Freedom in Christ

Here in the USA, we’ll soon be celebrating how our nation declared, then won its independence long ago.  We gather together with friends and family to celebrate our freedoms.

I love all the July 4th festivities… and it reminds me that the very best kind of freedom is the freedom God offers us through His son, Jesus Christ! Now, that freedom is definitely worth celebrating, right?

Thank you, Jesus, for setting us free from the curse of death and the yoke of slavery to sin!

Here are some verses from God’s word that highlight the freedom we have in Christ Jesus:

“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us,” Gal 3:13a

“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” Gal 5:1

“And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32

“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” John 8:36

And this entire passage is about freedom and new life through Christ:

5For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Rom 6:5-11)

We hope that as you celebrate and thank God for our nation’s freedom, you’ll also praise Him for the very best freedom ever—that found in Jesus!

If you’d like to read more about this type of freedom, DND team writer, Lisa Burgess, has written much about it on her blog. Here are a few links to her posts:

• Read here about how  Christ erases the old charges and opens the prison cells to let us go home.

• Lisa reminds us that being pardoned when we deserved to “go to jail” inspires us to pursue holy lives.

• In this poetic piece, Lisa captures the feeling of reveling in the freedom from sin-slavery.

• Read how God takes our condemnation and replaces it with grace.

What makes you especially thankful for the freedom Christ has given you? How has this freedom changed your life?