Free Indeed

"So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed." 

John 8:36

We can live in a free country and still be enslaved. Perhaps not politically, but certainly spiritually. Many people are enslaved to sin and its consequences, and don't even realize it. Our culture has become so desensitized to the word "sin", and so much of what the Bible calls sin has become acceptable to our populace, that we pretty much go through this life thinking we're all okay. And in that thinking we have lost more freedom than we can possibly comprehend. But here's the amazing thing: "While we were yet sinners Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). See, Christ doesn't wait until we realize we're sinners to save us. He already did it. That's why He came to earth. That's why He died and rose again. To conquer sin and death and set us free. But we need to recognize that we are enslaved and admit to Christ that we need the freedom only He can give. He is the Key that unlocks the chains that bind us. Once we receive Him as our Savior we will be free indeed. Until then we're hopelessly enslaved.

The Life Which I Now Live

"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me."

Galatians 2:20

Far too often professing Christians -- those who have trusted Christ as their Savior -- still spend their lives trying to win God's favor. They feel there is some Christian standard they have to live up to; a standard so high they will never attain it. And by not attaining it they live in a constant state of discouragement, believing God is disappointed in them. The Lord never meant for His beloved children to live that way; to be robbed of joy through a false belief that there is more to do. It has already been done. Jesus said when He drew His last breath on the cross, "It is finished." Christ won the victory over sin by the shedding of His blood. He won the victory over death through His resurrection. This is what pleases God. It's not us or anything we do -- or don't do. It's what His Son did on our behalf. So does this mean we can sin all we want and God will be ok with that? No. God wants us to experience the full freedom of growing more and more like Jesus -- in holiness, and that happens through Christ's transforming work in our lives. "To live under the principle of grace, you must first cease to live under the principle of law; and the only way to be released from the principle of God's law is to die to it. You and I will never, ever be able to live with a genuine sense of freedom and liberty before God -- we'll never be able to enjoy a sense of full acceptance before Him, and a sense of release from the bondage of the curse of the law -- until we see ourselves as having ceased from living. We must reckon it to be true of us -- we must consider it to be a true fact in our case -- that we have died with Christ, and that it is no longer we who live, but Christ lives in us. Spiritual union with Jesus Christ is the basis of living under the principle of God's grace." -- Pastor Greg Allen. 

Liberty

"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty."

2 Corinthians 3:17

Through the years I have heard people say they would never want to become a Christian because they like their freedom. As if giving their lives to Christ would somehow imprison them. Actually, just the opposite is true. A person experiences liberty when he opens his heart to Christ. He has the liberty of approaching a holy God without fear of condemnation, and having an intimate relationship with Him. She has the liberty of becoming the person God intended her to be; unhindered by past sin. They have the liberty of eternal life, looking forward to the resurrection body which the Lord Jesus will give all who have believed in Him. "The way to be yourself, to have freedom, is not to be afraid to look at all the evil that is possible in your heart and in your life, because you have another basis on which you can receive the acceptance and approval of God. It is a gift to you. It is faith continually accepting anew the gift of righteousness, of already being pleasing to God, and, on that basis, serving him out of a heart of gratitude for what you already have." -- Ray Steadman

True Freedom

"For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. "

Galatians 5:13

Freedom in Christ. What does it mean? When we receive Christ as Savior we are free to live within His grace embrace. No longer afraid to approach a holy God, we come to His throne room as a favored child enters her father's study; without fear of reproach. The Lord's love is unconditional and will never diminish. Nor will it increase.  Nothing we do can make Him love us less, or love us more. God's love is never dependent upon our performance. His love is simply constant  and thoroughly ours through Jesus. But we must be careful not to use our freedom to indulge our sinful nature. We're not free to be a stumbling block to others by the way we live. We are free to glorify God by thinking of others and how we can lift them up and encourage them. No longer bound by the selfish way we lived before we came to Christ, we now are free to live the life of love He's always longed to give us. This is true freedom. 

Set Free

"It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery."

Galatians 5:1

Here in the Colorado Rockies the deer roam freely. Yesterday I watched several of them prance across a field and wondered if they are cognizant of their freedom. Probably not, as  it's unlikely any of them have ever been caged. As a Christian, I am very much aware that Christ has set me free from the caged life of religion, which is a "yoke of slavery". Religion tells us to work our way to God; an impossible task that only leads to bondage. Christ tells us to come to Him and experience the liberty of grace. Grace is getting what we don't deserve. When we receive Christ as our Savior, religion stops and a relationship begins. We don't deserve it, but God says it's ours when we stop trying to gain His approval by what we do, and trust Christ's sacrifice on the cross to do it for us.

Release to the Captives

And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written, 

    "THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME,

         BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR.

         HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES,

         AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND,

         TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED, 

    TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD."

Luke 4:17-19

Jesus began His public ministry by teaching in the synagogues. On one particular Sabbath He entered the synagogue in Nazareth and read from the book of Isaiah. The fulfillment of Isaiah's prophetic words had come at last. Jesus preached the gospel wherever He traveled, offering salvation to whomever would receive it. Those who recognized their poverty of spirit caused by the bondage of sin would accept His words and follow Him. The chains of their captivity would fall away. Their eyes, once blind to the sin that oppressed them, would be opened to the truth of their imprisonment. They would look to their Redeemer and  would at last be set free. It was God's favor -- His love -- that made this possible. His love still makes it possible. Jesus is still the Proclaimer of truth. His gospel is as alive today as it was 2,000 years ago, and those who receive it experience the freedom only He can give. No longer bound by sin. Release to the captives. What a Savior!

A Big Heart

"I shall run the way of Your commandments, For You will enlarge my heart." 

Psalm 119:32

Those who love the Lord, love His word. They are eager to hear and obey it. Obeying God is not burdensome for them, for they understand that His precepts are meant for their own good. There is great freedom that comes from knowing this. Through His spirit, God enlarges the believer's heart with wisdom, so that they have a greater capacity to love Him and follow His commands.