In Christ You Are Set FREE!
“For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, . . .” (The Letter of Paul to the Romans 8: 15a NASB)
We are humans. Yes, as God created beings, we are alive in the flesh, and while we live inside our flesh and blood, we are at war. Conflicted and in bondage. Enslaved to sin and held captive within our flesh. At war, caught in the sin that dwells within us (you and me). Once a person believes on Jesus through faith, this becomes a waging war inside the body of the believing child of God. The apostle Paul writes:
“For what am I doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate.” (The Letter of Paul to the Romans 7: 15 NASB)
Example 1—When we married our spouse, we promised to love until death parts us, and when one spouse dies, that frees the other to remarry. Until such day, we are bound by the law in marriage. In comparison, when we accept Christ Jesus as our Savior and Lord, we die to self and to the bondage to sin that rages within us, for now we join with Jesus Christ in spiritual marriage. We are the bride of Christ; we belong to God. Through God’s Spirit, we have been reborn so we might bear fruit of the Spirit for God.
Example 2—Just as a seed is planted in our garden, deep within the ground, the seed must first die BEFORE the new life can begin to grow. Then as that little seed grows and pokes up through the earth, it reaches toward the sunlight, becoming something much more beautiful than it once was when it was a tiny seed. As growth begins, the seedling grows and grows, bearing fruit from the vine.
Without death, life cannot come. In the same way, without the death of Jesus Christ on Calvary’s cross, there was NO WAY POSSIBLE for you or for me to receive new life, for the life in Christ only happens as we lay down our old self to receive CHRIST’S NEW LIFE.
Example 3—When we were born, we were pure in thought, and as we grew to become toddlers, we learned the difference between right and wrong. The Law.
God’s Ten Commandments.
Inside our little bodies while we are children, Satan tempts us, (for example) how to lie, how to covet, how to disobey our parents, and even how to hide our sins. We grow up and walk toward the age of accountability. BUT GOD!
“Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (The Letter of Paul to the Romans 7: 25a NASB)
In Christ, we receive deliverance from our bondage of sin, and we who are now alive in Christ are not condemned. Praise God!
Now only are we set free, but Father God places Himself inside us; from the moment of our salvation (our birth to new life) God places His Holy Spirit within us.
- No longer are we to walk in bondage to the temptation of the flesh, but now we who have believed in Jesus are to walk in the will of God, focusing on the work of the Spirit, doing the works to show the world the love of God.
- No longer are we to walk in fear to the wrath of God, but now we who have received the salvation of God are to walk in obedience to God, placing our minutes, our hours, our days, and our lives to do His will, helping those who surround us the love of God.
God provided freedom; no longer are we in slavery to fear because now we have become part of God’s family. We have been adopted. Praise God!
“but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” (The Letter of Paul to the Romans 8: 15b NASB)
And with adoption, never disowned by God because we have received the promise of God that we will remain forever with Him in heaven. God’s Spirit prays for us, searching our hearts, interceding for us even when we do not know how to voice the words of our prayer. God’s Spirit gives us CONFIDENT HOPE & CONFIDENT ASSURANCE.
Pause to listen to Seph Schlueter sing the melody “All In.”
- May we not be ashamed of the name of Jesus.
- May we not be lukewarm Christians.
- May we be live for Jesus, for IN CHRIST WE HAVE BEEN SET FREE!
“Because you are sons,
(The Letter of Paul to the Galatians 4: 6-7 NASB)
God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”
Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.”