Live as Free People: The Connection of Virtue and Freedom

You and I have certain rights simply because we are human.

From a Christian perspective, we believe these rights are not granted by governments but given by God. They are woven into our very existence, declaring that all people share equal worth before their Creator.

Of course, we’re not equal in every way. We differ in talent, intelligence, beauty, strength, wealth, and opportunity. But we are equal in dignity—and in our shared right to life, responsibility, and moral agency. This equality should be reflected in how people are treated under the law. No matter who you are, equal protection should be extended to all.

We are free people. Yet freedom doesn’t mean doing whatever we want. To protect and preserve the liberty God has given us, we must live in a certain way.

Samuel Adams once said:

“He therefore is the truest friend to the liberty of his country who tries most to promote its virtue… The sum of all is, if we would most truly enjoy this gift of Heaven, let us become a virtuous people.”

Adams understood something we often forget: freedom and virtue are inseparable.

N.T. Wright, in the book After You Believe, describes virtue as the steady formation of character through the Spirit’s work—developing habits of goodness so that doing what is right becomes second nature. Freedom can only endure when it is shaped by this kind of moral character. Laws and systems may preserve order, but only virtue keeps liberty alive.

Too often, conversations about freedom focus only on what we are allowed to do.

We ask, “Is this legal?” or declare, “It’s my life—I can do what I want!”

But freedom is not simply the ability to make choices; it’s the responsibility to make the right ones. The enjoyment of freedom is not the same as its preservation.

In fact, the number one reason people lose their liberty—personally and collectively—is because of poor choices. Yes, freedom gives us the right to choose, but not all choices lead to life.

Take addiction, for example.

A person is free to use drugs or abuse alcohol. God has given them free will. But addiction quickly becomes a self-made prison, robbing people of the very freedom they wanted to exercise.

The apostle Peter wrote:

“Submit as free people, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but as God’s slaves.”

—1 Peter 2:16 (CSB)

That sounds strange, doesn’t it? How can freedom be found in being a slave to God?

Yet this is the paradox of the gospel: True freedom is not found in self-rule but in surrender to God’s good and loving authority. When we live as servants of God, we live according to His design—and that is where genuine freedom flourishes.

Even if a government strips away our civil liberties, no one can take away the freedom we have in Christ. Our freedom doesn’t come from the Constitution or the Bill of Rights—it comes from God.

This is why followers of Jesus can remain free even under oppression. True freedom, the freedom described in Scripture, is not the absence of external constraint; it’s the presence of internal obedience.

As Paul wrote,

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.”

—Ephesians 2:10 (CSB)

God, in His wisdom and mercy, has placed the direction of our lives in our hands. The choices we make determine whether we live enslaved to sin or free in King Jesus.

So choose well.
Choose virtue.
Choose obedience.
Choose Jesus.

Because when we live as God intended, we discover what freedom truly means.





Paul’s Ponderings is a blog dedicated to reflecting on Scripture and encouraging believers to live out their faith with love and purpose.

A Message to Proclaim: The Message the World Needs

Text: Matthew 9:35–38

Have you ever noticed how many people are searching for meaning, hope, and purpose in life?

According to surveys, 57% of Americans wonder at least once a month how they can have more purpose in life, and 46% wonder if they will go to heaven when they die. Add to this the heartbreaking reality that 107,000 people died from drug overdoses in 2021, and you begin to see what the apostle Peter meant when he described life apart from Christ as “an empty way of life” (1 Peter 1:18–19).

Our generation knows something is missing. People sense there is more to life than what we can see and touch, but they don’t know what it is. As followers of Jesus, we do know: what people need most is to be rescued from the empty, broken way of life that has been handed down to us.

The Good News of the Kingdom

The word Gospel simply means Good News usually connected with . In the ancient world, it was the announcement of victory—when Israel won a battle, the messenger who ran back to Jerusalem carried good news.

The Gospel of Jesus is the greatest victory announcement of all: Jesus has been crowned King of the universe. That’s why we have four Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—not four different messages, but four unique perspectives on the same announcement: how Jesus became King.

Matthew, writing especially to a Jewish audience, highlights how Jesus fulfills God’s promises. His healings and miracles reveal His authority over sin, sickness, demons, and even death itself. And in Matthew 9, we get a glimpse into the very heart of this King.

