Free

Galatians 5:1 NIV 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.

Freedom…if you ask most people to define it, they will quickly respond with something similar to the Cambridge dictionary: the right to do, say, or think whatever you want. But is that the type of freedom that Paul was speaking about when he wrote, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free”? If we are still bound to our own personal wishes and desires, are we really free?

Any discussion of freedom needs to include two key questions: what am I being set free from, and what am I set free to be and do? Thankfully, scripture is clear on the answer to both questions. In his letter to the Romans, Paul proclaimed, “So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death” (Romans 8:1-2 NLT). When we surrender our lives to Christ, accepting the truth that we could never pay for our own sin and receive His shed blood as the perfect and final payment, we are set free from the power of sin. We are immediately a new creation; old things (including slavery to sin) are gone and all things become new (2 Corinthians 5:17). The enemy desperately fears the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives and will use condemnation, shame, guilt, and fear to sever the lifeline to God and to pull us back into bondage. “But now you celebrate your freedom from your former master—sin. You’ve left its bondage, and now God’s perfect righteousness holds power over you as his loving servants” (Romans 6:18 TPT).

We are now free to begin a lifelong journey of surrender, growing in our relationship with a loving Heavenly Father and seeing our lives transformed into His image. Free from righteousness based on performance. Free from the past, our sin is thrown as far as the east from the west, never to be remembered by God (Psalm 103:12). Free from a life where others try to control with labels and accusations. True freedom is moment-by-moment receiving His unconditional love, grace, and mercy while fulfilling God’s purpose and destiny for our lives. Not as we please or under someone else’s expectations, but as the Holy Spirit leads, revealing God’s glory in every aspect of our lives.

2 Corinthians 3:17-18 states, “For the Lord is Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” Every Christ-follower is on this transformation journey. We each start the journey from the same point, the moment of receiving Jesus Christ as Savior. There is only one way, but the itinerary and pace of the journey have been established by the Lord and are unique for each of us. The shed blood of Jesus and power of the Holy Spirit bring us freedom to know God intimately every step of the journey.

This journey of freedom and transformation is beautifully described by the writer of Hebrews: “let us cast off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles and run the race before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:1-2). The freedom provided to us by Jesus is not the right to do, say, or think whatever you want, but the freedom to be loved and accepted, to fully live in the relationship God desired when he created you, running the race he has destined you to win. Receive your ultimate freedom and become all that God created you to be.

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Gary and Sandy Anthony    

Psalms 118:5 NLT In my distress I prayed to the Lord, and the Lord answered me and set me free.

John 8:32 NLT And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

2 Corinthians 3:17-18 NLT For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 

2 Timothy 1:7 TPT For God will never give you the spirit of fear, but the Holy Spirit who gives you mighty power, love, and self-control.

John 6:63 NIV The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life.

Romans 8:14-15 NLT For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, Abba, Father.

2 Corinthians 3:6 NLT He has enabled us to be ministers of his new covenant. This is a covenant not of written laws, but of the Spirit. The old written covenant ends in death; but under the new covenant, the Spirit gives life.

Galatians 5:13-14 NLT For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: Love your neighbor as yourself.

Psalms 119:44-45 TPT I will observe your laws every moment of the day and will never forget the words you say. I will walk with you in complete freedom, for I seek to follow your every command.

Acts 13:38-39 TPT So listen, friends! Through this Jesus, the forgiveness of sins is offered to you. Everyone who believes in him is set free from sin and guilt—something the law of Moses had no power to do.

Romans 6:22-23 NLT But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

1 Peter 2:16 TPT As God’s loving servants, you should live in complete freedom, but never use your freedom as a cover-up for evil.

Colossians 1:21-22 TPT Even though you were once distant from him, living in the shadows of your evil thoughts and actions, he reconnected you back to himself. He released his supernatural peace to you through the sacrifice of his own body as the sin-payment on your behalf so that you would dwell in his presence. And now there is nothing between you and Father God, for he sees you as holy, flawless, and restored.

Luke 4:18-19 (Isaiah 61:1-2) NIV The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

Psalms 34:4 NLT I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears.

Psalms 34:19 NASB The afflictions of the righteous are many but God rescues him from them all.