Freedom is such an important word to Americans, who created this country because our founding fathers were not allowed to worship God in the freedom desired while in England. Sadly, freedom here has been strongly infused with political correctness, as we have lost sight of the reason that democracy carried such significance. What does the Bible say about freedom?
Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.
Galatians 5:1
Most people look at the commandments and laws of the Bible as an infringement on their freedom. Yet in government, there is always a limit on freedom. Each government simply chooses which limits they will impose. In regards to limits, complete freedom is anarchy, with each person doing anything they want. To understand this further, if you believe it is your right to kill another person, doesn’t that conflict the other person’s right to live? When we are walking in sin, breaking God’s commandments, we are as closely bound to those sins as a prisoner weighed down by a ball and chain. That ball and chain are the “yoke of bondage.” To be free from that ball and chain doesn’t mean that we have no limits. Instead, it means that we can move around without the weighted burden of our sin.
Each man after Adam was born into sin, with sin being our nature. Do you have to teach a child to lie or to be selfish? On the contrary, those actions come just as easily as breathing for the child. Being born into sin, each of us will continue to sin, even as Christians. Yet God’s promise to us is that if we choose to honor Him and serve Him, He will make us free from the bondage of sin. Each time we sin as a believer, instead of being weighed down by that action, we receive God’s forgiveness the moment we ask!
As Christians, it is no longer about us as individuals. We are surrounded by Christ! Additionally, we are free in Christ, free with Christ and free because of Christ. We have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb! Redemption is a word difficult to understand for a non-believer, as they fail to see the importance of the sacrificial system. God, being perfect, cannot just ignore sin. He has to punish it and because one sin makes a man a sinner, we are all guilty and due His punishment. Yet when God sent His Son to live a perfect life and be the scapegoat for each of us, God put in place a system where we can be cleaned. Redemption means “purchased,” and that is exactly what Jesus did. He purchased our dirty lives with His innocent blood. What a cost!
As Christians, that ball and chain no longer weighs us down. We have the freedom not to sin! When Jesus returned to heaven, He promised us the gift of the Holy Spirit to live inside each of us as believers. Each time we consider sinning, the Holy Spirit reminds us of our sins beforehand, during and afterwards. Being God, the Holy Spirit cannot ignore sin, either.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
2 Corinthians 5:17
To me the greatest difficulty is walking as that new creation in Christ, and realizing that the old man is dead. Satan often reminds us of the pleasures involved in our old sinful lives, but smartly, he doesn’t remind us of the brokenness caused by that sin. Having had many years to craft his lies, Satan does his job very well. Yet with God living in us, surrounded by Christ, how can we lose? Walk in the freedom He has given you! It cost Him so much! Once He has cut you loose from the “yoke of bondage,” stay away from the sins that controlled you. Why do you desire to be broken when He wants you to be whole? As Wallace cried out, "Freedom!" Because of the life God gave us, we have freedom to the point of death!
But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
1 John 1:7
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