Freedom

He leads me …

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; he has appointed me to preach Good News to the poor; he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted and to announce that captives shall be released and the blind shall see, that the downtrodden shall be freed from their oppressors, Luke 4:18 (TLB)

 But now since you have been set free from sin and have become [willing] slaves to God, you have your benefit, resulting in sanctification [being made holy and set apart for God’s purpose], and the outcome [of this] is eternal life. Romans 6:22 (AMP)

 Plant your feet firmly therefore within the freedom that Christ has won for us, and do not let yourselves be caught again in the shackles of slavery. Galatians 5:1 (Philips)

 I advise you to obey only the Holy Spirit’s instructions. He will tell you where to go and what to do, and then you won’t always be doing the wrong things your evil nature wants you to. Galatians 5:16 (TLB)

 Most of us know very well what it feels like to be in bondage. If it is spiritual, we experience fear, stress, rejection, guilt, and bitterness. If it is physical, we will experience diseases, disorders and infirmities. We are all probably familiar with some of these.

 The problem with these kinds of suffering is that they draw us back again and again even when we try to free ourselves from them. It might be the chocolate in the cupboard. We tell ourselves that we will just have one small piece, but end up eating a lot. Or, we know that we should not go to certain web sites, but we try all sorts of ways of justifying having a quick look. Sometimes the problem is so close to the surface. Like when someone says something against us that is personal, and we instantly lash back at them verbally, determined to put them down hard, so that they will not say that kind of thing again.

 Situations like these are what bondage looks like.

 It is not helped by how we see ourselves either. The idea of ‘Let go and let God’ often brings up fear because we believe we have to sacrifice if we let Him do what He wants to in our lives. After all we may have a false image of God, which because we cannot stop sinning, we do not measure up to His standards, and should be punished accordingly. As a result, we suffer from three key issues – separation, guilt and fear.

 There are some Christians who have problems with reluctance and complacency. They are prepared to accept that they have marginal freedom. Instead of trusting Christ in all things, they do their duty by attending church services, where they make a regular offering, and celebrating the traditional ‘holy days’ like Christmas and Easter.

 However, our Creator is Unconditional Love. If we can make a mental adjustment to ‘Let go and let God’ do what He need to, we come to know an indescribably tender, intimate, unlimited, all-encompassing love that is far beyond what we ever thought was possible to experience. All that is keeping us from continually experiencing this unlimited love, are the thoughts that seem to block our clear understanding of what the Lord wants to do with us.

 So, what does true spiritual freedom look like?

 According to John MacArthur of Grace Community Church in California, the certainty of believing in Jesus, obeying His Word, and knowing His truth brings us spiritual freedom. This freedom includes freedom from the bondage of falsehood and Satan (John 17:15; 2 Cor. 4:4; 1 John 5:18), freedom from condemnation (Romans 8:1), judgment (John 3:18; 5:24), spiritual ignorance (John 8:12), spiritual death and separation from God (John 8:51). Most importantly we are free from sin (John 8:34; Romans 6:18, 22).[1]

 If we have not begun to fully trust in Jesus, the thought that He gives us freedom is difficult to understand. Instead, we could be wondering whether He created a system that makes us live a bit like a robot in obedience to Him. Not at all. Jesus created what should be a natural response to His grace.

 Jesus frees us from religious systems and bondage, and gives us the Holy Spirit to empower us to do His work. God’s Spirit guides us and asks us to make sacrifices for Him, but those sacrifices are really minimal compared to the eternal life He gave us through sacrificing His life on the cross. The sacrifices that we make are what we strive to do because we want to.[2] Remember the Lord created us and therefore knows our strengths and weaknesses. Therefore He is going to ask us to do things that fit in with who we are. He will not require us to do things that will break us.

 When we read the word "if" in the Bible we should remember that it is an invitation. If we respond to God's invitation we accept His complete freedom. He will not force us to do anything. It is our choice if we do what He asks us to do, or not. We soon find that if we do not do what He invites us to do, we miss out being a blessing and also being blessed ourselves.

 So, let us personalise the verses quoted at the beginning of this blog and ‘Let go and let God’ have His way with us. We know that He is Perfect Love. Then progressively our awareness will open up to the unlimited strength, love, abundance, peace and joy that He provides. Nothing can match the safety, tenderness and love we experience as we grow into an amazing relationship with God.

 True freedom is not found through a casual involvement with Christ, but we must be willing to commit to His ways. Freedom is not found in self-help programs, legalistic religion, the teaching of Buddha, or Muhammad. Freedom is not found in the pop psychology of Dr. Phil, Oprah, or through selfish pleasure from unrestrained sin. True and complete freedom is found in all loving Christ.[3]

[1]What Is Spiritual Freedom? - an excerpt from The MacArthur New Testament Commentary on John 8:32  https://www.gty.org/library/bibleqnas-library/QA0045/what-is-spiritual-freedom

[2] Freedom John D. Barry, Bible Study Magazine April 23, 2018.

John D. Barry is the CEO and founder of Jesus’ Economy, a nonprofit dedicated to creating jobs and churches in the developing world. To empower the extreme poor, Jesus’ Economy also has an online fair trade shop. John is also the general editor of Faithlife Study Bible and the former editor-in-chief of Bible Study Magazine.

https://www.biblestudymagazine.com/bible-study-magazine-blog/2018/4/23/freedom

[3] Sermon: True Freedom - John 8 by Steve Andrews on Wednesday, January 01, 2014; Lifeway Christian Resources.