I hear arguments regarding the definition of: FREEDOM. The arguments often take the form of personal positions which state… I WANT THE FREEDOM TO… (DO OR SAY WHAT I WANT) or I WANT THE FREEDOM FROM… (WHAT OTHERS DO OR SAY). These arguments cannot be won. They cannot both be right! They are both worldly as they both come from an individual’s perspective and an individual’s desires. Those two perspectives cannot be reconciled – ever.
For example, I want the freedom TO hurt you and you want the freedom FROM the hurt I want to cause. In our worldly experience, at first glance, I am clearly in the wrong. But if you caused me great hurt previously, suddenly my freedom to hurt you appears to gain more ground. This is dangerous territory to even consider in the hypothetical, so I stop. 😯
Romans 6:1-9 (CEB) Our new life in Christ
6 So what are we going to say? Should we continue sinning so grace will multiply? 2 Absolutely not! All of us died to sin. How can we still live in it? 3 Or don’t you know that all who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 Therefore, we were buried together with him through baptism into his death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too can walk in newness of life. 5 If we were united together in a death like his, we will also be united together in a resurrection like his. 6 This is what we know: the person that we used to be was crucified with him in order to get rid of the corpse that had been controlled by sin. That way we wouldn’t be slaves to sin anymore, 7 because a person who has died has been freed from sin’s power. 8 But if we died with Christ, we have faith that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ has been raised from the dead and he will never die again. Death no longer has power over him.
Romans 6 tells us God’s word about freedom. The freedom we find in Christ is the condition we find ourselves in when we accept the truth that Jesus – God Himself – died for our salvation. At that cross, ✝, He took my sins upon Himself, and bore the wrath of God that I deserved. Three days later, when He was resurrected to eternal life – God demonstrated that the sacrifice of His son’s death in my place was an acceptable payment for my sins – I am no longer guilty! When THE JUDGE says I am free… I am free indeed!!!
Am I FREE FROM persecution, abuse, hatred, meanness, intolerance, bitterness, and all the other nasty presentations of unkindness in this world? No! For now, I still live in this world and will be subjected to the enmity and hostility that Satan uses to promote himself, while he can.
Am I FREE TO participate in that same worldly ugliness that so abounds? No! That is also not part of my freedom condition.
Will I? Probably. 😔 When I take things and current conditions under my own strength and desires, I am easily led astray. But only in Him… in His strength… and following His guidance, do those occasions become less frequent. With the humility that only He can teach me, I can recognize when I’ve sinned again, so I can go back to the cross – not with a bitter heart but with gratitude – to thank Him for showing me more of myself that should already have died!
His mercies are endless! His faithfulness endures forever!
When I go to the cross and think about… meditate over… and count the cost of… I realize I am at a new fork in the road. There is another chance to grow closer to Him. Do I go back to where I’ve been and hold onto what I have and all I know? Or do I trust in all that He is and embrace this new life and recommit to follow Him into eternity. There are two things I cannot do:
- I cannot stand forever and avoid making a choice, hoping for the best, hoping He will just do it all for me. That is not faith. He stands at the door and knocks, He calls for you. You must open the door; you must answer the call.
- I cannot choose both roads. There is no middle ground with Christian faith. Christianity has always been counter cultural. Why? Because in Genesis 3, God said that He would put enmity between the offspring of the woman and the offspring of the serpent. Do you really think you can play on both teams?
If you have heard the Word, you must choose a side. Pretending to be ignorant of Scripture may buy some acceptance from other people, but you’re not hiding anything from God or yourself. I believe that many Christians fail to find peace because of this very reason. I don’t claim to understand their motives, but I can speak from my own.
What I find in those Scripture verses above is the perfect description of freedom when the choice is made to go all-in with Jesus. The old life is gone, it is dead – and it didn’t hurt! The new life is filled with awe and amazement at who He is, what He will reveal, where He takes me, and how He can comfort me.
When sin is removed, there is no more fear of death… there is freedom and peace.
Thank You, Jesus for removing my sin, taking my punishment of death, and showing me the way to everlasting life – the life you had planned before time began – the life that extends forever when time runs out. It is my honor to proclaim:
I am a daughter of a great King – He is my Father and My God. The world may criticize me or praise me. It matters not. He is with me, always at my side, guiding and protecting me. I do not fear because I am His! 💖
Thank you, Lord, for my freedom.
AMEN! Thanks Elisa!