This post was first published during April 2019. –ed.

The whole world is in love with the idea of freedom. Advertisers, songwriters, and movie producers relentlessly remind us that our lives are afflicted by too much restraint. And the remedy they peddle is always freedom: financial freedom, more free time, freedom from poor health, freedom from boredom, and freedom from everything else that hinders our happiness.

That quest for greater freedom has now infiltrated many churches. In his sermon “How Christian Freedom Works,” John MacArthur explains the incompatibility between secular ideas concerning freedom, and what Jesus meant when He said, “If the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36).

There is a new kind of pseudo-Christianity that is becoming very popular, now flourishing in our generation. The idea of it is to accommodate the current culture of sin. Sinners want freedom to do what they want to do. They reject authority, they believe they have a right to behave how they choose, and they also have a right to be free from anyone’s condemnation of those choices.

Sinners think that’s freedom. What they don’t understand is what Jesus said in John 8:34, “Everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin.” They think they’re free in sinning. The truth is they’re in bondage. They’re captive to sin; they can do nothing else. They can choose the sins of their own preference, but that’s all they can choose.

They may embrace the church and some form of Christianity if it does not require them to abandon what they desire. And so, there are always going to be corrupted preachers who are eager to accept people on their terms, not on God’s terms, demanding no repentance, no self-denial, no pursuit of godliness, holiness, purity, or sanctification.

“How Christian Freedom Works” examines Galatians 5:13–16, explaining how the freedom all believers are called to is not “an opportunity for the flesh” (Galatians 5:13). John’s message explains the true nature of Christian freedom and how it is antithetical to every worldly notion of liberty. Moreover, he reveals a dimension of joy—found only in slavery to Christ—that far surpasses any enticement this world has to offer. Our freedom in Christ isn’t an out clause from obedience to Him. As John shows us, true Christian freedom is manifest in the new-found power we have to keep His commands.

Click here to watch or listen to “How Christian Freedom Works.”