MORE…
FREEDOM
"How can we experience true freedom in Christ?"
Everyone seeks freedom. Especially in the US, freedom is the highest virtue, and it is sought after by all who are, or consider themselves to be, oppressed.
But freedom in Christ is not the same as political or economic freedom. In fact, some of the most harshly oppressed people in history have had complete freedom in Christ.
The Bible tells us that, spiritually speaking, no one is free.
In Romans 6, Paul explains that we are all slaves. We are either slaves to sin or slaves to righteousness. Romans 6:15-18
15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! 16 Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. 18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
Those who are slaves to sin cannot free themselves from it, but once we are freed from the penalty and power of sin through the cross, we become a different kind of slave, and in that slavery we find complete peace and true freedom.
Although it seems like a contradiction, the only true freedom in Christ comes to those who are His slaves…
Slavery has come to mean degradation, hardship, and inequality. But the biblical model is the true freedom of the slave of Christ who experiences joy and peace, the products of the only true freedom we will ever know in this life.
There are 124 occurrences in the New Testament of the word… which means “someone who belongs to another” or “bondslave with no ownership rights of his own.”
Unfortunately, most modern Bible versions, as well as the King James Version, most often translate it as “servant” or “bond-servant.”
But a servant is one who works for wages, and who, by benefit of his work, is owed something from his master.
The Christian, on the other hand, has nothing to offer the Lord in payment for his forgiveness, and he or she is totally owned by the Master who bought him with His shed blood on the cross.
Christians are purchased by that blood and are the possession of their Lord and Savior. We are not hired by Him; we belong to Him
Romans 8:9
9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not BELONG to Christ.
So “slave” is really the only proper translation of the word.
Now here is the meat of it all…it is not being oppressed, the slave of Christ is truly free.
We have been set free from sin by the Son of God who said, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36).
Isn’t it amazing that we can find freedom through the one whom we should be slave too?
Too often we become slaves to the things of this world instead of slaves to the one who can truly set us free…
C.S. Lewis wrote in Mere Christianity
“All that we call human history--money, poverty, ambition, war, prostitution, classes, empires, slavery--[is] the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy.”
In this time of pandemic where we see people protesting against government mandated shelter in place and the church is on that seems to be leading the charge…I find it sad…that in a time when people are consuming g more filth and drugs and alcohol than ever that the church is more worried about our constitutional rights rather than our own members slavery to those things that will perish rather than slaves to the one whom died for their eternal salvation….
While it is true that some government officials would love to tear down the church the reality is most just want to keep people alive longer…
The law that we should be focused on is not the law of man but the law of the spirit…if we focus on it then we can honestly say as Christians…
“Through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2).
We now know the truth and that truth has set us free (John 8:32).
This goes beyond our natural way of thinking, through our bondage to Christ, we have also become sons and heirs of the Most High God
Galatians 4:1–7
4 What I am saying is that as long as an heir is underage, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. 2 The heir is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. 3 So also, when we were underage, we were in slavery under the elemental spiritual forces[a] of the world. 4 But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.[b] 6 Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba,[c] Father.” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.
As heirs, we are partakers of that inheritance—eternal life—which God confers on all His children.
This is a privilege beyond any earthly treasure we could ever inherit, while those in bondage to sin inherit only spiritual death and an eternity in hell.
Why, then, do so many Christians live as though they are still in bondage?
For one thing, we often rebel against our Master, refusing to obey Him and clinging to our old lives.
We hold on to the sins that once bound us to Satan as our master.
Because our new nature still lives in the old fleshly nature, we are still drawn to sin.
Paul tells the Ephesians 4 to “put off” the old self with its deceit and corruption and “put on” the new self with its righteousness. Put off lying and put on truthfulness. Put off stealing and put on usefulness and work. Put off bitterness, rage, and anger, and put on kindness, compassion, and forgiveness (Ephesians 4:22–32).
We have been set free from the bondage of sin, but we often put the chains back on because part of us loves the old life.
Often we don’t realize that we have been crucified with Christ and that we have been reborn as completely new creatures.
The Christian life is one of death to self and rising to “walk in the newness of life” Romans 6:4
4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.and that new life is characterized by thoughts about Him who saved us, not thoughts about the dead flesh that has been crucified with Christ. When we are continually thinking about ourselves and indulging the flesh in sins we have been freed from, we are essentially carrying around a corpse, full of rottenness and death.
The only way to bury it fully is by the power of the Spirit who is the only source of strength.
We strengthen the new nature by continually feeding on the Word of God, and through prayer we obtain the power we need to escape the desire to return to the old life of sin.
Then we will realize that our new status as slaves to Christ is the only true freedom, and we will call upon His power to “not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires” (Romans 6:12).
We all have those evil desires and giving in to them will do anything but bring you freedom…it makes them your master…
I once had this friend and I considered him to be a friend…I cared for this guy like a brother…once we were out with our wives shopping and we did the man thing and got a cup of coffee and found a table to sit at…I knew that he was an alcoholic but he and never opened up to me…but this day he did…he said he could not see a day in life when he would not choose to drink…I responded to him that he was a slave to the bottle…he understood it but in rebellion not against me but God himself…he would choose the bottle…even though he new he would never get enough and would only find himself needing more and more never truly getting his thirst quenched…
We are like that so many things on this world…we never get enough
Enough money
Enough power
Enough food
Enough toys
Enough vacation time
Enough drugs
Enough porn
Enough selfishness
Our thirst is never quenched
But Jesus said to the Samaritan woman at the well
John 4:14
14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
Freedom comes not from the sins of this world but rather the one who promises to take care of your every need for eternity…
Finally God promises us in
Revelation 7:16
‘Never again will they hunger;
never again will they thirst.
The sun will not beat down on them,’
nor any scorching heat.
