; they simply added requirements to the gospel. They said, in effect, “Faith in Christ is necessary, but not sufficient. You must also become a Jew, submit to the law, and observe its ordinances.”
Paul saw this as nothing less than a betrayal of the gospel. His response was fierce and uncompromising: “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:8).
The issue was not merely circumcision or dietary laws; it was the very basis of justification. Are we made right with God by faith in Christ alone, or by faith plus human effort? Paul’s answer is unequivocal: “We know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ” (Galatians 2:16).
It is against this backdrop that Paul writes, “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1). The “yoke of slavery” is the law when treated as a means of justification.
As one scholar has observed, the context of Galatians indicates that the freedom Paul mentioned was freedom from the law as a means of getting right with God, not freedom from God’s moral standards. The law was never intended to be the means of salvation. Rather, it “points beyond itself, to Christ. Exposing sin and human inability, it drives people to seek righteousness through faith rather than works”.
This is the freedom that Christ purchased for us: freedom from the unbearable burden of self-justification. We are free from trying to earn God’s favor by rule-keeping. We are free from divine wrath and condemnation. We are free from the anxiety of constantly wondering whether we have done enough. As the Puritan Samuel Bolton wrote, “The law sends us to the gospel that we may be justified; and the gospel sends us to the law again to inquire what is our duty as those who are justified”. The believer is not under the law as a covenant of works, but he is not lawless either. He is under the law of Christ, which is the law of love.
THE CONTEXT OF JOHN 8: FREEDOM THROUGH ABIDING IN THE TRUTH
Jesus’ words in John 8 are equally foundational. The setting is the temple courts, where Jesus has just declared, “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12). The Pharisees challenge Him, and the conversation turns to the question of freedom. Jesus says to those who had believed in Him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31–32). His hearers are indignant: “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?” (John 8:33).
Their response reveals a profound blindness. They think of freedom in purely political and ethnic terms. They are descendants of Abraham, members of the covenant people, and therefore they believe they are already free. But Jesus cuts through their self-deception: “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin” (John 8:34). The bondage that matters most is not political but spiritual.
Sin is a dominating power that holds the human heart captive. As the Baptist Courier article on Christian freedom notes, “Throughout Scripture, sin is portrayed as a dominating power that holds the human heart in bondage. Christ alone breaks sin’s rule, freeing believers from its grip and releasing their hearts to love and serve God”.
Notice the conditions Jesus attaches to freedom. First, there is abiding: “If you abide in my word.” Freedom is not a one-time event but a continual relationship. It is not a possession to be grasped but a life to be lived. Second, there is knowing: “You will know the truth.” Truth in the biblical sense is not merely intellectual assent but personal knowledge of the One who is truth. Third, there is discipleship: “You are truly my disciples.” The freedom Jesus offers is inseparable from following Him. As Augustine put it, “You shall be free from sin, if you will become the servants of righteousness”.
This is a freedom that the world cannot understand. It looks like bondage to those who have not experienced it. To submit to Christ’s word, to abide in His teaching, to obey His commands, all of this seems like a restriction of freedom to the postmodern mind. But Jesus says it is the path to true liberation. The one who sins is a slave; the one who abides in Christ is free indeed.
THE RELATIVIST ASSAULT ON TRUTH
The postmodern age has declared war on the very concept of truth. The French philosopher Michel Foucault argued that truth is not discovered but constructed by those in power. Jean-François Lyotard famously defined postmodernism as “incredulity toward metanarratives”—a rejection of any overarching story that claims to explain reality. In this view, truth is not something we find; it is something we create. And if truth is a human construction, then everyone has the right to construct their own.
This philosophical shift has penetrated deep into the popular consciousness. Recent research from the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University found that in 2025, two out of three American adults reject or doubt the existence of absolute moral truth.
The American Worldview Inventory 2025, surveying over 2,000 American adults, reported that “one out of every three adults (33%) contends that the very idea of moral truth is a social creation, believing that truth cannot be an absolute and consistent reality that is unaffected by cultural realities”. A Barna study revealed that approximately 74% of adults say they trust their feelings over facts when discerning moral truth.
These are staggering statistics. They describe a culture that has lost its moral compass, a society that has exchanged the solid ground of objective truth for the shifting sands of personal preference. And this is not merely a problem “out there” in the secular world. A 2025 Pew Research Center report found that 65% of American Catholics believe that “many religions can be true,” while only 19% hold to the exclusive truth of one religion. The spirit of the age has infiltrated the church.
