BE TRULY FREE

Many of us believe that freedom is defined by how we can choose how we will live – whether that be political freedom, the freedom to choose our identity, or the right to do whatever we want. But God reminds us that true freedom isn’t the ability to do as we please, but the power to do what is right! Christ has already set us free, but what does that freedom look like in our daily lives?    

FREE IN CHRIST

Through Christ, we have been set free! Sadly, many people do not experience that freedom because they fall back into their old patterns of living. Before Christ, we were under the law of sin, but through the Holy Spirit, a new law overcomes it – just like the law of aerodynamics overcomes the law of gravity. We grow in freedom by knowing the truth (John 8:32), but to know the truth we must ground ourselves in Scripture. We are saved by grace, not by works (Acts 15:10-11, Ephesians 2:8-9), and good works are a result of our salvation rather than the basis of it. Once we are saved, how should we then live?  

FREE TO LOVE

As Christians, our faith isn’t measured by how well we follow the law. Rather, our faith is displayed in our desire to do God’s will and how our love for God translates to our love for others (Galatians 5:6). We are called to serve one another through love, and that means loving like we have never loved before: selflessly and like Christ! Moreover, our freedom allows us to pursue a genuine relationship with Jesus.

FREE TO LIVE BY THE HOLY SPIRIT

The Christian life isn’t hard, it’s impossible! God knows our struggles before we even faced them, and that’s why He commands us to “walk by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:15). True believers may fall into sin, but they will not stay in it because the Holy Spirit convicts them. Moreover, a Spirit-led life produces the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). By abiding day by day in the Holy Spirit, God gives us the freedom and strength to overcome the desires of the flesh (Galatians 5:17-18). True Christianity is a life surrendered to Christ and empowered by the Spirit.