Freedom is on my mind with the 4th of July coming up. The 4th is one of our favorite holidays because we love celebrating our independence as a country and all the freedoms God has given us. However, God always uses this holiday to remind me where true freedom comes from, freedom in Christ.
Tweet ThisWhat does freedom in Christ look like? How can we experience it?
Well, if you have been in a church for any length time you have probably heard some of these sayings in reference to “being free”: (If you haven’t, I might suggest looking into a new church but I’ll save that for another blog post.)
“The truth will set you free!”
“Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom.”
“If the son has set you free you are free indeed!”
“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free!”
These sayings/phrases come up in sermons and in worship songs so often that I wonder if some even realize they are straight of out Scripture? We use them in conversations… sometimes to only fill the silence. While we mean well… these words are powerful. We should be careful to recognize the power in these words and speak them with the authority God has given us thru Jesus Christ, His death on the cross, and resurrection from the grave!
“So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, ‘If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine: and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’” John 8:32
“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” 2 Corinthians 3:17
“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” John 8:36
“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” Galatians 5:1
I want you to notice that 2 Corinthians 3:17 and John 8:36 deal with the supernatural side of freedom. It is a guarantee…a done deal…when the Lord, the Holy Spirit, or the Son sets us free. It is up to us to remain free! In order to remain free we must “continue” in His word according to John 8:31. We must also “stand firm” and not “let” ourselves “be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” as listed in Galatians 5:1.
Read more about how to remain free: Click Here
In order to experience freedom in Christ we must leave “it” in the tomb and “come out!”
Imagine the tomb… on the 3rd day… Jesus is no longer inside…but there are people in the tomb…Jesus has left His shroud on the table and walked out… but there are Christians still inside. People who believe Christ died for them but have yet to follow Him out of the tomb and start living in the freedom of His resurrection power. Jesus wants us to leave “it” in the tomb and “come out!”
These people exist. They are holding on to their sin, shame, hatred, depression, disappointment, rejection, fear, control, doubt, pride, greed, lust, _____ (fill in the blank with your own)… they are holding on to “it”. I have been one of these people. More than once in my life.
8 This is what the Lord says: “In the time of my favor I will answer you, and in the day of salvation I will help you; I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people, to restore the land and to reassign its desolate inheritances,9 to say to the captives, ‘Come out,’ and to those in darkness, ‘Be free!’ “They will feed beside the roads and find pasture on every barren hill. 10 They will neither hunger nor thirst,nor will the desert heat or the sun beat down on them. He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them beside springs of water. 11 I will turn all my mountains into roads, and my highways will be raised up. Isaiah 49:8-16
Jesus did not allow Himself to be beaten and killed on a cross for us to remain in the darkness of the tomb. He rose on the 3rd day to give us eternal life but also the freedom that comes with His resurrection power. The same power that rose Jesus from the dead lives in all believers. Yet, we are afraid to leave it and come out. He wants us to live out and testify daily about our freedom in Christ.
Why do you think Jesus left His shroud behind?
What bound Him in the past… held Him no more! The same is true for you. The Bible says that you are a new creation.
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 2 Corinthians 5:17
Read more about how to leave “it” in the tomb:Click Here