By Tom Dill – Associate Pastor
Recently, I was meditating on Romans 6:
“Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness…But now being made free from sin and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.” Romans 6:18, 22 KJV
I sensed the Lord asking me if I believed what I read. I replied, “Of course Lord, I know it’s true, but I don’t know if I’ve ever received it in my heart.”
So, I asked myself, “Do I live that way in my thought life?”
Proclaim Your Freedom
There are many scriptures that proclaim my freedom. A few of those are:
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me; because the Lord hath anointed Me to preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound” Isaiah 61:1 KJV
“Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” Galatians 5:1 KJV
“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:32 KJV
Yes, the Lord wants me free. How do I get that into my soul?
Trust in Him
My wife and I were spending time with our youngest daughter and her friend. I asked them, “What does freedom mean to you?”
Her friend piped up and said, “I think it’s about trust.” She had given me an answer I didn’t expect.
I didn’t realize that I was trying to figure out what work I needed to perform in order to receive.
When I first started to write this, my goal was for us to see that there is much more available than we have received. The Lord wants us to be free—unencumbered by sin and the wrong thinking that keeps us from his goodness and his forgiveness—in order to put us in a place where we can think His thoughts!
In John 5:19, Jesus said that he did what he saw his Father do.
“For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill him, because he had done these things [healed someone and gained popularity] on the Sabbath. But Jesus answered them, ‘My Father has been working until now, and I have been working.’
Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.
Then Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, the son can do nothing of himself, but what he sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the son also does in like manner.” John 5:16-19 NKJV
What a way to live life! What true freedom it would be to only think his thoughts!
Keep the Mind of Christ
There is a line in the movie The Great Debaters where Denzel Washington says, “…to find, take back and keep your righteous mind.” It’s time to let the mind of Christ (Philippians 2:5) rule what we think and say.
Jesus had to know who he was and what he was called to do. When Jesus humbled himself, his Father exalted him (Philippians 2:9).
Freedom doesn’t mean that we can do whatever we want. It does, however, mean that we can do whatever HE wants! When we humble ourselves before Him, he will work in our lives also.
“…for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” Philippians 2:13 NKJV
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:8-10 NKJV
Know Who You Are
Freedom is found when we know who we are in Christ. Galatians describes the battle well.
“As you yield freely and fully to the dynamic life and power of the Holy Spirit, you will abandon the cravings of your self-life. For your self-life craves the things that offend the Holy Spirit and hinder him from living free within you!
And the Holy Spirit’s intense cravings hinder your old self-life from dominating you! The Holy Spirit is the only One who defeats the cravings of your natural life.
So then, the two incompatible and conflicting forces within you are your self-life of the flesh and the new creation life of the Spirit.
But when you are brought into the full freedom of the Spirit of Grace, you will no longer be living under the domination of the law, but soaring above it!
…the cravings of the self-life… are obvious: Sexual immorality, lustful thoughts, pornography, chasing after things instead of God, manipulating others, hatred of those who get in your way, senseless arguments, resentment when others are favored, temper tantrums, angry quarrels, only thinking of yourself, being in love with your own opinions, being envious of the blessings of others, murder, uncontrolled addictions, wild parties, and all other similar behavior.
Haven’t I already warned you that those who use their “freedom” for these things will not inherit the kingdom realm of God!
But the fruit produced by the Holy Spirit within you is divine love in all its various expressions… Joy that overflows, Peace that subdues, Patience that endures, Kindness in action, A life full of virtue, Faith that prevails, Gentleness of heart, and Strength of spirit.
Never set the law above these qualities, for they are meant to be limitless.” Galatians 5:16-23 TPT2016
There is true freedom in letting him be our Savior!