Freedom in Christ

Freedom in Christ – what does it mean? What does it look like? How does it work out in practice? How can I enjoy it?

I can’t say I have all the answers to these questions, so would like folk to comment and share their thoughts on this one. I will put some thoughts together, and see where we go from there.

A key passage from the New Testament is Galatians 5:1 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. (NIV) The context, as the next few verses show is that keeping the law, particularly as it related to the Jewish definition of law keeping, was not the way to be free. This is to be again under the yoke of slavery, according to Paul.

Paul is concerned that the believers in Galatia, having begun in faith, were reverting to law keeping, i.e., to legalism, to live the Christian life. Paul says in ch.3:1, You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you?...2…Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? 3 Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? He then adds further down in chapter 3, 11 Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, "The righteous will live by faith." 12 The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, "The man who does these things will live by them." So one thing is becoming very clear, as far as Paul is concerned, our freedom in Christ is based on our faith in Him, and not through any effort on our part to keep the law. This does not give freedom.

In chapter 5, where we started these thoughts, he goes on to say that The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. (v.6) and then in verse 14, The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbour as yourself.” This has followed verse 13 where Paul has just said, … we were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. So a second aspect of this freedom is seen when we are truly loving our neighbour as ourselves, and not living in a selfish and self-centred way. When we serve other people, we are fulfilling the law of Christ. We will then know what it means to be free in Christ.

But how is this achieved? Galatians 5 verse 16 gives a key aspect to the answer. So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 17 For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit…18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. So for us to experience true freedom, it is not by keeping the law, but rather allowing the Spirit to lead and guide us in our daily lives. Paul further adds at the end of chapter 5, Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.(v.24-25) Paul expands this teaching on living and being led by the Spirit in Romans 8. Once again, our relationship to the Spirit is contrasted to living our lives in our own strength and power. The difference is radical. In verse 5, we either have our minds set on what our nature desires, or we live according to the Spirit and have our minds set on what the Spirit desires. Each has its own consequences, either death, or life and peace. Furthermore the mind controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. But for the Christian it is a different story. He is controlled not by the sinful nature, for that has now been put to death (Gal.5:24), but by the Spirit of God who lives in us. And if we are now alive because of the Spirit within, then we have an obligation to live a life controlled by the Spirit, because we are led by the Spirit of God. Paul would say that this kind of life style is freedom in Christ.

However, in Romans 6, Paul talks about being slaves to those we obey (verse 16). We are either a slave of sin, or a slave of righteousness, or of Christ (verse 17-18). The Christian used to be a slave of sin, but now he is the slave of righteousness. But if we are a slave of righteousness, do we really have freedom in Christ? The whole concept of being a slave does not suggest freedom to me. Paul says he is using human terms to explain the new position in Christ (verse 19). He sums up the two positions in the following way in chapter 6 verse 20-22. 20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. 21 What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. Sin is a hard task master, Paul says, because the only benefit we reap from serving that master is death. When we have been set free from sin and have become the slaves of God, the benefit we reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. So how is this new position of being a slave of God and possessing eternal life, freedom? It is living a life of holiness with eternal life as our destiny.

Paul adds a further insight in chapter 7. He uses the illustration of being married. If we are married and have an affair with someone else, we are convicted as an adulterer. However, if our spouse dies, we are then free to marry another without being called an adulterer. So what Paul is saying is that while we were in our sinful state, we were married to another, and we were not free, but when by faith in Christ we put to death our sinful nature, we were free to belong to another, that is to Christ. When we belong to Christ, we become fruitful (verse 4). The fruit that we bore before was for death (verse 5). Now, by dying to what once bound us, we are free to serve in the new way of the Spirit (verse 6).

Paul continues. Sin is the big problem in life. It is what binds us. It is what prevents us from truly enjoying life and living for God. It is what hinders true freedom in our lives. Notice how he shows the power and hold sin has over him and the lack of freedom he has to keep the law. 18 For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do ・this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. 21 So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God's law; 23 but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Paul’s whole argument here is that sin is the master that prevents him from doing the good he wants to do. In fact, it is so strong, that even when he does not want to do something, he finds he cannot stop himself. He is certainly not free in this situation. The sinful nature within us is a powerful force that prevents us from serving God, and doing what is right and good, of loving our neighbour, of pleasing God in everyway. And so his cry for deliverance is seen in verse 24. Who will rescue me from this body of death? The answer is in the next verse 25 Thanks be to God ・through Jesus Christ our Lord! The power of sin has been broken. Or to put it in the words of 1 Corinthians 15:56-57 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Or again, Hebrews 2:14-15 14 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death ・that is, the devil・15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.

So to summarize these thoughts, the freedom we have in Christ is the freedom we have because we have been delivered from the power of sin and evil, so that we can now live a life of righteousness, of keeping the law of love, and pleasing God in every way. We now have the power of the Spirit within to say ‘No’ to sin and temptation, and do what is right. We can now say ‘No’ to our former way of life, and say ‘Yes’ to doing God’s will. So the freedom we now have is the freedom we have because of the power of God within that enables us to do what is right and good.

But how does this freedom show itself in real life? How will it affect the way we live? In what sort of situations do we see this freedom at work in our lives? What about our relationships? Why, for example, will it be possible to go against the flow, to overcome the fear of man, and be different when to obey God will involve that? How will you respond when your friends want to do something you know to be wrong? Does it mean that I can now do what I like as long as it doesn’t hurt anybody? How costly will it be to be free to be different? I would like to hear your comments please. Thanks.