Jesus said, "So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free."
John 8:36 (NLT)
FREE'DOM, n. A State of exemption from the power or control of another; liberty; exemption from slavery, servitude,
or confinement.
If you are struggling with anything or everything in life, you NEED to know that genuine freedom can only be found through Jesus Christ.
You cannot get free through your own effort and you cannot stay free without help.
YOU HAVE A CHOICE!
Are you ready to be set free?
Are you ready to experience liberty?
What does "FREEDOM IN CHIRST" mean?
I suspect that when most Christians hear that term they automatically think of being freed from sins that have bedeviled them for much of their lives. That’s certainly a correct perception. And if that alone is what a Christian aims for, it is a laudable goal.
There’s no shortage of sins humans can commit, and we’re right to want to be free of them. We might want to be freed from a tendency to gossip, or to overeat, or to waste time, or to blow up in anger or—and here’s the big one that typically jumps to the head of the list—to be involved in sexual sins. For men, it might be a desire to gaze at pornography. For women, it might be a desire to indulge in romantic fantasies. Or for either, it might even be outright adulterous relationships. Anyone who wants freedom from any kind of sin has arrived at the first step of moving toward a fundamental freedom.
But do Christians need freedom from anything else? Yes. There’s much more to being free in Christ than just moving away from obvious, fleshly sins—especially when you understand that in this life we’ll never reach a point of being absolutely free from committing any sinful actions. After all, if we were able to live a perfectly sin-free life on our own, then Jesus would not have had to die to pay for our sins.
So the first thing that comes to mind—after fleshly sins—that we need to be free of is the pride that can rise up in us as we become loosed from old, bad habits. While holding one another accountable, Freedom Church should be careful to avoid fostering a “holier-than-thou” competition (see Leviticus 19:17-18; Ephesians 4:15; Galatians 6:1). We need to minister to one another in love, grace, and patience (see 1 Corinthians 13).
But perhaps even more fundamental than freedom from fleshly sins and pride is the freedom from guilt, condemnation, and fear that Christ offers us. Just like freedom from sins, these freedoms are already paid for and available to us; we just need to appropriate them through faith. Do you still struggle with one of those fleshly sins? If so, then, yes, by all means seek God’s help in gaining practical freedom from it. But, meanwhile, hold tight to the truth that you are not under condemnation, because Jesus paid for your positional freedom (see Romans 8:1-2; Ephesians 2:6; Hebrews 4:16).
One of the worst things a Christian can do is to allow his feeling of guilt to keep him from communion with God. He is the One who will provide our release from those sins, so we need to keep communing with Him, trusting Him to work in us. Adam and Eve set the wrong pattern for their progeny when, after their first sin, they hid from God rather than running to Him and confessing and asking for His help. So, Christian, revel in the freedom you have to approach God’s throne of mercy, to find rest in Him (see Matthew 11:28-30; Hebrews 4:1-3). That’s the starting point for all Christian freedom.
You cannot get free through your own effort and you cannot stay free without help.
YOU HAVE A CHOICE!
Are you ready to be set free?
Are you ready to experience liberty?
What does "FREEDOM IN CHIRST" mean?
I suspect that when most Christians hear that term they automatically think of being freed from sins that have bedeviled them for much of their lives. That’s certainly a correct perception. And if that alone is what a Christian aims for, it is a laudable goal.
There’s no shortage of sins humans can commit, and we’re right to want to be free of them. We might want to be freed from a tendency to gossip, or to overeat, or to waste time, or to blow up in anger or—and here’s the big one that typically jumps to the head of the list—to be involved in sexual sins. For men, it might be a desire to gaze at pornography. For women, it might be a desire to indulge in romantic fantasies. Or for either, it might even be outright adulterous relationships. Anyone who wants freedom from any kind of sin has arrived at the first step of moving toward a fundamental freedom.
But do Christians need freedom from anything else? Yes. There’s much more to being free in Christ than just moving away from obvious, fleshly sins—especially when you understand that in this life we’ll never reach a point of being absolutely free from committing any sinful actions. After all, if we were able to live a perfectly sin-free life on our own, then Jesus would not have had to die to pay for our sins.
So the first thing that comes to mind—after fleshly sins—that we need to be free of is the pride that can rise up in us as we become loosed from old, bad habits. While holding one another accountable, Freedom Church should be careful to avoid fostering a “holier-than-thou” competition (see Leviticus 19:17-18; Ephesians 4:15; Galatians 6:1). We need to minister to one another in love, grace, and patience (see 1 Corinthians 13).
But perhaps even more fundamental than freedom from fleshly sins and pride is the freedom from guilt, condemnation, and fear that Christ offers us. Just like freedom from sins, these freedoms are already paid for and available to us; we just need to appropriate them through faith. Do you still struggle with one of those fleshly sins? If so, then, yes, by all means seek God’s help in gaining practical freedom from it. But, meanwhile, hold tight to the truth that you are not under condemnation, because Jesus paid for your positional freedom (see Romans 8:1-2; Ephesians 2:6; Hebrews 4:16).
One of the worst things a Christian can do is to allow his feeling of guilt to keep him from communion with God. He is the One who will provide our release from those sins, so we need to keep communing with Him, trusting Him to work in us. Adam and Eve set the wrong pattern for their progeny when, after their first sin, they hid from God rather than running to Him and confessing and asking for His help. So, Christian, revel in the freedom you have to approach God’s throne of mercy, to find rest in Him (see Matthew 11:28-30; Hebrews 4:1-3). That’s the starting point for all Christian freedom.