It is for freedom that Christ has set us free

“Battle Hymn of the Republic” (5th. Stanza)

        One dictionary defines Liberty as “freedom from control, interference, obligation, restriction, or hampering conditions”. Liberty is an idea that has become a true reality for so many. Yet, for others they have not come to experience its profoundness in their lives. Though there are always forces, influences, and causes that rally and work against people living lives unbridled by the coercion of another person, entity, or substance, many pursue freedom like hidden treasure.  

The 4th of July always reminds me of freedom. A liberty that our Founding Fathers and many others fought and died for so we would not be held hostage by the tyranny of others. Freedom is priceless for those who experience it, yet it comes at a huge cost for those who have delivered it. In America freedom came with the price tag of thousands of lives, people who gave their own life to protect and preserve our God given inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

There is also a freedom that is found in the Christian Church. Today there are many Christians who live in this freedom that Christ has won for them. Yet, there are also those who are living in bondage by the weight of their sin, the fear of death, the lies of Satan, and the condemnation of the law. Nearly two thousand years ago God allowed His very own son to be crucified, hung on a cross and die for the sins of the world. And for those who believe, He has promised them the forgiveness of their sins, eternal life, and salvation. Sin is man’s greatest affliction in life and Christ has provided him with the greatest blessing of freedom ever known to mankind, the forgiveness of his sins.

Christ has given us into freedom, for He has come to release us from the chains of bondage and give us into a newness of life. We as Christians are freed from sin, death, the devil, and ultimately the Law. Through His life of perfectly keeping the Law all the while never sinning and His sin bearing death on the cross, Jesus Christ lived and died so that we might be set free. 

We are freed from the power of sin, though it remains an ever-present reality in our lives. In Christ, the chains of sin’s grip are broken as we are comforted by the words of the Holy Gospel, your sins are now forgiven on account of Christ and they are no longer counted against you.

We are freed from death’s grip that once had a hold on us, and we can now rejoice in the hope of eternal life and life everlasting with Christ. Death can no longer hold us in the grave.

We are freed from the power and stronghold of Satan. Though he continues taunt and deceive us with his craftiness and lies as he seeks to befall us at our every step, we now live in Christ who has promised to preserve and defend us steadfast in the faith as He leads us not into temptation but delivers us from all evil.

         We are freed and no longer under the constraints, coersion, compulsion, and condemnation of the Law, though it remains to expose, amplify, and accuse us of our sin. We are by the Gospel free in Christ to walk in the Spirit as the fruits of the Spirit are now evident in our lives - love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. 

Live in freedom and not under the tyranny of another. “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 KJV.

Believe it!