“So if the Son sets you free, you really will be free.” (John 8:36, CSB)
One of God’s precious promises is freedom. We often think about freedom in terms of being free from something. Free from want, free from oppression, free from slavery, free from the curse of sin, free from darkness – all true in Christ. “The Spirit of the Lord God is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners;” (Isaiah 61:1, CSB)
And yet, there is another side of freedom, the freedom towards something. We are free to worship and commune with God. The curtain separating man from God is torn apart. Anywhere and at any time, we can talk to God freely. We are free to grow in Christ. We are free to spread the Good News of Christ to the world. We are free to love the unlovable, care for the unwanted, and lift up those still chain-bound by the world, the flesh, and the devil.
With freedom and liberty comes choices. We aren’t required to worship – we choose to worship. We aren’t required to pray – we choose to. We aren’t required to go to church – we want to. We choose to lay down our old selves to live freely for Christ.
Colossians 3:1-17 describes attitudes and actions we are “take off” and “put on.” All of them are expressed as a choice – expressions of freedom and liberty. Seek, set, put, let, do. This is our freedom.
“So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Therefore, put to death what belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, God’s wrath is coming upon the disobedient, and you once walked in these things when you were living in them. But now, put away all the following: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and filthy language from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self. You are being renewed in knowledge according to the image of your Creator. In Christ there is not Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all. Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and dearly loved, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a grievance against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you are also to forgive. Above all, put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. And let the peace of Christ, to which you were also called in one body, rule your hearts. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell richly among you, in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another through psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Colossians 3:1–17, CSB)
Other verses for this promise (Compiled by David Wilkerson)
- John 8:32
- John 16:13
- Romans 8:2
- 2 Corinthians 3:17
- Isaiah 9:4
- Romans 6:22
- Psalm121:7-8
- Isaiah 61:1
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