Christ died to set us free. Now, what is freedom according to our Lord? Many Christians sometimes assume they can do anything and everything THEY WANT in the name of Jesus, as long as what they do take their to their goal! Or worse, many churches associate this freedom to delivrance from demons only! That’s a misunderstanding of the freedom we have in Christ. My brother, my sister, Christ indeed set us free… from sin and from a long list of laws and regulations. Yet, the Lord’s offered freedom does not open avenues for us to satisfy our own desires because that would lead us back into slavery : “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1). You see, this passage is clear: it is for you not to go back into the slavery of sin that Christ died for you, not only to be delivered from demons, for He Himself is taking care of that! Thanks to Christ, we are now free and able to do what was impossible before, in other words we can live unselfishly, loving and serving the others like He showed us. So, people who appeals to their freedom in Christ to have their own way in life or indulge their own desires are falling back into sin. That is why the Bible warns us that ” ‘I have the right to do anything,’ you say – but not everything is beneficial. ‘I have the right to do anything’– but not everything is constructive. No one should seek their own good, but the good of others” (1 Corinthians 10:23-24). Yes, my friend, what are you doing with the freedom you have found in Christ? You see, the Bible says one crucial thing: “They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered in the wilderness” (1 Corinthians 10:3-5). Many will indeed be surprised when Jesus tell them “I never knew you” (Matthew 7:21-23)… The Kingdom of Heaven has rules, and God has given us the freedom to choose between life and death. You want deliverance or something in your life? Then seek God’s Kingdom first… “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33). Yes, it is the way we live and what we do according to His principles that He is looking at. Let this be a reminder to all us that we should never stop checking ourselves to ensure we are really doing what the Lord has commanded us to do because God is not a man to be fooled, and His freedom offered through the Cross can have real meaning in our lives only when we love and serve our neighbours. Stay blessed in Jesus’ name.
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