Free in Christ

A friend sent me an email, asking me a question about being 'free in Christ". This was my answer:

The phrase "Free in Christ" does not occur in Holy Scripture. Nevertheless, free is something we Orthodox Christians are. St. Paul wrote in Romans 8, "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death." If we are not free we are not Orthodox Christians. But often (and here I talk from my own sad experience), people who talk about being free in Christ do so as a justification for their wicked lives.

St. Paul said to the Church in Rome that we are set free from sin so that we may be the slaves of Christ. Didn't Jesus say that no man serves two masters? We had to be set free from sin in order to become slaves of Jesus.

Also we are not set free from sin so that we can be our own masters, there is no such thing as a man or woman who is his own master. In the words of Bob Dylan (and really he was just paraphrasing St. Paul'swords in Rom. 6:18-22): "You're gonna have to serve somebody, well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord, but you're gonna have to serve somebody."

But when Bob Dylan wrote those lyrics in 1979 he was just the latest person who was grappling with this issue. Even when the Apostles were traveling around the world spreading the Good News and writing their letters to us this was an issue about which people were getting confused. St. Peter had to warn us (2 Peter 3:15-17) not to get tangled up in misunderstandings about what St. Paul wrote. He said that some of the stuff in St. Paul's letters is hard to understand and that unlearned men destroy themsleves by taking St. Paul's words and trying to understand them apart from the rest of the Holy Scriptures. (Again, I know this from sad experience.) And St. Paul defended himself from the slanderers who misconstrued his teaching and accused him of saying things he did not say.

To set matters straight, St. Paul wrote in Romans 6: "Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace."

And we should also look at the Icon of the Theophany. Have you ever noticed the ax leaning against the tree in that Icon? If we are repentant, we must lay the ax to the root of our former sins and bear new fruit that is worthy of the lives to which we have been called. Meditate on the Gospel for the Feast of the Teophany.

But what of legalism? You don't say as much in your email, but it sounds to me that the person with whom you had this conversation about freedom in Christ thinks the Orthodox Church is legalistic. Maybe, we can look to St. Spyridon, one of the Fathers of First Ecumenical Council for some guidance...

My favorite story about St. Spyridon has to do with his hospitality during fasts. During Great Lent one year a stranger appeared at his door asking for food and a place to sleep. St. Spyridon invited him in and asked his daughter to make someting to eat. She didn't have any fasting foods to cook since it was Lent and they were doing some severe fasting, only eating vegetables or nothing at all. She told her father that there was no bread or even flour to make bread. Then St. Spyridon, apologizing to his guest, sent his daughter to get a cured ham from their larder. After seating the stranger at table, he began to eat, urging his guest to do the same. When the stranger refused, saying he was a Christian, St. Spyridon said "It is not proper to refuse this, for the Word of God proclaims, "Unto the pure all things are pure" (Tit. 1:15)

And, of course, there is Jesus' teaching in Matthew 15:11. Nothing we eat can defile us. Rather, we are defiled by our words. It is not the food we eat that is unclean, it is our lips that need to be cleansed. (Isaiah 6:5) That is the teaching of Jesus. That is the teaching of the Orthodox Church.

We do not fast because food is sinful. We eat or don't eat ONLY because we are slaves to Jesus. This is not legalism. This is not trying to be earn salvation by eating or not eating. It is obedience to Christ. St. Spyridon knew that the law of love trumped the Church's fasting rules. Therfore, as a good slave he obeyed his Master and offered meat to his guest.

I guess, if I had to give you advice, which I do since you asked for it, I would tell you this: Follow the Saints. Were they set free from sin? Yes. And so were you. Were they slaves to Christ? Yes. And so are you. Follow the Saints in the way they go and you will not be mislead, for they follow Christ. (Philippians 3:13-17) And talk to your priest about this. Indeed, take all of the emails you receive from those of us you asked for help, and show them to your priest. If we make mistakes God will have him correct us.

Pray for me.