Freedom must be coupled with moral responsibility in order to produce good fruit and maintain the liberty of the individual as well as the society. It is our moral obligation to paint a complete picture of freedom, so the next generation is not confused about the privilege of freedom.
In addition to our governmental freedoms, we need freedom for our souls in order to become all that God created for us to be. Jesus came to bring true freedom in our lives. He came with the dual assignment of setting us free from our past and at the same time setting us free to step into God’s purpose for our lives.
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
Jesus came to set us free from the following areas:
Sin:we are no longer slaves to sin as we were formerly. We have a new nature and a new ability to overcome sin that we didn’t have before. Due to the fall of Adam and Eve, we were born into sin, and we also sinned. We violated God’s laws as a form of lifestyle. We didn’t know we can be freed from the compulsion of our feelings and our will. We thought we are just born angry or fearful, and that is just part of our personality until we met Jesus.
Shame/guilt: Our lives were on the roller coaster of shame and guilt. When we were young, we thought adults get to do whatever they want and have all the fun! However, as adults we found out that when we gave in to our compulsions, we felt guilty and ashamed. We didn’t feel free as we had hoped. In addition, the fruit of our bad decisions brought about headache and heartache, which didn’t make us feel good. Jesus came to set us free from guilt and shame of the past in order to walk free from its shackles.
Freedom from self:We are free now from serving self. We used to be dominated by every whim of the flesh moving us in the direction of self gratification, self service, and our passions. Some of us may have tendencies towards addictions, others may just feel unmotivated or lazy. Whatever the case maybe, we don’t have to serve self any longer. Self is not our master anymore!
Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. Colossians 2:16
Free from others’ expectations: This is a big one and some of us are still working on this issue. We are free from the expectations of family, culture, and religion. The people around us knowingly and unknowingly pressured us to conform to their expectations. Some families have a great deal of pressure on education or schooling. Others want to dictate the kind of person one should marry. Others expect a certain lifestyle from their adult children. Whether we follow the expectation of others or rebel against it, we can still be bound by it. When we become a Christian, Jesus sets us free to follow Him and please Him alone!
The above scripture tells us that now we have a responsibility to not allow ourselves to fall back into the bondage of the past. We have to fight for our freedom in order not to get entangled by it again!
Are you free in all these areas? Praise God if you are. If you are not completely free, ask the Lord to show you what is stopping your progress.
Christ set us free in order to launch us into purpose. In the next devotional I’ll share about the purpose of freedom.
