True Freedom!
We often hear about the freedom in Christ that we can all experience once we enter a saving relationship with Him. We hear that freedom preached, we read about it in the Bible, we relish the idea that we are no longer in bondage! The question however is this…how many of us are truly living out our freedom? How many of us actually have a true understanding of what freedom in Christ means?
I think the first step would be to understand just what it means to be free. The online website thefreedictionary.com defines freedom as follows;
1.a. The condition of not being in prison or captivity b. The condition of being free of restraints, especially the ability to act without control or interference by another or by circumstance 2.a. The condition of not being controlled by another nation or political power; political independence. b. The condition of not being subject to a despotic or oppressive power; civil liberty. c. The condition of not being constrained or restricted in a specific aspect of life by a government or other power: freedom of assembly. d. The condition of not being a slave. 3.a. The condition of not being affected or restricted by a given circumstance or condition: freedom from want. b. The condition of not being bound by established conventions or rules 4. The capacity to act by choice rather than by determination, as from fate or a deity; free will 5. The right to unrestricted use; full access 6. Ease or facility of movement 7. Archaic Boldness in behavior; lack of modesty or reserve.
These definitions are rather more sweeping than the usual understanding that we have of the word “freedom”. I suspect that we generally think of what it means to be free when we listen and sing along to Hillsong’s Who You Say I Am or when we are feeling overwhelmed with joy and love and thankfulness in those moments of spiritual closeness to God. I wonder if it may be better for us, for our relationships (with God and others) and for our spiritual wellbeing if we were to think of the depth and breadth of freedom that Christ won for us on the cross.
Now that we have a somewhat detailed understanding of the definition of freedom, perhaps we can take a look at what freedom is not, as we sometimes get a little mixed up in the application of our freedom. I have heard discussions between other believers about their freedom. I have experienced some of those conversations with others as well. Some have tried to explain freedom as a free ticket to Heaven. Essentially Christ did away with the punishment for sin, so therefore we can participate in sinful behaviours, because we now have the freedom to do so. In Romans 6:1-6, the Apostle Paul directly addresses this thinking, “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.”
When we profess and claim our rights and freedoms to live in any way we want, we are effectively declaring our freedom to remain in slavery. True…we do have that freedom, but why would we! The fact is, many Christians land somewhere in the middle of the spectrum of what freedom means or should mean to us. I’ve heard debates about how far we could go with a particular behaviour, so a limited freedom to do what we want essentially. “I can go this far, but no farther. Beyond a certain point would be sin.” is the idea, or worse yet, “It’s okay if I sin because God’s grace is sufficient for me”. This is not freedom as defined above! This is slavery to sin with the perception of freedom. What could possibly be more dangerous to us? To live in slavery while believing we are free. In this case there would be no impetus to live in our freedom, since we already believe we are free.
Immediately following the moment of salvation, those of us who have lived the life of being in a previously unrecognized slavery to sin and death are suddenly confronted and embraced by an overwhelming sense of the freedom of Christ. At that initial point in one’s faith journey, the realization, and the joy of being set free is so very real and we are rocked by thankfulness for this new-found life. No longer bound to sin and death. We gain the full realization of John 8:36, which states, “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed”. So, what does this mean? The word indeed is defined in the Free Dictionary as without a doubt, certainly, in fact, in reality. When John writes this, he is telling us that when we are set free by Jesus, it is beyond a doubt that we are now completely free. Let’s take a look at what this is actually like. There are two forms of this freedom that are especially important to understand. The first is what Jesus has freed us from, and the second is what Jesus has freed us to. Both are important and are equally part of our newfound reality.
First, let’s take a look at what Jesus has set us free from.
When we enter a saving relationship with Christ, we are immediately set free from our slavery to sin. As Paul writes in Romans 6:14 “For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace” Prior to our salvation, we have sin as our master. This is no longer the case. Romans 6:6b states, “so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.” The implications of the words no longer reveal that we once were slaves to sin. We are slaves no more, so therefore, let’s not live as though we still are. We are now bonded to a new Master! The change of Masters of our lives can be well summed up in the words of Jesus found in Matthew 11:28-30, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” There is a stark difference in this statement between the previous life of labouring and being heavy laden to the rest and lightness that comes from Christ once we accept and live in the freedom that He promises! God has bought us with Christ’s blood. We now have the privilege of being servants of a loving and gracious Father, no longer servants to the sinful nature that once controlled every aspect of our lives, whether we recognized it or not.
