^ " A man," said Epictetus, is free only when " whatever is the will of God is his will too, and whatever is not God's will is
* \V. L. Watkinaon, ' John Caird, University Sermons, 208.
ST. JOHN VIII. 32, 36 391
not his will." This was a true definition of the highest freedom, provided that acceptance of the will of God is not a matter of necessity and submission merely, as it was with many of the Stoics. This would be the self-contradictory thing, freedom under compulsion. A man is truly free only when the will of God is not merely accepted, but loved and desired as that which is wholly good ; when the love of God, of His Will, and of all that He is, becomes the active principle of the life. Then God's will is for the man not merely law but love and life. He has the will of God, as far as may be, as his will ; in the highest sense possible to man he is one with God.^
(4) Is it freedom of the conscience ? — Is it freedom of the inner self, carrying with it the fulness of moral freedom, and the superiority to all fears ? Fear enslaves, courage liberates — and that always. Whatever a man intensely dreads, that brings him into bondage, if it be above the fear of God, and the reverence of duty. The apprehension of pain, the fear of death, the dread of the world's laugh, of poverty, and the loss of reputation enslave alike. From such fear Christ frees, and through the power of the truth. He who lives in the habitual contemplation of immortality cannot be in bondage to time or enslaved by transitory tempta- tions. Do not say he will not; "he cannot sin," saith the Scripture, while that faith is living. He who feels his soul's dignity, knowing what he is and who, redeemed by God the Son, and freed by God the Spirit, cannot cringe, or pollute himself, or be mean. He who aspires to gaze undazzled on the intolerable brightness of that One before whom Israel veiled their faces, will scarcely quail before any earthly fear.
^ Of truth, as well as of love, it may be said that there is no fear in truth, but perfect truth casteth out fear. The eye which is strong enough to pierce through the shadow of death is not troubled because the golden mist is dispelled and it looks on the open heaven.2
^ A lady with whom he was slightly acquainted assailed him for " heterodox opinions," and menaced him with the consequence which in this world and the next would follow on the course of action he was pursuing. His only answer was, "I don't care." " Do you know what don't care came to, sir ? " " Yes, madam," was the grave reply, " He was crucified on Calvary." ^
1 W. L. Walker, TJit True Christ, 27. 2 Benjamin Jowett.
' S. A. Brooke, Life avd Letters of F. W. Rohertson, 363.
392 TRUTH AND FREEDOM
Then he stood up, and trod to dust Fear and desire, mistrust and trust,
And dreams of bitter sleep and sweet,
And bound for sandals on his feet Knowledge and patience of what must
And what things may be, in the heat And cold of years that rot and rust
And alter; and his spirit's meat Was freedom, and his staff was wrought Of strength, and his cloak woven of thought.
For what has he, whose will sees clear, To do with doubt and faith and fear,
Swift hopes, and slow despondencies?
His heart is equal with the sea's And with the sea-wind's, and his ear
Is level with the speech of these. And his soul communes and takes cheer
With the actual earth's equalities, — Air, light, and night, hills, winds, and streams, And seeks not strength from strengthless dreams.*
(5) It is the freedom of fellowship with God. — Freedom is perfect harmony between our souls and God's law. Jesus is the truth that shows us God and gives us hearts to love Him ; teaches us our relations to Him and enables us to live in harmony with those relations. " If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." The choice is before us — the bondage of Satan or the liberty of the sons of God ; slaves of sin or freemen in Christ Jesus. No other choice is open to us. We cannot say, " I will be free, but not in Christ." We cannot free ourselves, else the Son would never have come to free us. We can be made free only by the truth as it is in Jesus.
"If the Son shall make you free." We can all admit that what the Son of the Kling does. He does with an authority and delegated power second only, if second, to the King Himself. But this is not all. This parallel will go only a very little way to meet the case. To the Christ, the crucified and risen Christ, and because He was crucified, the Father has committed the whole government of our world. This Son, the Son of God, became the Son of man, that He might do this very thing;
* Swinburne.
ST. JOHN VIII. 32, 36 393