How to Find Freedom in Christ
Before becoming a Christian, I would hear a lot about how Jesus died for my sins and how there was freedom in Christ. I always found that so confusing. When I thought of the word sin, I thought of murder and robbery and going out of your way to be unkind to people.
I didn’t do any of those things, so I truly didn’t understand what it meant for Jesus to have died for my sins. And I didn’t need to be freed – I live in America, the land of the free!
I came to Christ because of suffering in my life, not because of needing a savior.
Thank God for the Holy Spirit and his gentle guidance. Over time, as I got to know Jesus through the Word, I slowly started to understand how to recognize the sin in my life, and once I understood how that sin put me in bondage, I knew I needed to learn how to find freedom in Christ!
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How to Find Freedom in Christ
John 8:31-38
31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 33 They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”
34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. 35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. 38 I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”
Abide in the Word.
The first instruction that Jesus declares in the above passage is to “abide in my word”. He goes on to say that you are his disciples if you abide in his word. A few dictionary definitions of abide include “to conform to” and “to accept without objection.”
Jesus is asking us to read the Word, understand and accept it as truth, and do what it says. Both our hearts and actions matter when we are abiding in the word because we need to first believe it as truth and then follow that truth.
Know the truth.
Jesus says that when we abide in his word, we are his disciples and we will know the truth. When we know the truth, then we are free.
Those listening to him did not even comprehend their bondage. They believed that because they were following Abraham’s religion, they were not enslaved and therefore did not need to be freed.
We, as people, can sometimes have the tendency to turn to rules and regulations in order to justify ourselves. As long as our actions look good, we can forget to look at the state of our hearts. Jesus is looking into our hearts and wants our outside actions to be a reflection of our inside, rather than a mask covering our true feelings.
Turn away from sin.
Once you are freed by the Son, you are freed from your slavery to sin. Sin no longer has a hold on you. In this life, we will still face temptations for sin, but when we are tempted, God always provides us a way out (1 Corinthians 10:13).
You don’t have to dwell in that place of sin and shame. You can shed your shackles and reside with the Son in his master’s house. Choose to turn away from your sin, and trust that God will provide you a way out of your temptation.
Dear God, thank you so much for sending Christ and for offering us direction through your Word. We are so grateful that we live in a time that we have access to the full gospel, and we are grateful that we can read the truth that Christ offers in the Word.
I pray that as we pursue a relationship with Christ, we will learn how to find freedom in Christ and shed the shackles of slavery to sin. Thank you for pursuing us and offering us freedom in you. In Jesus’ name, amen.
There is so much sin in this life that we can be enslaved by, but we don’t have to stay stuck in that place. We can learn how to find freedom in Christ by abiding in the Word, knowing the truth that Christ offers us, and turning away from our sin to a place of freedom in Christ. God is faithful to meet us where we are, and when Christ offers us freedom, we are free indeed.
Blessings Friend.
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