Along with being set free from the bondage of sin and our slavery to it, we have been set free from the just penalty of our sin. What is this penalty? It is nothing short of death…eternal death, separation from God and an eternity in Hell. Jesus’ death on the cross has freed us from that penalty because he died in our place! Think of it as substitutionary penalty. We all deserved that death because we have been aligned with the sin that controls us, while rejecting God our Creator. But rather than having to face that eternal penalty, we can allow Jesus to be our substitute. He died and rose again so that we can have life! John 10:10 says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” Not only are we set free from the penalty of death that we all owed because of our sin condition, but Jesus tells us that he will give us abundant life! What freedom! He will give us abundant life today and throughout all of eternity!
Guilt and shame for the sin we have been captive of is another thing that we have been wonderfully set free from. So often we will revisit the sinful and shameful actions, thoughts, and motives from the past and feel a deep sense of guilt for what we’ve done (or didn’t do). Sometimes we return our thoughts to those things, regretting what we’ve done and beating ourselves up over those things. Sometimes we return to doing some of those things…” Like a dog that returns to his vomit is a fool who repeats his folly” Proverbs 26:11. There are definitely those times that we act the fool and repeat our folly and sin. But the beauty of it is that God looks at our hearts, not merely our actions, and when we truly repent for the umpteenth time, He is faithful to forgive and to choose to not even remember our sins. So, the truth of the matter is this…if God can forgive me of my sin, what makes me think that I can take a different course and not forgive myself? Guilt be gone! Shame away! I am set free by the Creator of all things and the Substitute for my own death and destruction. I am set free of all guilt and shame, while I am remaining repentant of all that I do and all that I’ve done that is wrong. “For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death” 2 Corinthians 7:10. Let’s not follow the ways of worldly grief, which is guilt and shame, but rather with a repentant heart that stands before God in humility, understanding that we have been set free from that very guilt and shame that can cripple us along with our relationship with God.
Another profound freedom that we get to experience is the freedom from fear. In Psalm 27:1, David proclaims “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” If David can make this claim, so can we. When we first believe in Jesus as Lord and Saviour, He precisely becomes that…our Lord and Saviour. We are often so quick to accept the fact that He is our Saviour, but slow to acknowledge Him as Lord. But that is what He is…so if David is expounding that he needs not to be afraid because God is the stronghold of his life, then it is true for us as well! God has set us free from fear. There are a total of 365 statements throughout the Bible about not fearing. Interestingly, that is one reference for each day of the year.
Upon our acceptance of Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, we get to experience profound freedom from so many detrimental effects that sin has always produced in us. No more slavery to sin, no more eternal death as a penalty for our sin! Freedom from the curse of guilt and shame and fear. Freedom from all that sin had bound us with! What a burden lifted from us! Now let’s take a look at what Christ has given us freedom for.
What has Christ set us free for?
When we first entered a salvation relationship with Jesus, declaring with the Disciple Thomas in John 20:28 “Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’”, we were indeed set free, encountering a freedom from so many terrible side effects of our destructive sinful natures. However, some really good news is that Jesus has not only set us free from things but has given us freedom for things as well!
Freedom to live in fullness of life. Upon coming to a faith in Christ, we were set free from unhealthy fear of God, as Adam and Eve experienced after eating the forbidden fruit in the garden. “And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.” (Genesis 3:8). One of the terrible repercussions of sin is the realization that we are nowhere close to being worthy to be in the presence of God! This has led all of humanity to choose to avoid God rather than run to Him, our loving Father! What a tragedy! But now, because of Christ’s death on the cross and His resurrection, we can now have a full and beautiful relationship coming before Him without shame or guilt. “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16). Adam and Eve, in the time of their greatest need, after having committed the first sin…the first rebellious act against God, chose to run and hide from Him. Now, we have been given the freedom because of Christ’s sacrifice, to come with boldness to God at any time. He will not turn us away. He will give us the mercy that we so dearly need! This is truly living in the way that God has designed us. We now have the freedom to enjoy relationship with God. What a freedom that is!
