Finally, my own place! No parents, no family, no dorm, just me and my basement flat. I was free!
Hmm, just a minute here. Who is going to fill the fridge? Who is going to make the meals? Who is going to clean the bathroom? Me? And so I learned that I wasn’t free to do only what I wanted when I wanted to.
When the Apostle Paul writes believers that “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free” (Gal 5:1 NIV), he is not suggesting that Christ has secured absolute autonomy for each of us. That kind of freedom is a myth (it’s also scary).
The freedom Paul is talking about has two key aspects. First, believers are free from the power of sin and its penalty. Jesus has paid the redemption price so that we are no longer slaves to idolatrous powers; we are no longer under the curse of sin and death. But there is more! Believers are also free to live out their new identity as adopted children of God. As the Father’s kids the Spirit of Christ abides within us. We now have new capacities to commune with God, to live like Jesus and to participate in God’s mission.
Our liberty in Christ is not heirloom buried away in an attic awaiting the end times. Its a priceless installment of our spiritual inheritance. It is a treasure to be defended and currency to be invested.
What kind of things do you do to stand firm in your freedom? To preserve it? To live it out?
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