One – Freedom from the bondage of sin. The apostle Paul said, “But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life” (Romans 6.22). Before we were saved we were the servants of sin. The sinful desires of our fallen humanity dominated our lives in thought, word, and deed. But when by faith we confessed our sin and asked God to forgive us, we were born again spiritually and set free from the dominion of sin. In Jesus we no longer have to serve sin. Sin is no longer the master of my life, Jesus is now my Lord.
Two – Freedom from the eternal penalty of sin. Paul said in the same verse that we are set free from sin to serve Jesus which in the end brings everlasting life. The service to Jesus does not bring everlasting life, it is the relationship with Him by faith that brings everlasting life. At the moment I trusted Jesus by faith as my personal Lord and Savior, He forgave my sin and gave me His righteousness. He removed my sin guilt and replaced it with His perfect holiness. The reality of salvation by faith in Jesus Christ is that we have passed from death unto life (see John 5.24). The man or women who dies in their sin will have to pay for their sin eternally in a place of punishment called the eternal lake of fire. But for those who respond to God’s loving offer of grace by confessing their sin, repenting of their sin, and asking Jesus to forgive their sin, they receive eternal life to be realized in a place called heaven.
Three – Freedom from the law. The law of God was given to the Jews as the revelation of God’s standard of holiness. The Ten Commandments, for example, represent God’s requirement for us in our relationship with Him and our relationship with one another. No one has ever been able to keep the Ten Commandments perfectly in thought or deed. That means the law is a perpetual reminder of my failure toward God. Every day when I see the standard of holiness set forth in God’s law I am reminded of how far short I come of meeting that standard. But when I trusted Jesus as my Lord and Savior, I was set free from the condemnation of the law. The standard of holiness that I cannot attain by my own efforts was given to me by grace in Christ. Jesus kept the whole law perfectly, He never sinned as He walked upon this earth in human form. When I was saved by faith in Him, His perfect obedience became mine. I am no longer condemned by the law for I am in Christ.
Four – Freedom to obey God. The day I was saved by faith in Christ, the Holy Spirit took up permanent residence in me. The moment I was saved I received freedom by the power of God to obey Him and live so as to bring honor and glory to His name. It is by the delivering power of God the Holy Spirit that I am enabled to obey the Word of God. I have been set free to live as God wants me to live.
Have you been set free in Christ? If not I pray you will consider His offer of salvation by grace through faith today.
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