Walking free...

Before we can look at walking free, we first need to know why we are not free to start with. In order for us to do this, we need to take a look at the enemy.

Satan was an angel who fell because of pride. He wanted to be like God. Because of this sin he was cast out of heaven together with a third of the angels (Is. 14:12-13).

He then decided to tempt man with the same sin that caused his own fall. He made Adam and Eve believe that they could be like God. He sparked selfish pride in their hearts (Gen. 3:4-5).

When they had made the choice to submit to this pride, they had made idols of themselves by putting their own desires above God.

That was the fall of man. That was how sin entered into the world (Rom. 5:12). 

All sin are rooted in selfish pride. People sin because they want to satisfy their selfish desires. From stealing, to lying to murdering. All sin boils down to man bowing before his own desires. 

That is why God gave the law. The Ten Commandments encourages us to live a life of love for God and each other (Deut. 5:6-22, Mat.22:37-40). If you read the guidelines on how to behave as a Christian, in Rom. 12:9-21, you will see that it clearly describes an unselfish lifestyle. The nine character traits of the Fruit of the Spirit are also unselfish character traits (Gal. 5:22-23). In other words, God desires of us to stop acting in our selfish pride.

Sin brings destruction. People suffer because of the actions that come from selfish thoughts. In selfish pride people won’t hesitate to satisfy their desires at the cost of others. Sometimes we suffer at the hand of other people’s actions and sometimes because of our own, because, we are all born into sin (Gal 5:19-20, Rom 7:15, 19-20).

Mankind are also suffering because of the curse put upon this world when Adam and Eve had sinned. Gen. 3:17 tells us that God cursed the ground (the earth) because of Adam’s sin. God’s penalty for sin is death (Rom. 8:20-21, Rom 6:23).

There is also a curse on us for not being able to adhere to all of God’s commands (Gal. 3:10).

So, in a nutshell, we are bound by our sin-nature and we are bound by the penalty (curse) of sin. We are not free.

Now here’s the good news! God provided a way for us to walk free from this bondage! He did this by becoming sin. By becoming cursed. By paying the penalty of sin on our behalf. All of this He did through Jesus Christ. His Son. Jesus is the Word who created all things in the beginning. He is God Himself.

[Jhn 1:1-3, 14 NKJV] 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. ... 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

[Rom 3:23-24 NLT] 23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God's glorious standard. 24 Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. 

[Gal 3:13 NLT] 13 But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree." 

[Eph 1:7 NLT] 7 He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. 

[Act 4:12 NLT] 12 There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved."

Did you get all of that? If not, stop reading what I’m saying right now and go back to these Bible verses. Read them carefully. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you comprehend what you are reading. Only when a feeling of hope starts bubbling up inside of your heart, come back and continue reading this post. 

Are you back? Ok. Let’s now look at what we need to do to obtain this freedom. Peter told the people to repent and be baptized for the remission of sin (Acts 2:38). The word “remission” used here in the Greek is “aphesis” which means: “exemption from the consequences of an offense.” According to the Collins Dictionary the definition for “remission” is: “discharge or release from penalty, obligation etc.”

In other words, you can get exemption from the penalty of sin (Rom. 8:1).

How do I get that remission, you ask? Well, keeping in mind what Jesus went through in order for us to have it, our part is quite easy…

Repent. Confess. Believe. Be baptized.

This is not my own recipe for salvation. This is what we are told to do by the Word of God.  Read it for yourself: 

[Rom 10:9 NLT] 9 If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.                                                                                                                        

[Act 2:38 NKJV] 38 Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

[Mar 16:16 ESV] 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

Our relationship with God was destroyed by the fall of man, but is now restored again through Jesus Christ. 

[Rom 5:9-11 NLT] 9 And since we have been made right in God's sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God's condemnation. 10 For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. 11 So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God. 

If you want this restored relationship with God, if you want exemption from death, you need to follow the Bible’s recipe for salvation. That is what it means to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour. To be born again (John 1:12-13, John 3:3, 1 Peter 1:23). Read Salvation explained for more guidance on this important decision.  

Ok, now we know how to walk free from the penalty of sin. But sin is not going to disappear the moment I’m born again. How do I walk free from sin itself? Is it even possible?

Yes it is. You just need to realize that the old, sinful you, are dead. Read these verses from Romans 6:

[Rom 6:4, 6, 11, 14 NLT] 4 For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives. ... 6 We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. ... 11 So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus. ... 14 Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God's grace. 

We need to stop walking in sin. Sin does not have a hold on us anymore. We can walk free from sin. In order for us to do that we need to change our thinking. We must realise that our old, sinful nature was crucified with Christ and that we now have a new life in Christ (2 Cor. 5:15, 17).

We must allow the Holy Spirit to renew our thoughts and govern our actions. He will help us to overcome our sinful nature. He also reminds us to obey the words of Jesus. All the teachings of Jesus are against selfish pride (Eph. 4:23-24, Gal. 5:16, 25, John 14:26). We must follow his commands.

You can walk free. God provided a way for you to do that.

What are you waiting for? Take it.

God bless

Madeleine

All images: Pixabay