Society today is discussing liberty, equality, and fraternity. This devotion looks at each word based on the worldview and on the Godview.
Nuggets
- God doesn’t expect us to follow the ceremonial laws, but He does require us to follow His moral laws.
- We have to meet the needs of the person with whom we are interacting.
- Fraternity is a feeling, but fellowship is a purpose.
One of the things in my drafts folder was a sermon by Spensley entitled Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity. As the United States was built on the ideas of liberty and equity, I thought today — our nation’s birthday — would be a good time to check this out.
Liberty, equality, and fraternity are some of the major discussions in society these days. What can we learn from Spensley?
Now, Spensley addressed countries and governments. I think we can make this work, as we will be looking at society as a whole.
Let's Put It into Context
“But since that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for through faith you are all sons of God in Christ Jesus. For those of you who were baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ. There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female; since you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, heirs according to the promise” (Gal. 3 25-29 CSB)
The passage Spensley was addressing is one we’ve talked about many time as one Paul wrote to show unity of the believers. The points Paul was making were:
- “For God does not show favoritism” (Rom. 2: 11 NLT). The Good News Translation presented it this way: “For God judges everyone by the same standard.”
- “For he is our peace, who made both groups one and tore down the dividing wall of hostility …” (Eph. 2: 14 CSB).
I think it is interesting that most of the translations use Greek. The New International Version, the New Living Translation, and the Good News Translation all use Gentile.
Paul maybe used Greek. I think, though, God doesn’t make the distinction in the broader sense.
The only distinction God makes is spiritually dead and spiritually alive. Spiritual death is the separation from God that occurred as a consequence of Adam and Eve’s original sin. The spiritually alive are those who have ABCDed.
The ABCDs of Salvation
If you have not become a believer in Christ, please read through the
Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
A – admit our sins
B – believe His Son Jesus is our Redeemer
C – confess God as Sovereign Lord
D – demonstrate that commitment by making any changes needed in our lives to
live the way in which God has called us
The Disciple’s Job Description
But how does what Paul is talking about fit in with the three buzzwords of liberty, equality, and fraternity?
Liberty
“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” (Gal. 5: 3 ESV)
Oh, man. Look at this definition of liberty in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Please go look at the whole definition, because I am condensing here.
To me, this definition runs the gamut.
- Liberty means doing what you please.
- Liberty means freedom from arbitrary control.
- Liberty means the ability to choose.
- Liberty means freedom within specified limits.
- Liberty means going beyond the normal limits.
- Liberty means not following the rules.
What this tells me is that we, as a society, thinks there should be no rules. Whatever we feel like doing, we should be able to do. There should be no laws to follow. (Face it, there is always going to be someone who doesn’t like the law and thinks it doesn’t apply to them — there are still murderers.)
The problem with thinking that is it brings chaos. If we operate on our own rules, it will come into conflict with someone who is operating on rules the exact opposite.
Whose rules take precedence? How do we decide that – without turning into a dictatorship?
Satan is looking at this and going, “Woo how!” He wants the division — and the hatred. He wants evil to prevail. Evil is equated with sin because it is that which goes against God and His purposes.
But let’s think of it this way. Part of the problem Paul was addressing was that the Jews wanted the Gentiles to be circumcised — follow their laws.
Covenant circumcision was the physical sign the Israelites agreed with the covenant. The cutting off of the flesh of the foreskin was to be a visual representation of cutting off and casting away the sins of the flesh. That was part of the ceremonial laws God instituted.
The ceremonial law was abolished when Jesus instituted the new covenant. It is based on circumcision of the heart. That is where God changes our hearts.
Yes, God doesn’t expect us to follow the ceremonial laws. He does require us to follow His moral laws.
So, no. God doesn’t want us to run wild. He wants us to follow His laws and commandments.
The Holman Bible Dictionary defines liberty as “freedom from physical, political, and spiritual oppression.” Oppression — cruel mistreatment by authority figures — is a lot different than having your own way.
The liberty comes in because Jesus has set us free. “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (Jn. 8: 36 ESV). He has set us free from Satan’s cruel oppression.
No, Jesus didn’t set us free from the laws and commandments. “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished” (Mt. 5: 17-18 ESV).
Jesus released us from the consequences of sin. The consequences of sin are spiritual death and separation from God. We only get released when we ABCD.