Furthermore, we have been given the freedom to ask of God what we need. Jesus was quoted in John 14:14, “If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”. Again, we can go to God, asking him anything and he will do it according to what he knows is best! The freedom that God has for us is astounding! Prior to salvation, it is rather difficult to make yourself into a better version of you, meaning a kinder, more loving, more gracious person, because we don’t have the strength or desire to do so. But, we are told in Galatians 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”. We have the freedom to grow deeper into our relationship with both God and others. Freedom to live in a way that is pleasing to God. And the Holy Spirit who lives in us helps us to perpetuate and experience that freedom. This is truly life!
In Christ, we have also been given the freedom to serve, both God and others! We are now free to do that which God has planned for our lives, and he gives us the ability, the courage, the motivation, and the gifts to fulfill his plans. I would far rather be doing what the Lord has planned out for me in his strength than to simply be working out my own plans for life. No matter the situation or circumstance, God will help us in fulfilling his purposes for us. “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good for those who are called according to his purpose.” Consider that for a moment…God has a purpose for us, for each one of us, and he will work out everything, the good, the bad, the ugly, that we would be able to do what he has planned for us to do! It is incredible to think that we, as followers of Christ now have the freedom to serve and work according to what he specifically has planned for each of us. Not only that, but we have been given the amazing freedom and privilege to be able to go before God to ask him to give us ability, power, love to fulfill that plan as he desires. If I’m going after my own desires, or trying to fulfill my own personal agenda, it will always be flawed. It will often be rooted in promotion of myself, but if I’m living in my freedom in Christ to do what he would have me do, it will be right and good and of benefit to others.
Christ has truly set us free! It is really the best gift possible to be able to live out that freedom that he has given us. But do we do it? Do we truly live it? Do we even understand it? The fact of the matter is this, our old sin nature would have us hiding in the trees along with Adam and Eve, avoiding any real contact with our loving Father. In order to be able to live out our freedom in Christ, we need to constantly be on our guard against that old nature drawing us back into a slavery to something we don’t want to serve. It can come in many forms.
The disbelief that God can truly forgive me, or the self flagellation of negative self talk, and perceptions can be a real freedom killer. When we choose to disbelieve, or not even know what God has said in his Word, we are prone to a form of slavery to the sin that we have done or do. Not only did we give in to the sin, but then we want to hide from God because we don’t believe we are worthy to be in his presence. In and of ourselves, the truth is that we are not worthy, but Jesus makes us worthy to be in a loving relationship with God because of his sacrifice!
Then there is the self justification of sin. This is brought on by our old sin nature as well, but in a deeper and perhaps more dangerous manner. I have quite literally heard fellow believers tell me they don’t know why they do what they do (sin), that it is just who they are! To identify with the sin in one’s life is most definitely a freedom killer if there ever was one! To live out our freedom, we absolutely must be identifying as a son or daughter of God because of what Christ did for us. When a believer says, “my sin is just who I am”, they are effectively throwing up the white flag, giving up and choosing to live in slavery. This is tremendously sad!
Then, one other freedom killer would be the idea that God created us, so he understands our temptations and he’s okay with my sin because of that fact. There is absolutely nothing in the Bible that would support this idea. It is terrible theology based simply on the fact that they simply are unwilling to leave their slavery to sin, and have taken it to a point of justification where even God is fine with it. It’s just how he made us. This is an incredibly dangerous path of thought to ever being able to live out the freedom of Christ.
I am truly thankful for the Freedom that Jesus gave to us when he went to the cross! It is a freedom that can come with bumps in the road, with dipping a toe back into the pool of bondage on occasion, it can come with some heartache at times. But there truly is nothing like it! Embracing being free in Christ is the only way for the believer to live. It can be hard, but it is entirely worthwhile.
Are you living in that Freedom that only Christ can give you? Do you trust that He wants you, yes you to live daily all the joy of a life devoted to Him? If you are not, I encourage you to look deeper into His Word, and pray that He would bless you with a deeper, more profound understanding of what it is to live in Freedom.
If you desire to live fully in the Freedom that Christ gives, I encourage you to pray with me;
Father God, forgive me for my lack of faith and trust in you. I pray right now that you would, by your Holy Spirit, give me the ability to look beyond my own weaknesses and failings, and to trust that you have truly given me all of the freedom to live a life of deep connection to you. Help me to live in this freedom that you have bought for me so I can be an effective ambassador for your Kingdom to the world around me. Thank you Lord for loving me! In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
