freedom in Christ Archives | Being Confident Of This

You may have heard of the “license to sin” as some call it – that tendency to swing the pendulum so far to the side of grace that sin holds little weight. I think a more apt description of this problem is this: the desire to be your own boss.

In mankind the desire to be the boss revealed itself at the very beginning of time. I can just hear Adam and Eve’s thoughts now…It’s my choice. It’s not going to hurt anything to take just one bite. Besides, it looks really good, and why would God want to keep us from something that is soooo gooooood if He really loves us?

Here’s the problem as we see it in our culture today.

We have elevated grace to the false position of self-rule and thus minimized sin.

We believe we can make our own choices because Jesus already paid the price, right? We’re already forgiven. Besides, there’s that verse in Galatians 5 that says “it is for freedom that Christ came to set us free…” (Gal. 5:1)

We use the word “freedom” to justify our own sin.

How sad that we allow the Enemy to use a beautiful thing like freedom to turn us away from Christ and toward our own fleshly desires! Such a move is reminiscent of the Screwtape Letters.

The problem with such thinking lies in the meaning we assign to the word freedom. We like to think that freedom means self-autonomy – nobody can tell me what to do! That’s what the world teaches us to believe.

Yes, it certainly is for freedom that Christ came, but not just any freedom and certainly not the type of self-serving freedom that the world teaches.

Christ came not for the freedom to do whatever we want but for freedom from the slavery of sin itself. That’s the part that we so often get wrong, friends, and I’m just as guilty.

We make believe we have no master but ourselves when we choose our way over God’s way. Ironically, when we do so we open the door to the master of sin, Satan himself. We return to slavery of our own free will.

Romans 6:15-16

“What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?” (emphasis mine)

If we persist in sin by denying its power over us or downplaying its effects, then we deceive ourselves.

We willingly choose to let the enemy have his way with us.

And that, my friends, is a dangerous choice. Sure, we know our eternal destination is secure if we’ve truly accepted Christ as our Savior, but that does not make us exempt from the present reality of worldly consequences.

In the same chapter of Galatians where we read about freedom in Christ, we find this admonition:

Galatians 5:13

“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.”

And in the next chapter of Galatians we find this verse about reaping what we sow:

Galatians 6:7-8

“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.”

A quick examination of sin in the early church demonstrates deadly consequences of sin here on Earth:

When the Corinthian church misused the Lord’s Supper, Paul claimed that sin was the reason for illness and even death among them. (I Cor. 11:30)
When Ananias and Sapphira acted hypocritically by lying about a field they sold and holding back a portion of the money that they claimed to give to the church, they were struck dead on the spot, one right after the other. (Acts 5:1-11)
In 1 Corinthians 10, Paul cautions that Old Testament stories of God’s wrath against sin serve as warnings to us now.
Even certain New Testament men were mentioned by name and “given over to Satan” so that they might learn their wrong and be restored. (1 Cor. 5:5, 1 Tim. 1:20)

Can you imagine any worse consequence than being given over to Satan for a lesson?

We may believe that our sin isn’t hurting anyone else but ourselves, but we would be wrong on that count, too. We can bet that the enemy will seize any chance to lead us back into bondage… and drag a few others along with us.

Consider the generations upon generations upon generations of mankind separated from Life itself by a single choice? What an accomplishment that was for the snake.

And won’t the enemy be giddy with delight when sin does come to light? Relentless guilt. Reputations ruined. The lost turned away from truth, stumbling over our hypocrisy. People disillusioned, maybe even wounded.

Sometimes whole churches and ministries, yes even nations and civilizations, fall simply because of our desire to rule ourselves, be our own bosses.

Thus, we fall prey to Satan’s great deception.

The truth is that the often misquoted and misused “freedom in Christ” found in Galatians is about so much more than freedom from rules and freedom from sin; it is freedom to relationship with the God of the universe.

The veil has been torn!

We no longer require a priest to help us with our sin-debt, to mediate between us and God. We are no longer separated by sin! Because of Christ, we come to the Lord directly, and in return, He gives us life. We are part of His family.

Even more, our Father gives us every good thing we need to avoid sin and do right! (I Cor. 10:13, Heb.13:20-21)

According to the Word, real freedom is found by letting Christ be our master and making ourselves slaves to righteousness.

It’s the great paradox of grace.

Only by choosing the Living God as our boss can we be released from the bonds of self and sin which ultimately lead to death.

True freedom in Christ, then, is a direct result of the grace that rescues us from death and plunges us into new life.

Romans 6:1-2

“What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?”

How?

How can we live in it any longer?

This is grace, friends, that the Creator of the Universe would choose a lowly sinner and mold him into the image of His most precious and perfect Son.

Anything less and we limit the power of grace – we miss out on the best aspect of the gift of Salvation!

