True Freedom in Christ

Is “freedom in Christ” a license to do whatever you want, to follow your desires without restraint?

Everyone seeks freedom. Especially in the West, freedom is considered the highest virtue. But “freedom in Christ” is different from political, economic, or personal freedom. In fact, some of the most severely oppressed people in history have experienced complete freedom in Christ. The Bible tells us that as created beings, no one is truly free. In Romans 6, Paul explains that we are all slaves. We are either slaves to sin, which leads to death, or slaves to righteousness, which leads to sanctification. Slaves to sin cannot free themselves from it. But the Lord Jesus redeemed us with the blood of the cross. We aren’t just hired by the Lord; we belong to Him (Romans 8:9). Through the cross, we are delivered from the penalty and bondage of sin, and we become servants of Christ, the property of our Savior.

The Lord Jesus said, “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36). Now Christians can truly say with Paul, “For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2). True freedom in Christ isn’t about doing whatever we want or satisfying our fleshly desires. It’s about being reconciled with God and living for Him. The complete peace and joy that come from the Lord, experienced in the spirit, are the fruits of true freedom in Christ.

We have been set free from sin by the Son of God. The Christian life is about dying to ourselves and being raised from the dead in a new way of life (Romans 6:4). When our flesh indulges in sin, we are essentially dragging around a corpse, full of decay and death. The only way to completely bury it is through the power of the Holy Spirit, who is the sole source of strength. We continuously feed our new nature with God’s Word and through prayer, we gain the strength we need to flee the desire to return to old sins.

“Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you obey its lusts” (Romans 6:12). Now that we know the truth, the only true freedom we have is as slaves of Christ.