Romans 13:1, “Let everyone submit to the governing authorities, since there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are instituted by God.”
Some people define freedom as being unrestricted. Okay, no rules. Freedom equals not being under any restrictions, not limited by boundaries or rules, or under the authority of someone else. And so, if you view freedom that way, as without restriction, well then submission is, by definition, opposed to freedom, right? Because submission is purposefully putting yourself under the authority of someone else, and that limits your freedom. But freedom is more complicated than that.
I once used an illustration, which is not original to me —I heard it from Charles E. Hummel, and it stuck with me ever since I heard it, and I hope it sticks with you. I gave the example of a large goldfish living in the pond at our house. That fish, by any definition, is restricted. It's limited, constrained. It lives in a Jacuzzi-sized pool of water. Now, if that fish were to think, “You know, this stinks. I want out. There's something beyond this pond, and I won't be restricted. I won't be restrained— I'm not a sheep. I'm a fish. I'm a fighter. I'm a revolutionary, so I'm getting out of here,” and it leaps out of the water and up onto the lawn. Let me ask you, has it gained more freedom? No, right? It's not restricted to the pond anymore, so you'd think by that definition it'd be free, right? No, it’s not. It is less free because now it's dying.
Real freedom is about submitting yourself to the right restrictions, to the proper authority.
See, a fish is only truly free when it is restricted to the environment it was made for — the water. In the water it is everything it was made to be. Outside of that is death.
We have an environment that we were made for. You know what the water is for you— the water for your soul? It's God himself. It's only when we're living in relationship with him as God that we're truly free. His will is the water you were made to swim in.
The lie that the enemy told Adam and Eve in the garden was that authority is a threat and submission is a prison. And that the only way to be free is to jump out of the water and get out onto the lawn. They believed the lie that God's will was a prison. But their rebellion didn’t bring freedom, it brought death. And to this day, we humans, when we hear the word "submit," we wrestle against that same lie. What the Bible calls sin is the same as the lawn is to a fish. It’s not just out of bounds because God is a killjoy, it's out of bounds because it is death to us. What the Bible calls good and right is the water we were made to swim in.
So, here's the truth: real freedom isn't about being unsubmitted or unrestricted. Real freedom is about submitting yourself to the right restrictions, to the proper authority. Again, his will is the water you were made to swim in. That's why we submit and that's why we submit to him. And the reason we know it's safe to submit to him is because of what he's done for us.
Romans 12:1, “Therefore, brothers, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice.”
We submit to him knowing Jesus Christ submitted himself for our sake, to his own death— death on a cross. And if he would do that for your ultimate good, you can trust that when he calls you to submit to him, it is also for your ultimate good.
We can trust him. His will is the water you were made to swim in, and it's in Christ that we finally have the security, the strength, and the freedom to choose to submit ourselves to him without fear.
This is one of the ways you know the gospel has taken root in your life— it transforms your relationship to authority. The reason is because your relationship has been restored with the highest authority first, right? In Jesus Christ, you go from a rebel to a child, from an enemy of God to a member of his own family. So, being submitted to him is no longer a threat to our freedom. It is true freedom.
Some people define freedom as being unrestricted. Okay, no rules. Freedom equals not being under any restrictions, not limited by boundaries or rules, or under the authority of someone else. And so, if you view freedom that way, as without restriction, well then submission is, by definition, opposed to freedom, right? Because submission is purposefully putting yourself under the authority of someone else, and that limits your freedom. But freedom is more complicated than that.
I once used an illustration, which is not original to me —I heard it from Charles E. Hummel, and it stuck with me ever since I heard it, and I hope it sticks with you. I gave the example of a large goldfish living in the pond at our house. That fish, by any definition, is restricted. It's limited, constrained. It lives in a Jacuzzi-sized pool of water. Now, if that fish were to think, “You know, this stinks. I want out. There's something beyond this pond, and I won't be restricted. I won't be restrained— I'm not a sheep. I'm a fish. I'm a fighter. I'm a revolutionary, so I'm getting out of here,” and it leaps out of the water and up onto the lawn. Let me ask you, has it gained more freedom? No, right? It's not restricted to the pond anymore, so you'd think by that definition it'd be free, right? No, it’s not. It is less free because now it's dying.
Real freedom is about submitting yourself to the right restrictions, to the proper authority.
See, a fish is only truly free when it is restricted to the environment it was made for — the water. In the water it is everything it was made to be. Outside of that is death.
We have an environment that we were made for. You know what the water is for you— the water for your soul? It's God himself. It's only when we're living in relationship with him as God that we're truly free. His will is the water you were made to swim in.
The lie that the enemy told Adam and Eve in the garden was that authority is a threat and submission is a prison. And that the only way to be free is to jump out of the water and get out onto the lawn. They believed the lie that God's will was a prison. But their rebellion didn’t bring freedom, it brought death. And to this day, we humans, when we hear the word "submit," we wrestle against that same lie. What the Bible calls sin is the same as the lawn is to a fish. It’s not just out of bounds because God is a killjoy, it's out of bounds because it is death to us. What the Bible calls good and right is the water we were made to swim in.
So, here's the truth: real freedom isn't about being unsubmitted or unrestricted. Real freedom is about submitting yourself to the right restrictions, to the proper authority. Again, his will is the water you were made to swim in. That's why we submit and that's why we submit to him. And the reason we know it's safe to submit to him is because of what he's done for us.
Romans 12:1, “Therefore, brothers, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice.”
We submit to him knowing Jesus Christ submitted himself for our sake, to his own death— death on a cross. And if he would do that for your ultimate good, you can trust that when he calls you to submit to him, it is also for your ultimate good.
We can trust him. His will is the water you were made to swim in, and it's in Christ that we finally have the security, the strength, and the freedom to choose to submit ourselves to him without fear.
This is one of the ways you know the gospel has taken root in your life— it transforms your relationship to authority. The reason is because your relationship has been restored with the highest authority first, right? In Jesus Christ, you go from a rebel to a child, from an enemy of God to a member of his own family. So, being submitted to him is no longer a threat to our freedom. It is true freedom.
by Jared Major
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