Perhaps our concept of freedom is wrong.

In the past, freedom was defined as the ability to pursue what is good.

We don’t want people to be free to murder each other. We don’t want business owners to be free to lie about their products. We don’t want absolute, unbridled, unrestrained freedom. We want freedom that is directed towards good.

We want the freedom to earn a living for our family. That’s a good thing.

We want the freedom to serve all sorts of people at our shops without having to turn away the unvaccinated. That’s a good thing.

We want doctors to have the freedom to advise their patients on the best medical decision for them. That’s a good thing.

But there’s a problem.

Are any of us truly free?

Jesus is telling us that by nature none of us is truly free. We all sin and, therefore, we are all slaves to sin. None of us is able to pursue and do what is good.

We are restrained in our sin by the consequences or by the shame of what other people might think but if we were all left without restraint – in total, unbridled freedom – we would find that we sink into dreadful sin.

Richard Wurmbrand lived in communist-era Russia. He was a Christian pastor who was imprisoned for his faith.