Set Free, Be Free

“Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on Him, If ye continue in My word, then are ye My disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  John 8:31-32

Freedom in Christ.  How can we explain what it means to be free in Christ?  In the physical world, we know that freedom means being able to come and go as we please, to reside in whatever city we choose, to work in whatever occupation that we select, to worship as we see fit, to marry the person whom we choose, or we can choose to not marry.  Folks are free to choose to do the right thing, or they can choose to sin.  God gave men and women free will to decide how each will live his or her life.  John Donne, 17th century English poet, wrote, “No man is an island”, which means, in one respect, that our choices affect others either positively or negatively.  How we affect others reminds me of what the Christian motivational speaker John Maxwell said (paraphrasing), “There are two kinds of people–those who add value to your life, and those who drain the life right out of you!”  I am sure that you, like me, have known both kinds of people.  I hope that I would always be the former and not the latter.

I am very grateful that I was born in the U.S.  Even with all of our problems, America is still the best and freest nation on earth.  But what about spiritual freedom?  What does it mean to be spiritually free?  Folks who do not know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior are not spiritually free.  They are bound by their sin in that they will one day have to give an account for their sin before God.  If you think about it, it’s not so much as giving an account of one’s sins, but rather answering why he or she rejected Christ of which there is no answer because it is the unforgiveable sin.  Those who repent and receive Christ have their sins forgiven because Jesus’ death on the cross conquered sin, and His resurrection conquered death.  As the statistics go one out of one die physically, a pretty grim fact. Those who believe in Christ will not die spiritually but will live with Him for all eternity.

Here’s the thing.  Believers know they are free, but many do not act like it.  What do I mean by this?  Many folks who have freedom in Christ allow the world to affect them in several ways.  They are fearful of witnessing for Christ which is simply telling others what He has done for them in forgiving sin and allowing the Holy Spirit to be a constant companion, guiding, warning, and comforting in all situations as long as He is not ignored.  Many believers allow the world to intimidate them into being sheep, not as the sheep of Jesus’ pasture where we are watched over by our loving Shepherd, but the kind of sheep who fear the “cancel culture” crowd, or their unbelieving peers, co-workers, or classmates.  Some allow unbelievers to influence them rather than influencing lost friends to see the positive and joyous life that could be theirs in Christ.  Why are some Christians so timid when we are the children of the most high God?  My Father owns the cattle on a thousand hills (Psalm 50:10).  He is the One who made the earth and created man (Genesis 1:1; 2:7).  The greatest thing that He ever did for us was to send His Son, Jesus, to set us free from the bondage of sin.  Our Brother is the King of kings and Lord of lords.  Doesn’t that knowledge give us confidence to live as His brothers and sisters without fear of what the lost world might think?

There are certain secular laws by which we must abide.  We can’t yell “fire” in a place where there is no fire.  We are to obey traffic laws and many other laws set forth by public leaders.  These laws are to keep our society a civil and free nation.  We are to obey man’s laws as long as they do not conflict with what God has told us in His word.  As having freedom in Christ, what am I free to do?  I am free to love all others because Christ loves them through me.  I am free to help those in need for Christ will supply whatever I need to do the task needed.  I am free to worship and honor the Lord in attending church, serving in the community, and giving to the building up of the kingdom of God.  I am free to lay down my head on my pillow at night and rest easy assured that Christ will always keep me safe in His love.  I am free from being bound by my sins.  I am free to be me, the person that God has seen fit to bless, encourage, guide, and one day bring safely home to live with Him forever.  That is true freedom.