Freedom in Christ is something that I've been studying lately and I think it's important to understand what it really means to be free in Christ. By understanding freedom in Christ we are more equipped to show others the way to freedom and in order to understand it, we have to ask ourselves 3 very important questions.
1. What have we been set free from?
2. How have we been set free?
3. Why were we set free?
By answering these three questions, we can understand the gospel message of Jesus much more clearly.
Question 1: What have we been set free from?
Galatians 5:1(ESV) says "For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery."
We have been set free from things in this life that weigh us down. However, Paul warns us not to submit to those things again. In other words, even though we have been set free, we shouldn't pick up our old burdens and keep carrying them.
A yoke could either be a beam that joined two oxen together, or it could be a beam of wood that was held behind the neck of a person to help them carry something that was heavy. Either way, a yoke was something synonymous with 'heavy burden' and 'slavery'.
There are really two burdens that we've been set free from.
1. The law.
Galatians 5:16-26
"16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another."
Many people look at this as a to-do and a to-don't list. But notice how it is 'works' of the flesh vs. 'fruit' of the spirit, not 'works' of the flesh vs. 'works' of the spirit? That's because these things are produced by the spirit in us. They take time to grow and mature and these things don't happen over night.
We no longer have to earn our way to God. The law has been fulfilled. The law was the symbol of our debt to God for the sin of man. Man spent about 5,000ish years or so trying to pay of the debt but never made a dent in the payment. God then sent His son Jesus to pay off the debt for us. It was not our doing, not because we deserved it (because we didn't) nor was it because God was obligated to do it, but it was all about grace.
We've been set free from earning God's favor through the law and we've been set free from the laws that keep us from obtaining a relationship from God.
Now, it's true that sin does separate us from God. But the chasm that sin creates is NEVER larger than the bridge of salvation that has been built for us.
1 Timothy 2:5
"5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time."
A mediator is one who stands in the middle of a conflict and resolves it. Jesus stood in the middle of God's punishment for us so that we could confidently approach God with our needs and our burdens. Hebrews 4:16 says "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." We can approach God with anything!
Ephesians 2:19-20
"For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone"
We are no longer strangers but we are now members of God's household! We are considered family, not distant cousins, but immediate family to God! We have inherited eternal life because we are part of the family!
2. We are also free from sin and death.
Romans 8:1-2
"1 There is therefore now no condemnation (yoke of slavery) for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death."
To be condemned means to be declared guilty or to receive blame. There is NO blame or guilt in us when we are free in Christ! We are no longer defined by our mistakes. Alcoholism, abuse, hatred, lust, those things don't define us anymore.
Romans 5:18-21
"18 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 19 For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. 20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
We are made righteous by one man's obedience. That man is Jesus Christ.
How have we been set free?
John 3:16-18
16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God."
There's something really important in this passage. Once we believe that Jesus died for us and rose again, that's it! We are free! We haven't been freed from these yokes of slavery because what we had done, but because of what He has done for us.
(Ephesians 2:1-10.)
"1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind."
This is pretty sad, but in verse 4 we see two of the most hope-filled words in the Bible "But God"
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Verse 8 answers that question plainly. We, because of God's grace, have been saved by our faith in Jesus. We were captives of the law and captives of our own desires. We were prisoners, not innocent, but guilty prisoners.
God who is just, sent His son to die and pay the penalty. There had to be a payment for our sin, we were guilty, and the sentence of our sin had to be served. The wages of sin is death, and Jesus took the payment of sin for us on the cross.
Jesus paid our debt and asked for nothing in return. The only thing we have to do is believe and trust in Him. That's grace. It's like someone handing you a $1,000,000 check. You'll be a millionaire, as long as you cash the check.
3. Why were we set free?
We received freedom from these things, like verse 9 says "not a result of works, so that no one may boast." But so we can showcase how good God is. Verse 10 also says that we are saved for good works. Our lives should boast of God's grace. Our lives should be a reflection of what God has done in our lives.
Romans 6: 14-23
"14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. 15 What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, 18 and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. 19 I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.
20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Paul addresses the issue of 'having a right to sin' because we are given free grace. Since we are free does that mean we are free to sin because grace is freely given? No, not at all! Because by continuing to sin we are continuing to live under the yoke of slavery that we had been set free from.
In other words. Someone who struggles with alcoholism doesn't have the right to keep on getting drunk. However, God WILL forgive them every time. There will, though, be consequences for those actions. Which may include broken relationships, feelings of regret, and various health problems including death by alcohol poisoning.
Or how about this analogy:
Imagine a parent telling their ten-year-old child to make sure their room is clean. Even if the child doesn't clean their room, the parent still loves the child and the parent still cares for the child. The child may be grounded for their disobedience, and suffer consequences for those actions, but the parent isn't going to throw a ten-year-old out on the street for being disobedient. Now, does the child 'have a right' to disobey their parent because they know they will never be thrown out of the house? No! Because by disobeying, they are allowing consequences of their disobedience to take place in their lives and they are also missing out on the valuable lesson the parent is trying to teach.
When we disobey God by sinning, we aren't 'losing our salvation' but we are allowing negative consequences to enter our lives and we are missing out on the lessons that God is trying to teach us. (Although, making a conscious effort to walk away from your relationship with God is a totally different story and I could post an entire blog on my opinions of this.)
So, we are not saved to sin, but we are, as Pastor Rocky says "saved to serve."
The language Paul uses here is strange. He says that we are slaves to Christ. That seems a bit ironic that we are free from the law and free from sin only to be captive again by Christ.
It says that we are slaves to the one we obey, and we are either obeying the flesh or obeying God. Being a slave to God is better because "The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
We were once slaves to sin working towards death. Now we are slaves to Christ, working towards sanctification.
Sanctification means "the state of growing in divine grace as a result of Christian commitment after conversion" In other words, it means the process of becoming more like Christ. Our labor is no longer in vain. Our works now bring glory to God. Producing the 'fruit of the spirit' in our lives serves as a testimony of who God is.
Living to serve God is difficult. Many times I feel like it's either too tough or I'm not doing a good job. But I'm often reminded of Jesus' words in Matthew 11:28-30
"28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 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. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
The weight of sin is greater than the weight of serving God. Jesus gives us a much lighter burden to carry and a much more worthwhile purpose than that of anything this world can offer.
Thanks for reading!
-JD Wayt
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