The Ministry of Jesus

Matthew 9:35 summarizes Jesus’ ministry in three parts:

• Teaching in the synagogues—explaining how God’s promises were being fulfilled.
• Preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom—announcing that God’s rule was breaking into the world.
• Healing diseases and casting out demons—demonstrating what God’s Kingdom looks like.

This is the message our world still needs: that evil will not have the last word, that oppressors and abusers will be held accountable, and that justice, goodness, and love will ultimately triumph.

The Compassion of the King

When Jesus saw the crowds, Matthew tells us, He was moved with compassion. They were “harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36).

He didn’t blame them for their condition. He didn’t urge them to just try harder. Instead, He saw them for what they were: vulnerable people with no one to protect or guide them. Their leaders had failed them. Their shepherds had abandoned them.

That’s how Jesus sees our world too. He looks at our neighbors, co-workers, and friends who inherited an empty way of life—and He responds with compassion. And if we are to follow Him, our posture toward the world must be the same. Not condemnation, but compassion.

The Call to Pray

Then Jesus turned to His disciples and said:

“The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest” (Matthew 9:37–38).

Notice that the first command wasn’t go, but pray. Evangelism doesn’t begin with our boldness, eloquence, or strategies. It begins with prayer. Prayer is the foundation of all mission.

It is important for us to pray for God to move—for baptisms, for new faces in our church families, for opportunities to build bridges and share Christ. But Jesus’ words remind us that prayer is not passive. It is an act of faith, asking the Lord of the harvest to raise up workers: bridge-builders, wealth-givers, prayer warriors, compassionate servants, worship leaders, and engaging teachers.

And here’s the twist: when we pray for God to send workers, we must be ready for Him to send us. That’s exactly what Jesus did in the next chapter. He told His disciples to pray for workers—then He sent them out to be the workers.

The Message Our Generation Needs

The message our generation needs to hear is that Jesus is King. Since He is King, He will make things right. He will bring justice. He will bring healing. He will bring help.

People are searching for meaning, but only Jesus can give them life. They are longing for justice, but only Jesus will set things right. They are weighed down by brokenness, but only Jesus can heal.

The harvest is still plentiful. The workers are still few. And the call of Jesus is still the same: pray to the Lord of the harvest.

Paul’s Ponderings is a blog dedicated to reflecting on Scripture and encouraging believers to live out their faith with love and purpose.

Walking in Light, Love, and Truth: Love and Obedience

1 John 2:3–17

On a stormy February night in 1954, a young Navy pilot set out on a training mission from an aircraft carrier off the coast of Japan. Everything quickly went wrong. His navigational equipment failed, and his cockpit lights short-circuited, leaving him in complete darkness. Later he said, “The blackness outside the plane had suddenly come inside.”

He was flying blind—no horizon, no stars, no instruments—just pitch-black darkness. Despair set in, until suddenly he noticed a faint glow below him in the water. It was bioluminescent plankton, stirred up by the wake of his ship. That faint trail of light was his only hope. He turned toward it and followed it back to safety.

That pilot was Jim Lovell, who years later would become one of the Apollo 13 astronauts. That night, his life was saved because of light.

That story gives us a picture of what John is teaching in 1 John 2:3–17. Life is dark—sin, confusion, and the pull of the world surround us like a black ocean. But God has not left us blind. He has given us light to follow: Jesus Christ, the Light of the World. When we walk in Him, we don’t stumble in the dark—we find the way home.

Obedience: Walking as Jesus Walked (1 John 2:3–6)

John doesn’t mince words: “We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands.”

Faith isn’t just about claiming to know God. It’s about obedience—living in the way God calls us to live. If someone says, “I know Him,” but ignores His commands, John says the truth isn’t in them. Genuine faith shows up in action.

Jesus is our model. To walk in Him is to walk as He walked—not by copying first-century culture, but by imitating His obedience to the Father and His sacrificial love for others.

Love: Living in the Light (1 John 2:7–14)

John calls his readers “friends” and reminds them of an old command that is also new: the command to love.

It’s old because it’s rooted in the law of Moses: love God and love your neighbor. But it’s new because Jesus redefined love through His own example—laying down His life for us. True love is costly.