Equality
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Gen. 1: 27 ESV)
When I looked up equality in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, it sent me to equal. Equal means “of the same measure, quantity, amount, or number as another.”
I think equal is more what Spensley was going for when he defined equality. He wrote, “‘Equality’ is meant the abolition of rank and title, whether hereditary or otherwise; to many it means socialism or communism — the abolition of personal property — the State becoming the sole proprietor and apportioner of the means of subsistence.”
When I was in education, though, we used equity because equal wasn’t always fair. Equity means “justice according to natural law or right specifically : freedom from bias or favoritism.”
Let me give you an example why equal isn’t always fair. Sally is a student with special needs who is not able to write with a pencil. It may be a physical disability or a developmental disability.
If every student must do the same thing — take their pencil and write out their answer — it would not be fair to Sally.
To be equitable to Sally, maybe she would be asked to give oral answers, and someone would act as scribe. Maybe her worksheet is modified to be multiple choice instead of filling in the blank. Maybe she given an outline of the lecture so she can take notes on that, cutting down on the amount of writing.
Reality will probably be a combination of those — depending on the day and how Sally is functioning at the moment.
But that is just one example. There are many other things that will never be equal — until sin is eliminated.
As much as we want equality to work, it doesn’t always. We need to look at equity.
So, what does God think?
Well, this is another one where you need to go to the source. I am going to put what Spensley wrote into Elaine-speak, but you may interpret it differently. Here goes.
- There are always going to be inequalities because of nature. Since sin entered this world, we are all no longer equal.
- Equality should come into play with how we treat each other. Spensley wrote that there should be “… essential equality under circumstantial inequalities …”
I read that to be we have to meet the needs of the person with whom we are interacting. We have to treat them with God’s love.
Spensley gave us his own examples.
- “In Christ there is no national inequality.
- “In Christ there is complete equality between master and servant.
- “Equality as between man and woman.”
I can see where #2 might cause some problems. It doesn’t mean servants don’t have to listen to their masters anymore. In today’s application, it doesn’t mean that employees don’t have to listen to their supervisors.
John 13: 16 says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him” (ESV). Jesus acknowledged there is a hierarchy.
But look what Jesus was doing when He said this. They were getting ready to have the Last Supper. Here is Jesus — Messiah, Master, Teacher — washing everyone’s feet.
To read a related devotion, click the button below.
I think the Greatest Commandments give us a good order. We need to love God first. Then we love everyone equitably.
Fraternity
“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 Jn. 1: 7 ESV )
The last word Spensley looked at was fraternity. He defined fraternity as “the realization of the feeling of true brotherhood as between man and man.”
The churchy word is fellowship, but it is not equal to fraternity. According to the Holman Bible Dictionary, fellowship is “the bond of common purpose and devotion that binds Christians together and to Christ.”
So, fraternity is a feeling, but fellowship is a purpose. That is a big difference.
Spensley was adamant that fraternity cannot be achieved through governmental means. Jesus alone can do that. He wrote — for disciples — “amid all differences of opinion, they are one in true brotherly affection, sympathy, and aim. This is the real tendency and intention and aim of Christianity, however far we may at present fall short of it.”
Yes, disciples do fall short sometimes. We are still in physical bodies with Satan sometimes working overtime to get us to sin.
Making the Connections
Isn’t that the rally call these days — liberty, equality, and fraternity? But the call these days are based on the worldview.
It appears that all that is being accomplished today is setting this world up for the Antichrist. The focus is not on preparing for eternity. It is on making this world a better place to live.
This world is going to go away. Judgment day is coming.
We want to be sheep who have ABCDed. We don’t want to be a goat that is cursed.
Are you a sheep or a goat?
How Do We Apply This?
- We’ve got to ABCD.
- We have to follow God’s ways, not the world’s.
- We have to exemplify Jesus to others.
God offers us love and freedom. He provides us a community of believers with whom we can interact. He has a purpose for us.
God offers that to all.
Father. We thank you that You love us enough to send Your Son as a Sacrifice to pay for our sins. We admit we are spiritually dead without You, believe Jesus is our Savior, and confess You as Sovereign Lord. Help us to show Your love to all we come into contact with as we go through our lives. Many we show them the freedom, equity, and fellowship that can only be found in You. Amen.
What do you think?
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