Liberty vs. Liberation

LIBERTY

The Bible tells us much about liberty, and in almost every reference, it speaks of it as something God gives.  The first occurance of the word is found in Leviticus 25:10.  There we read: 

And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubilee unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family.

Notice God is speaking, and He is the one granting liberty to others through His law.  Notice also in the context of something being "hallow" or "holy."  We know God is a holy God, and it is He who grants liberty to sinful man.  That liberty is so that man to might live holy in doing what He says.  In other words, God gives man freedom to freely serve Him.  This is known as free will.  God gives man the freedom to chose between right and wrong.  But man is supposed to choose right, especially when he's been given God's law, which tells him what he's supposed to do to please God.

In Psalm. 119:45, we read of King David saying:

And I will walk at liberty: for I seek thy precepts.

Here we find David saying he will walk at liberty, and he will seek out God's precepts.  In other words, he will follow God's law and obey, because it was God who granted him the liberty to do so.

Through many other passages in scripture, we find clearly that God is He who grants liberty, and He has given us His precepts (the Bible) for us to follow.  We then are to obey Him and do what he says.  This is our duty and is why we have been given liberty.  Liberty, or freedom, is therefore a gift from God, and is granted us for us to do right and live right, not for us to do wrong. 

LIBERATION

The word "liberation" comes from the same root word as "liberty."  But liberation is not always a good thing.  And, interestingly enough, the word "liberation" is not in the Bible, while the word "liberty" is.

When I hear of the word "liberty," I immediately think of America, the land of the free.  We in the United States were founded as a government of freedom for all.  And, we started by our founding fathers acknowledging God as the great granter of freedom.

On the other hand, when I hear the word "liberation," I automatically think of something entirely different, as the word is mostly used today in the context of the modernistic teaching of "liberation theology."  This ideology teaches certain people are "oppressed" and they should "struggle" against their "oppressors."  But this type of teaching leaves God out entirely!  Further, it seeks bloodshed, violence, and civil unrest, rather than peace, goodwill, and Jesus' teaching of forgiveness. 

There is, then, a difference between liberty and liberation.  Biblically, God gives man liberty, not so he can do evil, but rather good.  However, man is inheritantly evil, and subject to sin.  Because of this, man must be redeemed.  But God took care of this, as Jesus Christ paid for the sins of mankind on the cross of Calvary.  Man can be "liberated" from his sins, but not by their own merit, rather only by trusting Jesus Christ's finished work.

Sadly, man has twisted this sound, Bible teaching.  Many modernist preachers today don't believe in man's right to be free.  Nor do they recieve God's liberation at Calvary as sufficient.  Instead, they believe governments should have power over men, and those governments should be active now in "liberating" certain groups, classes, races and genders of people. 

If this be the case, then where is God in their system?  He's entirely left out.  The government then becomes the "liberator" rather than God, and it makes its own laws.  Eventually, the government takes the place of God, and it's laws supercede those of the Bible.  And, instead of following God and His laws that are "just," man through "social justice" declares it's his duty (instead of God's) to right all wrongs.  And he does so through lobbying the government to forward his cause.  What is his cause?  It is simply stated, "vengance" or "punishment" towards others he feels have mistreated someone else in some way. 
Not liking the way the world is, he tries to turn the world upside down and hopes by so doing, he can give men freedom.  This then leads to him becoming his own god, who plays God in declaring himself powerful enough to grant freedom to others.  He thinks He's "the liberator" rather than God.  And by so doing, he takes away man's liberty in Christ.

The Bible warns us of those who try to take away one's liberty in Christ Jesus.  We read it in Galatians:

And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage:  (Gal. 2:4)

 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.  (Gal. 5:1)

For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.  (Gal. 5:13)

Here we are warned of others who try to spy out our liberty in Christ, and they seek to entangle us in a yoke of bondage, while they use their liberty for an occasion of the flesh.  Rather than loving one another, they try to "enslave" people, for you can't free one group without enslaving another.

But in the Bible, we find that these type of people are not consistent.  They don't want freedom for all, rather only freedom for some (the only ones they support), and this freedom is usually so they can sin, not so they can do right.  These liberators are not free themselves, for they have become servants of corruption, rather than servants of God.

Today we see these modern day "liberators" are really only trying to liberate themselves from God and his laws (the Bible).  They might claim to be religious, or even do-gooders, who seek only to liberate others from oppression.  But the truth is they only trying to liberate people from God and his truth.  In short, they are trying to free people from God in order to enslave them to sin and Satan. 
A few more Bible verses about liberty are as follows:

 Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.  (2 Cor. 3:17)

So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.  (James 1:12)

But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.  (James 1:25)

As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God. (1 Pet. 2:16)

True liberty is freedom to serve God of a free conscience.  It is not freeing people from oppression, for often those who seek to "liberate" others don't do so of a pure heart, but rather with their own agenda, oftentimes enslaving those who they liberate in order to take advantage of them.

In the Bible, God gives liberty for men to do right, while liberation theology is an excuse for men to rebel against God and sin.

America used to be the land of Liberty.  But with the modern day teachings of anti-colonialism, communism, social justice, radicalism, and revolution, we find that American is now the land of Liberation.  And as it seeks to "liberate" others it is turning even farther away from God.  Progressives are leading the pack in liberation.  They don't believe in God, the Bible, or even the founding fathers.  They don't look at liberty as a way to serve God of a free conscience willingly serving him.  Instead, they believe that their job is to liberate others whom they feel are oppressed.  But what if they feel the greatest opressor is GOD?  Then they are actually trying to liberate people from the Creator, and by so doing they are turning people against God.  They are nothing more than rebels, Luciferians, who like one of their radical founders Saul Alinsky praised.