Hate blinds us. It keeps us in darkness. But love brings us into the light and keeps us from stumbling. When we love each other, we demonstrate that the true light—Jesus—is shining in us.

Loyalty: Choosing God Over the World (1 John 2:15–17)

Finally, John warns us not to love the world. He’s not talking about people or creation, but about the values and desires opposed to God: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.

These temptations echo the garden of Eden, when Eve saw the fruit, desired it, and took it. The world offers short-lived pleasures, but they never last. John reminds us that “the world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.”

What This Means for Us

• Examine your faith. Don’t just talk the talk—walk the walk. Are you obeying God’s Word, or just saying the right things? 
• Choose love. Love is the defining mark of discipleship. Forgive someone. Serve someone. Pray for someone. That’s how God’s light shines through us.
• Check your loyalties. Where do your affections lie? With temporary things that fade away, or with God’s eternal kingdom?

Walking in the Light Today

John gives us three markers of genuine faith: obedience, love, and loyalty to God. They aren’t just religious ideals—they are how we follow Jesus day by day.

The evangelist D.L. Moody once said, “Of one hundred men, one will read the Bible; the ninety-nine will read the Christian.” The world is reading our lives. If they see obedience, love, and devotion to God, they’ll see the light of Christ shining through us.

The good news is that God has not left us in the dark. Through Jesus, the Light of the World, we have forgiveness, guidance, and hope. So let’s walk in His light—humbly, obediently, and lovingly—and let His light shine through us into a dark world.

•  Personal Challenge: Ask God what affections or desires you need to let go of so you can more fully live for Him.
• Relational Challenge: Show love to someone this week in a tangible way—write a note, offer forgiveness, or spend time with them.

Lessons from the King: True Obedience

A Tale of Two Houses

A few years back, researchers in South Carolina built two identical houses in a lab to test them against hurricane-force winds. One was a standard build—nothing special. The other had reinforcement straps tying every level to its foundation. When they cranked the fans to 110 miles per hour, the standard house held up for a bit—until it didn’t. After ten minutes, it collapsed. The reinforced house? It stood strong, barely scratched. The engineer’s question stuck with me: “Which house would you rather be living in?”

That’s the question Jesus poses at the end of His Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7:24-29. He’s been teaching us what it means to live as citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven—people who pray for God’s will to break into this world, not just for our own sake, but for His reign. And He wraps it up with a stark picture: two builders, two houses, one storm. The wise builder digs deep, anchoring his house on rock. The foolish one slaps his together on sand. The storm hits both, but only one stands. The difference? Obedience.

Wisdom in Action

Jesus says, “Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock” (v. 24). Notice that—it’s not just hearing; it’s doing. Wisdom, in the Bible, isn’t about being smart or collecting facts. It’s knowing God and living like it. The wise builder doesn’t just nod at Jesus’ teaching; he lives it. The foolish one? He hears the same words but shrugs—maybe he’s too busy, too distracted, or just doesn’t care. When the rains come, his house crashes down, “and great was the fall of it” (v. 27).

Storms Reveal the Foundation

Here’s what grabs me: both builders face the same storm. Jesus isn’t promising a storm-free life. The “rain and floods and winds” might be the big judgment day—His return—or the everyday trials we all hit: a health scare, a broken relationship, a financial mess. Either way, storms reveal what we’re built on. I’ve seen it in my own life—times I’ve coasted on good intentions or religious habits, only to wobble when pressure mounts. Build on sand—wealth, success, even churchy routines without real obedience—and it won’t hold. Build on the rock of Jesus’ words, lived out, and you’ll stand.

The Authority of the King

What floors me most is Jesus’ authority. The crowd was “astonished” because He taught “as one who had authority, and not as their scribes” (v. 29). The scribes leaned on tradition; Jesus spoke as the source of truth. When He says, “these words of mine,” He’s claiming His teaching is the bedrock—God’s own Word. That’s why obedience matters. It’s not about earning points; it’s about loyalty to our King.

Which House Are You In?

So, here’s my pondering for us today: Which house are we living in? It’s easy to hear Jesus’ words—read the Bible, listen to a sermon, agree with it all—but are we doing them? I’m challenged to examine my foundation. Am I just a hearer, or am I anchoring my life to Christ by obeying Him? Maybe you’re there too. If your foundation feels shaky, don’t panic—it’s not about perfection. It’s about intention. Start digging into His Word, ask the Spirit to guide you, and take one step to live it out.

