–– Tim Cantrell
Right now in South Africa is one of those rare moments of national unity where black and white, rich and poor are all sporting their Springbok colours as we cheer on our rugby team’s heroic attempt at another world cup.
When we begin each game singing our national anthem (originally a Xhosa Christian revival hymn), it climaxes with that rallying cry: “Let us live and strive for freedom in South Africa, our land!” But where does human freedom even come from in the first place? Many believe freedom originates in the state or superpower nations or must be delivered by dictators, coups, or liberators.
In a recent study, South Africa only received a 79% score on human freedom based on numerous criteria.1 Globally we see recent placards calling for “Free Gaza” and “Free Palestine”, while Israeli forces defend their freedoms in the current war. Everybody wants freedom, but not all seek it from the same source. As Christians, God’s Word is our final authority, and it is very clear on where freedom originates – from the only One who is all-powerful: the true and living God.
Theologians for centuries have taught that freedom is one of God’s attributes; that God does whatever He pleases according to His holy will. God is unrestrained by anything outside Himself. He is the most liberated and only being in the universe who is totally free: Unlike the dead and enslaved idols, Psalm 115:3 declares, “Our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases.” Psalm 135:6 reinforces this, “Whatever the LORD pleases, He does, in heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps.” Even more Daniel 4:35 asserts, “He does according to His will in the host of heaven, and among the inhabitants of earth; and no one can ward off His hand or say to Him, ‘What have you done?’”.
God’s freedom is infinite and inherent, as independent Creator. Our freedom, as dependent creatures, is finite and derived. Since the Fall our freedom has been depraved and badly damaged. But it is not erased. Fallen man is still made in God’s image and is called to “rule, subdue” and cultivate the earth as His vice-regents with a subordinate authority under Him (Gen. 9:6). That means God has entrusted humans with moral agency, the power, and duty to bring about results on this earth and in our vocations to which He calls us.
Let’s be clear: No human government bestows on people their rights or liberties; that mindset creates bondage and slavery, not freedom. If rulers want to be blessed, they should recognise what God has already given mankind – inalienable, fixed rights as His sacred image-bearers, regardless of ethnicity, income, or merits. If governments want to be cursed, they will deny people their God-given, individual rights.
Vishal Mangalwadi describes how Israel’s Exodus set them apart from all other nations and pagan worldviews:
[The Exodus] revealed that God was free. He was not limited by either the political or military might of Egypt, however oppressive or brutal. Nor was God limited by historical factors, oppressive armies, or insurmountable natural obstacles, such as the Red Sea. God was not part of the cosmic machine.
God was free, and He wanted His children to be free like Him. Oppression and slavery were evils to be routed. They were evil because they were contrary to all that God had intended for the human beings made in His own image. … Biblical cultures highly value freedom as the essence of God and of His image – humanity.2
Or as Wayne Grudem states:
“When human beings are deprived of their ability to make free choices by evil governments or by other circumstances, a significant part of their God-likeness is suppressed. It is not surprising that they will pay almost any price to regain their freedom. American revolutionary Patrick Henry’s cry, ‘Give me liberty or give me death!’ finds an echo deep within every soul created in the image of God.” 3
Rightly has it been said, ‘Only those who face up toward God can face down tyrants.’
As de Tocqueville warned Americans nearly 200 years ago, “Despotism may be able to do without faith, but freedom cannot. …When a people’s religion is destroyed…then not only will they let their freedom be taken from them, but often they actually hand it over themselves.”4 By design, we are made to be worshippers; if we don’t worship God, the state will replace Him as the next most powerful alternative.
May God awaken His Church here in South Africa and call us back to His Word to know how to “live and strive for freedom” in this beloved country!
1 https://freedomhouse.org/country/south-africa/freedom-world/2023
2 p. 337, The Book that Made Your World
3 pp. 217-18, Systematic Theology