The MDPI journal Religions published a 2025 study that empirically established a new category of social beliefs defined as “postmodern beliefs.” The study identified three core components: antifundamentalism, absolutization of freedom, and relativization of truth. This triad is a perfect description of the contemporary worldview.
Absolute freedom and relative truth are two sides of the same coin. If there is no objective truth, then there can be no objective constraints on my behavior. I am free to do whatever I want, to believe whatever I want, to be whatever I want. This is the logic of the fall: “You will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5).
FREEDOM IS NOT AUTONOMY
The fundamental error of the postmodern view of freedom is the confusion of freedom with autonomy. Autonomy comes from the Greek words autos (self) and nomos (law). To be autonomous is to be a law unto oneself. It is to be subject to no authority but one’s own reason, to no standard but one’s own preference, to no truth but one’s own construction. This is the freedom that the serpent offered to Eve in the garden, and it is the freedom that the world still offers today.
But this is not the freedom of the gospel. Christian freedom is not autonomy; it is theonomy, the rule of God. It is not freedom from all authority but freedom under the right authority. It is not the absence of constraints but the presence of the right constraints.
As John Winthrop, the Puritan governor of Massachusetts Bay, distinguished, there is a “natural liberty” that is common to all creatures and consists in doing whatever one desires, and there is a “civil liberty” that is “the proper end and object of authority” and consists in doing what is good, just, and honest. Winthrop called natural liberty “that great enemy of truth and peace, that wild beast, which all the ordinances of God are bent against, to restrain and subdue it”.
This is precisely the biblical perspective. The freedom that Christ gives is not the freedom to sin but the freedom from sin. It is not the freedom to believe whatever we want but the freedom to believe the truth. It is not the freedom to live however we please but the freedom to live as we were created to live—in fellowship with God, in obedience to His word, and in love toward our neighbor. As Pope Francis observed in a 2024 general audience, “It is not freedom to do what one wants, but the freedom to freely do what God wants”.
The Apostolic Fathers understood this well. Ignatius of Antioch, writing on his way to martyrdom, declared, “They were free, as the servants of God; while I am, even until now, a servant. But when I suffer, I shall be the freed-man of Jesus Christ, and shall rise again emancipated in Him”. For Ignatius, freedom was not found in escaping suffering but in embracing it for the sake of Christ. The one who is truly free is the one who is bound to Christ.
THE FREEDOM OF BELONGING
If freedom is not autonomy, what is it? The statement before us offers a beautiful answer: Christian freedom is the freedom to believe in Christ, to belong to Him, and to walk in His truth. This is a threefold freedom, and each facet deserves careful attention.
First, there is the freedom to believe in Christ. This is the freedom of justification by faith. We are freed from the futile attempt to earn our salvation and are given the gift of righteousness in Christ. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8–9). This is the freedom that Luther celebrated in his treatise On Christian Liberty: “A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none”. The believer is free from the law’s condemnation, free from the fear of death, free from the power of sin.
Second, there is the freedom to belong to Christ. This is the freedom of union with Christ. We are not merely forgiven; we are adopted into God’s family. “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are” (1 John 3:1). The believer is a child of God, an heir of the promises, a member of the body of Christ. This is a freedom of identity. The world tells us to define ourselves, to create our own identity, to be the author of our own story. The gospel tells us that our identity is given to us in Christ. We are who we are because of whose we are.
John Owen captured this distinction beautifully: “Slaves take liberty from duty; children have liberty in duty; there is not a greater mistake in the world, than that the liberty of Sons in the house of God, consists in this, they can perform duties, or take the freedom to omit them”. The child of God is free not to ignore his Father’s commands but to obey them with joy. The freedom of belonging is the freedom of a loving relationship, not the freedom of a distant autonomy.
Third, there is the freedom to walk in Christ’s truth. This is the freedom of sanctification. We are not only justified; we are being transformed. “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another” (2 Corinthians 3:18). The truth of the gospel is not merely something we believe; it is something we live. It shapes our thoughts, our desires, our words, and our deeds. To walk in the truth is to live in accordance with reality, the reality of who God is, who we are, and what He has done for us in Christ.
Thomas Watson, the great Puritan divine, put it this way: “To serve God, to love God, to enjoy God, is the sweetest freedom in the world”. The world thinks of service as slavery and autonomy as freedom. But the gospel reverses this. True freedom is found not in doing whatever we want but in doing what we were made to do: to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.