A storm’s coming—maybe not today, but someday. Jesus doesn’t want us to admire His teaching; He wants us to build on it. As citizens of His Kingdom, let’s pledge our loyalty through obedience. Because when the winds blow, I want to be in the house that stands—don’t you?

A Prayer to Build on the Rock

Prayer: Lord, thank You for Jesus, our King. Give us wisdom to not just hear Your Word but do it. Help us build on the rock of His teaching, trusting You more than ourselves. Show us where we’ve settled for sand, and lead us deeper into obedience. Amen.

The headings—“A Tale of Two Houses,” “Wisdom in Action,” “Storms Reveal the Foundation,” “The Authority of the King,” “Which House Are You In?” and “A Prayer to Build on the Rock”—break the post into digestible chunks, guiding readers through the narrative and reflection. They align with the sermon’s flow while making it skimmable for blog readers. Let me know if you’d like any changes!

Immediate Obedience Required

 

"The moment you know what God wants of you is the moment to do it. He doesn't expose sin in our lives so we can take care of it later. When God speaks, it requires immediate attention. We might be tempted to put things off until it's easier to deal with them. We might hesitate in an attempt to minimize the consequences. Yet courage does what's right regardless of situation or consequence." 

Erwin McManus, Uprising, pp. 100-01

Christians are people of faith. Biblical faith is more than simply believing, it is about trusting and obeying. In other words, we are to trust God more than we trust ourselves. This trust will come out in the way we live. If we trust God then we will do what He says. We will act immediately, regardless of the potential consequences.

In our American culture, it's easy to get caught up in the busyness of life and ignore the Holy Spirit nudging us to take action. It also becomes easy to put off doing what we know is right because we don't want to deal with the difficulty, discomfort, or even the opposition that may come with it. But as McManus wrote, we cannot afford to procrastinate when it comes to fulfilling God's plan for our lives.

The Bible  has many examples of people who were called to do difficult things for God but initially hesitated or procrastinated. Moses, for instance, was reluctant at first to lead the Israelites out of Egypt because he didn't feel equipped for the task. Yet, once he finally submitted to God's will, he became the prototypical leader for Israel.

Similarly, Jonah resisted God's call at first to preach repentance to the people of Nineveh, but a few days in the stomach of a fish, Jonah listened to God’s call, and great city of Nineveh experienced a revival. 

Both of these stories remind us that obedience to God's will often requires us to step outside of our comfort zones and do things that we simply don’t want to do.

Along those same lines, when God reveals our sin to us, it's not so that we can feel guilty or ashamed. Rather, it's an opportunity for us to repent and turn away from our wrongdoing. But this process of repentance requires courage and humility. We need to acknowledge our faults, confess our sins, and seek forgiveness. This is crucial to do, even if it means admitting our mistakes to others.

It is essential to recognize that sin has serious consequences. It damages our relationships with others, harms ourselves, and ultimately it separates us from God. This is why it's vital to deal with sin as soon as possible rather than putting it off until a later time.

I also want to note that following God's will doesn't necessarily mean that life will be easy or without challenges. In fact it is often quite the opposite. We may face resistance, persecution, or even danger when we step out in faith to do what God has called us to do. Yet, as Erwin McManus emphasized, courage does what's right regardless of the situation or consequence.

Courageous obedience to God's will requires that we trust Him more than we trust ourselves and that we believe He has our best interests at heart, even when we can't see the bigger picture. This boldness requires us to believe that God will provide us with the strength, wisdom, and resources we need to accomplish His plan for our lives.

Whaat Erwin McManus wrote in Uprising is a good reminder that following God's will requires immediate action. We must step out in faith, even when it's uncomfortable or inconvenient. We must confront our sin and seek forgiveness, knowing that this is the first step towards restoration with God.

As we strive to live a life that honors God and demonstrates His character, we need to remember that we are not alone in this journey. We have the Holy Spirit to guide us, the Bible to instruct us, and the Church to support us. Let us commit to living a life of courageous obedience to God's will, trusting that He will lead us on a path of purpose and fulfillment.