People enslaved to sin cannot be truly free, even in speaking. So, “free speech” to the world has become a free-for-all. It means saying whatever you want, no matter how hurtful, untruthful, or harmful. But that is an immoral way to define speech. Without the Lord’s freedom, which is from sin—not the permission to be unloving and inconsiderate—no tongue is free.
A slave does not have a choice; he must obey. So having civil freedoms cannot grant spiritual freedom. That is why the world is struggling to figure out what is free speech—it does not have real freedom and cannot grasp it in unbelief. As people move away from God and respect for His law, they move away from righteousness and love. Freedom cannot be comprehended or used properly by those not free from sin in the heart and mind.
The word “free” cannot guarantee anything, nor does an outline of civil liberties, like the U.S. constitution, mean the people using it will experience freedom. There is no freedom without the Holy Spirit. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom (2 Cor. 3:17). An unbeliever, without the Spirit of Christ, cannot be free in any true sense.
There is a moral component to everything —which means it is tied to God and His holiness. An abstracted freedom, apart from God, can only be slavery. Hiding behind nice words does not mean all statements are good and loving and edifying. Legally, we can hold that the government should not imprison, punish, or kill those who speak out—but that is a very limited civil freedom that sinners will abuse. So even if it is called free by man, that certainly does not mean it is good and pleasing to our Father above.
All speech is to be in reference to God, the judge of all things. Our words and speech are to be guided by God’s law, even where civil laws do not dictate by force. Freedom, in any true sense, can only happen where there is joy in the righteousness of Christ for sinners.
Real freedom is not to hurt, rile up, or cause offense—it must be in view of Christ and His will. 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. 5:13). We are free in all aspects in Jesus—free to love and think of others, from the vantage of a loving servant. But nothing a slave does is truly free. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed (Jn. 8:36).
Freedom is not a neutral, unbiased thing to be regulated and delineated by man and popular opinion—it starts and ends with Christ, who makes those enslaved to sin free from guilt. Only in the Lord who died for sinners and rose for justification, can anything we do be truly free. And we are set free to love God’s Word and speak carefully and wisely, with the mind of Christ. I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned (Matt. 12:26-37). —ed.
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