The Stoics were an intriguing group. They were primarily Roman or Greek, so the concept of the “One God” was completely foreign to them. But they were part of a Wisdom tradition that stretches back about as far as we can trace human civilization.
Ryan Holiday has created a career writing about the Stoics. He wrote in a recent newsletter, “At the time, in Rome, many people believed that only freedmen could be educated. In fact, Epictetus said, it was the opposite: only the educated were free. Wisdom is freedom. Someone who doesn’t know what’s what is a slave to impulses, ignorance, and illusions…even if they possess incredible worldly power and wealth.”
I began researching freedom or liberty while in graduate school. Never really published anything. Follow are some thoughts spurred by the Epictetus quote.
Wisdom tradition runs deeply in the New Testament—most explicitly in the Letter from James. Gospel writer Matthew presents Jesus as a Wisdom teacher (plus).
Researching what Jesus said about to be free, it turns out that Jesus would have not argued with Epictetus—but he took the thoughts to a deeper level.
Consider a few thoughts from my research:
Freedom from sin: One of Jesus’s most direct statements about freedom is in John 8:31-36, where he says, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” When people objected that they were already free as descendants of Abraham, Jesus clarified: “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin… So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” Here, Jesus presents freedom as liberation from the bondage of sin through knowing the truth and following him.
Consider what habits, foods, prolonged thoughts, relationships you (we) have that separate us from God.
Freedom from religious burdens: Jesus criticized the religious leaders of his time for placing heavy burdens on people. In Matthew 11:28-30, he offered an alternative: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
How many requirements does your church or do your church leaders pile on you? Is service compulsory or performed for the joy of helping others?
Freedom through service: Jesus also taught a paradoxical form of freedom—that true freedom comes through serving others and God rather than serving oneself. He said in Matthew 20:26-28 that whoever wants to be great must become a servant.
Consider my last question. Are you serving because of the Holy Spirit residing within—even when you don’t always feel like it?
Spiritual liberation: In Luke 4:18-19, quoting Isaiah, Jesus described his mission as bringing “freedom for the prisoners” and proclaiming “the year of the Lord’s favor”—language associated with the Year of Jubilee when debts were forgiven and captives freed.
How are we serving the oppressed?
For Jesus, freedom wasn’t primarily political or external, but spiritual and internal—freedom from sin, guilt, fear, and spiritual bondage to live in relationship with God.
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