{"id":38378,"date":"2024-09-12T15:18:08","date_gmt":"2024-09-12T22:18:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=38378"},"modified":"2024-09-12T15:18:08","modified_gmt":"2024-09-12T22:18:08","slug":"if-the-son-sets-you-free-you-will-be-free-indeed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/if-the-son-sets-you-free-you-will-be-free-indeed\/","title":{"rendered":"If the Son Sets You Free, You Will be Free Indeed"},"content":{"rendered":"

October 31, 2017, marked the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. The Reformation is said to have started when Martin Luther posted his famous 95 Theses <\/em>in 1517.[1]<\/a> I celebrated this milestone with my house church in Islamic Africa. It was an inspiring day as we reflected on the Reformers’ sacrifices. It was not lost on us that similar persecution could take place in this generation when our Muslim friends choose to follow Christ and go against the religious teachings of their culture.<\/p>\n

Luther was a crucial voice in the Protestant Reformation. He wrote and published multiple works throughout his lifetime. His boldness in speaking out against the teachings of the Catholic Church caused him to be put on trial for heresy. His pamphlet, The Freedom of the Christian,<\/em> was the third of three \u201ctreaties\u201d that He wrote in 1520.[2]<\/a> If space allowed, I would love to explore the historical and cultural implications of The Freedom of the Christian <\/em>in more depth. <\/em>Instead, here is a quick summary.<\/p>\n

When he wrote The Freedom of the Christian<\/em>, Luther knew he was possibly facing a death sentence for heresy. The purpose of this last treaty was to help appease the papacy and smooth over some misunderstandings. In the opening letter addressed to Pope Leo X, Luther\u2019s tone is respectful. This contrasts with his other writings, which have critical tones. Luther does not compromise his convictions and beliefs but presents them caringly and truthfully. It was also the first time he wrote an article in Latin and German. [3]<\/a> Latin was the language he used for church-related communication to an educated audience. The German version allowed the common people to hear the truths Luther sincerely believed. This document became the most popular publication of the 16th<\/sup> century. [4]<\/a><\/p>\n

The Freedom of the Christian <\/em>presents two somewhat contradictory ideas that Luther believed were foundational to the Christian life:<\/p>\n

\u201cA Christian is lord of all, completely free of everything.
\nA Christian is a servant, completely attentive to the needs of all.\u201d[5]<\/a><\/p>\n

To the first point of freedom, Luther defends salvation through faith alone. He articulates that we are freed from our efforts to earn our salvation when, instead, through Christ, we are entirely justified. Salvation does not come from any outward works we may try.[6]<\/a> In contrast, Luther writes that we have the privilege and duty to serve one another in love. Serving one another is not out of works for salvation but out of the freedom Christ has given to us through salvation. In response to serving others, Luther writes, \u201c[Christian freedom] expresses itself joyfully and lovingly and results in the freest possible service. Satisfied with our own abundance of faith, we Christians serve the neighbor without any hope of reward.\u201d[7]<\/a> These points also have implications for Christian leadership: leading out of one\u2019s identity in Christ and exhibiting servant leadership as Christ demonstrated.<\/p>\n

Freedom from our works through \u201cgrace alone, faith alone, and Christ alone\u201d[8]<\/a> allows leaders to walk in their identity as followers of Christ. We do not need to prove anything. We do not have to work to earn favor with God. Christ did it all. We can lead in freedom through Christ. This freedom allows us to be a leader that Simon Walker would call undefended:<\/p>\n

The undefended leader … aspires only to bring freedom wherever there is enslavement. At times, this results in the freedom to choose not to work, to choose not to be driven, to choose not to burn out. At other times, it issues in the freedom to exhaust yourself for the cause, to take huge risks, to set everything up to succeed or fail. What governs these choices is not self-preservation, or some notion of a stress-free and integrated life. Rather, it is born out of the conviction that only the radically undefended life is a free life; that only choices made to embrace the generosity of the world around us issue an abundant life.[9]<\/a><\/p>\n

Freely serving those around us is a way we can live out servant leadership. In reference to Philippians 2:5-8, Luther calls his readers to follow Christ\u2019s example of being a servant,<\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough Christ possessed the fullness of God and abounded in all good things\u2014thus needing no works of suffering in order to be righteous or saved (for he had all of this from eternity)\u2014nevertheless, he was not puffed up, nor did he elevate himself above us and assume power over us\u2026.He lived, worked, suffered, and died just like the rest of humanity\u2026 he did all this for our sake in order to serve us.\u201d[10]<\/a><\/p>\n

Jesus demonstrated humility and love that we can and should as servant leaders.<\/p>\n

In conclusion, perhaps the most impactful leadership lessons are not found in the text of The Freedom of the Christian<\/em>. Instead, they may\u00a0be in the example Martin Luther lived in publishing this treaty. May I be a leader who is willing to speak up even to death for Christ\u2019s sake and, in doing so, empower the least in society to hear.<\/p>\n

_____________________________<\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Melissa Petruzzello, \u201cNinety-Five Theses: Work by Luther,\u201d in Encyclopaedia Britannica<\/em>, August 23, 2024, https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/event\/Ninety-five-Theses.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Dennis Clemens and Hannah Clemens, \u201cFreedom by Faith,\u201d History of the Book<\/em> (blog), October 29, 2020, https:\/\/historyofthebook.mml.ox.ac.uk\/2020\/10\/29\/freedom-by-faith\/.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Clemens, \u201cFreedom by Faith.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Revd Dr Andrew Atherstone, \u201cReview: Martin Luther on Christian Freedom,\u201d Church Society<\/em> (blog), March 30, 2021, https:\/\/www.churchsociety.org\/resource\/review-martin-luther-on-christian-freedom\/.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Martin Luther, The Freedom of a Christian<\/em>, trans. Mark D. Tranvik (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2008), 50.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Luther, The Freedom of a Christian,\u201d <\/em>55.<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> Luther, The Freedom of a Christian,\u201d <\/em>81.<\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> \u201cTranslator\u2019s Introduction: Martin Luther\u2019s Road to Freedom– A Survey of His Early Life and Teaching,\u201d in The Freedom of a Christian<\/em>, by Martin Luther (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2008), 13.<\/p>\n

[9]<\/a> Simon P Walker, Leading Out of Who You Are: Discovering the Secret of Undefended Leadership<\/em>, The Undefended Leader Trilogy, Book 1 (Carlisle, UK: Piquant Editions Ltd, 208AD), 157.<\/p>\n

[10]<\/a> Luther, The Freedom of a Christian, <\/em>81-82.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

October 31, 2017, marked the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. The Reformation is said to have started when Martin Luther posted his famous 95 Theses in 1517.[1] I celebrated this milestone with my house church in Islamic Africa. It was an inspiring day as we reflected on the Reformers’ sacrifices. It was not lost […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":206,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2967,408],"class_list":["post-38378","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-dlgp03","tag-luther","cohort-dlgp03"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38378","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/206"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38378"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38378\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38381,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38378\/revisions\/38381"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38378"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38378"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38378"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}