Do you long for true freedom, friend?

Quit deceiving yourself.

Heed the Word

and make Christ the boss of you.

Jen 🙂

Sharing with: Grace and Truth, Missional Women, The Weekend Brew

I’m linking this up with Lisa Jo for Five Minute Friday today (even though I wrote it this afternoon) because she chose the word Grace, which I obviously had already written on today! 🙂 Funny how that works out sometimes. I considered writing another post, but I just feel like this is fitting. So, I hope my Five Minute Friday friends don’t mind too much. 🙂 It took way more than 5 minutes, but shouldn’t take much longer than that to read!

When this blog first began, I mentioned that God created all of us sisters in Christ unique from one another, and that He did so with a purpose! Lately, I’ve been reminded of that fact. Not only are we unique as individuals, but our walks with the Lord will be unique from one another, as well. Thus, the ways in which we live out our faith will vary from person to person.

Paul describes it well in Romans 14:

1 Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters…

4 Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall.

And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.

My weaknesses and strengths will not be the same as your weaknesses and strengths, amen?! Unfortunately, because they are different, I’ll be tempted to compare myself to you, my sisters in Christ, and you to me. As a work-in-progress woman, I’m still learning how to have confidence in the woman God has created me to be.

However, as much as I loathe this tendency to compare, I see another, more destructive risk to this comparison game, the risk of self-righteousness. You see, sometimes I compare myself to another sister in Christ and find her lacking, instead. (Gasp! Shock and Awe! Let’s be honest – it happens more often than we like to admit.)

Of course, it’s not always quite that blatant; sin rarely is. But these thoughts that I don’t even want to acknowledge slowly creep in. I’m so thankful my children are well-behaved (….because so-and-so certainly needs to get a handle on hers). Or perhaps you hide it more cleverly in thoughts like this – I’ve studied the scriptures, so my position is biblical (which would make any opposing position unbiblical by default). When we start thinking we have the corner on the market in knowledge, wisdom, or understanding, look out! We are due for a major fall

Self-righteousness – thinking we can somehow make ourselves right.

How I wish I fell prey to it less often!

Self-righteousness centers around actions and outward appearances rather than the heart itself. Oh, how we like to focus on the outward rather than the inward, sisters. I know because I struggle with it, too!

And that right there is the problem: the tendency to quantify and qualify that which we cannot! The truth is, we’re all on equal footing, all saved by grace alone and not by works, so that we might not boast. But how often do we find ourselves boasting in our minds and hearts? I readily admit; I’m just as guilty. God’s grace cannot be qualified. We cannot and dare not attach strings to something He gives freely! And oh, is His grace big, my sisters! It’s so much more than what I can imagine.

You may parent differently, dress differently, celebrate differently, eat differently, educate differently, and on and on. And the truth is – that’s okay. Part of finding confidence in Christ, learning to be who He created us to be, is also learning to extend that same grace and freedom to others. Can I not rejoice in the freedom to be me, yet still celebrate your freedom to be you?

More truth from Romans 14:

13 Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister. 14 I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean. 15 If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died. 16 Therefore do not let what you know is good be spoken of as evil. 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, 18 because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval. (emphasis mine)

What is the pleasing way? It is not “a matter of eating and drinking,” not a matter of the details, rather it is a matter of “righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit,” choosing to live by the Spirit. That choice brings to mind 1 Cor. 10:3:1

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

In the scope of eternity, the “whatever” doesn’t matter, sisters! The “glory of God” is what matters. Do you see it?! 🙂

I want to shout for joy because our God is so good and gracious! He knows our tendencies to get caught up in frivolous arguments. He spells it out for us – whatever you do – whichever choice you make – if God’s glory is truly the motivation, then go for it, sister!

If we, fellow sisters in Christ, cannot celebrate each other’s choices to follow hard after the Lord, then who can we celebrate with? This world certainly won’t be encouraging and celebrating us in our efforts to live worthy of the calling we have received. Such self-destructive behavior can only be celebrated by the enemy, that twister of truth, creator of lies. And I, for one, do not wish to give him any cause for celebration!

“Beloved, let us love one another,” 1 John 4:7

We are sisters in Christ.

Let’s build each other up in love, lest we all fall prey to the enemy who seeks to devour.

“Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.”

Romans 14:19

United in Christ,

united in Love.

Welcome to the sisterhood,

and let the celebrations begin!

Jen 🙂

I’m linking up with any of these lovely blogs.

The Truth About Freedom in Christ

If we persist in sin by denying its power over us or downplaying its effects, then we deceive ourselves.

This is grace, friends, that the Creator of the Universe would choose a lowly sinner and mold him into the image of His most precious and perfect Son.

Welcome to the Sisterhood