Today, on day 19, we open the Advent calendar door to one of the most misunderstood gifts by those outside of Christianity. To unbelievers, it seems like the Christian faith is bondage to a list of rules and limitations that cramp one’s style and limit how you can live your life. This is a gross misunderstanding of Christian freedom.
True freedom does not mean you are not under someone else’s authority. The truth is we are either enslaved by sin or we are ruled by Christ, there is no alternative option.
Before Jesus died on the cross, God’s people were bound by the law he provided to guide them towards moral living. The law was never supposed to save anyone, but instead, pointed forward to the One who would fulfil the law perfectly – the only sinless man Jesus Christ. After Jesus overcame sin and death on the cross he set sinners free from the bondage of sin, and the Holy Spirit now writes the law on our hearts, guiding our lives to follow and glorify God. This is true Christian freedom. (Source.)
As believers, there is a strong temptation to return to the law. We can try to be good people and make better choices to earn God’s love, but that is not freedom. Freedom is knowing that “We cannot become good people on our own. We need a liberator. We need an external power to set us free. Until then our situation is hopeless”- Jared Wilson.
God sent King Jesus to be our liberator, saving us from enslavement to sin and death when we could not do anything to save ourselves. When we place our faith in Christ’s finished work on the cross, we willingly become slaves to Christ.
Practically, this means that we do not follow the 600+ laws found in the Old Testament, but instead, we live our lives to honour and glorify God. “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). We love God above all and love others as Jesus loved us, selflessly and completely. This influences every aspect of our lives. As we discussed on day 5 – only God is perfect. We cannot achieve perfection and he doesn’t expect us to. He has done all the work for us so in gratitude, we glorify him with every aspect of our lives.
In Christ, we are thus free from condemnation, eternal death and separation from God (Romans 8:1). We are not free to live however we want (that is antinomianism and unbiblical).
“In the end, the freedom of the Christian means that no person can condemn us if Christ is for us. It means we can have the confidence of our justification before God even when our doubts condemn us. God justifies us by an alien righteousness outside of us. He declares us free. No person, no doubt, and no earthly power can condemn us if God has declared us free in Christ.
This is Christian freedom.” (Source)
Do you believe you are free in Christ?
Click the link below to let me know.