My God is a God of Freedom. A God of Emancipation, Liberation, and Deliverance. A God of Restoration, Reclamation, and Revelation. My God is a God of Joy, Peace, and Love. My God does not settle for less but, in every opportunity, seeks to give more to those without. My God is the embodiment of new beginnings and the avenger of what is lost.
The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
Luke 4:18
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free…
If we look at the Bible in its entirety, the story of Israel from Adam until Jesus is a rescue mission. God sent his only Son to set us free from sin to embrace freedom within Christ. Over and over again we see a trend of Israel becoming a slave to a foreign nation, and their minds and hearts to be lost, and God sending a Judge/Savior/King to free them from their bondage. This is literal but also a larger metaphor for life. God intended us to have a certain fullness, freedom, and joy in our lives. Freedom in the physical, mental, and spiritual.
Father God sent His Son Jesus Christ to free us from the curse of sin, the lies of the enemy, and the weakness of the body. The Old Testament is a chronicle of how humanity, on its own volition, does not have the ability to defeat sin or maintain the virtue required for a peaceful and fruitful life in relationship with God. There might be moments of integrity and focus, but eventually, we will fade and fall victim to sin again. We do not have the ability to reestablish a connection with the Lord on our own and will be stuck repeating the same cycles forever.
Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool. For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.
Hebrews 10:11-14
Jesus steps in as the second Adam. Allowing for all of the wrath of God to be poured out on Himself, and pays the ultimate price for our sin to redeem us for all time: past, present, and future. That doesn’t mean that sin doesn’t exist anymore but now we have a way to be redeemed and returned to our Father. We have freedom.
But wait, there are moments when various biblical writers talk about being a “slave for Christ”. How do we have a God of Justice and Freedom but are told to be slaves to Him? Weren’t we already “slaves to sin” as the Bible reiterates? Yes, but the Bible uses slaves of Christ to highlight that we were bought for a price. After we were bought and paid for with the price of Christ’s death, we were free. We were once owned and bound to sin from our birth, now we are indebted and freed by Father God.
So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
John 8:36
In slavery (or indebtedness) to Christ but freedom from sin, there are benefits and responsibilities. The moment you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you automatically have access to multiple types of freedom. You are free from death, disease, sin, evil spirits, lack, and the world’s systems. At the same time, we are required to do one extremely hard task for the rest of our lives: Be the best representative for Christ that we can be.
Being a great Christ Representative means that we “cannot serve two masters” by still willfully living in sin (our former master) while proclaiming freedom. It also means that to be a great representative, we also must look attractive to other people to even want to be free. We have to reflect God’s goodness while showing others why Christ’s life is the example to follow. Freedom has its responsibilities but also its perks.
If you have any ideas or thoughts you would like to share, please leave them in the comments below.
Turn Your Brightness Up!!
#BeMagnificent🔆