THE PASTORAL AND LEADERSHIP IMPLICATIONS
For those called to leadership in the church, these truths carry profound implications. Leaders are not merely administrators or managers; they are shepherds of souls, guardians of the truth, and models of the freedom that Christ gives. The research is clear that spiritual formation is a critical predictor of leadership effectiveness. A 2025 study of postgraduate students at Christian universities in Nairobi, Kenya, found that “Christian spiritual formation, personal formation and leader self-concepts are predictors of adoption of servant leadership”. The study concluded that “institutional mission focus on spiritual growth and leader identity formation plays a more significant role in developing servant leadership style” than gender, year of study, or course of study.
This is a crucial finding. It means that leadership development is not primarily about acquiring skills or techniques. It is about formation, the slow, patient work of the Holy Spirit in shaping the character of a leader. And at the heart of that formation is a right understanding of freedom. Leaders who are enslaved to the approval of others will not lead with courage. Leaders who are enslaved to the fear of failure will not take risks for the gospel. Leaders who are enslaved to the desire for control will not empower others. Only leaders who are truly free in Christ can lead others into that freedom.
The first implication, then, is that leaders must model freedom. This is not a freedom of license but a freedom of love. It is the freedom to say “no” to the flesh and “yes” to the Spirit. It is the freedom to speak the truth in love, even when it is unpopular. It is the freedom to serve others without seeking anything in return. Paul exhorts the Galatians, “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another” (Galatians 5:13). The free leader is the serving leader. The one who has been liberated by Christ is the one who lays down his life for the sheep.
The second implication is that leaders must guard the truth. The relativism of our age is not a harmless philosophical fad. It is a direct assault on the gospel. If there is no truth, there is no gospel. If everyone can believe whatever they want, then the cross is meaningless. Leaders must be vigilant in protecting the deposit of faith that has been entrusted to them. Paul charged Timothy, “Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you” (2 Timothy 1:13–14). This is not a call to rigidity or contentiousness. It is a call to faithfulness. We guard the truth not because we are guardians of our own tradition but because we are stewards of God’s revelation.
Richard Baxter, the Puritan pastor and author, lived in a time of tremendous religious and political division. His approach was both principled and charitable: “In necessary things, unity; in doubtful things, liberty; in all things, charity”. This is a wise rule for leaders in our own contentious age. There are matters that are essential to the gospel, the deity of Christ, salvation by grace through faith, the authority of Scripture. On these, there can be no compromise. But there are other matters, forms of worship, secondary theological opinions, cultural preferences—where liberty is appropriate. And in all things, charity must prevail.
The third implication is that leaders must cultivate spiritual formation in their people. If freedom is not the absence of constraints but the presence of the right constraints, then discipleship is the process of learning to live under those constraints. It is the process of having our desires reordered, our minds renewed, and our wills conformed to the will of God. As one 2025 study on spiritual formation practices observed, “structured spiritual formation practices can cultivate attentiveness to God and strengthen ministry readiness among leaders within a congregational context”.
This means that leaders must be intentional about creating environments where spiritual formation can flourish. This includes the regular preaching and teaching of God’s word, the celebration of the sacraments, the practice of prayer and fasting, the cultivation of community, and the pursuit of accountability. It also includes the modeling of these practices by leaders themselves. A leader who does not abide in Christ’s word will not produce disciples who abide in Christ’s word. A leader who is not being formed by the truth will not be able to lead others into the truth.
THE FREEDOM THAT SETS OTHERS FREE
The words of Jesus in John 8:31–32 are a promise and a call. “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” This is the freedom that the world cannot give and cannot take away. It is the freedom of belonging to Christ, of walking in His truth, of serving Him with joy. It is the freedom that has been purchased with the blood of the Son of God.
For leaders in the church, this freedom is both a gift and a responsibility. We are called to receive it, to guard it, and to lead others into it. We are called to resist the spirit of the age, which whispers that freedom is doing whatever you want, and to proclaim the truth of the gospel, which declares that freedom is doing what God wants. We are called to be, as it were, living proof that the truth sets people free.
The stakes could not be higher. The cultural research is sobering: two-thirds of adults reject absolute moral truth; three-quarters trust their feelings over facts; a majority of religious adherents believe that many religions can be true. These are not merely statistics. They are descriptions of souls held captive by the spirit of relativism. And they are a summons to the church to proclaim, with clarity and compassion, the liberating truth of the gospel.
The Apostolic Fathers, the Reformers, the Puritans, and faithful leaders throughout history have all borne witness to this same truth: the one whom the Son sets free is free indeed. May the same be said of us. May we stand firm in the liberty with which Christ has made us free. And may we lead others into that liberty, until the whole church is filled with the glorious freedom of the children of God.
Prof. Sarumi, a disciple of Jesus and teacher of the Word of God, write from Lagos
