Your Freedom as a Follower of Christ

 

Your  Freedom as a Follower of Christ

 

The question is: are you walking in that Freedom?

 

The Scriptures are very clear: we are free, and how that freedom should be used to bless, not to harm.  So, the question that must be answered is: how are you doing with that freedom?

 

Let us begin with Galatians 5:1, “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.”  Many, I believe, dismiss this verse, believing they have never been a slave.  So, allow me to remind you that all women in the time of Christ were seen as not slaves but more as property; Jesus set them free.  Also, many a person who goes by the title of Christian is a slave to a world system of bondage to many things; just to list one, a credit card.  The church often does not stand firm, and Covid 19 is a great example of the Church allowing fear to control, and not God.

 

2 Corinthians 3:17, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”  If you believe by faith in Christ, action on the Cross, taking your place, paying for your sins, then the Spirit of God is living in you.  Jesus makes that clear in John 14:20: “On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.”  We have been enveloped in God’s Spirit.  The Spirit of God is where you are, so allow the Lord to give you freedom over your trials.

 

Romans 14:5, “One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.”  I have experienced that many of my brothers and sisters in Christ have freedoms that I do not have.  As a very young believer in Jesus a man I looked up to told me, he had the freedom to go to a bar and have a beer, and witness to the guy next to him, I knew that I could not do so.  I do understand this Scripture was referring to the Sabbath, but we are told not to be a judge of others' actions unless they are not abiding in Christ.  It is easy to be a Pharisee and judge others; I know I’ve been one.

 

Colossians 2:16 is very clear on how one who is a follower of Christ should act toward a fellow follower.  “Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or about a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath.”

 

1 Corinthians 8:9, “But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.”  With freedom comes responsibility.  If you are a follower of Christ and God gives you the freedom to have an adult beverage, that freedom comes with a lot of responsibility.  First, it should be in moderation; second, you should remember that many of your brothers and sisters in Christ do not have that freedom.  A wise person would not ever willingly cause a brother in Christ to go back into such bondage of alcoholism.

   

As a follower of Christ, one must be looking at how his walk affects those who are watching them.  Your children, your family, your friends, and your neighbors. Galatians 5:13-14: “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.  For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  As a person in Christ and Christ in us, we are free to do as the Spirit of God allows us, but not to use that freedom to harm anyone.  So yes, you are free, but you are also reasonable to live out that freedom to bring glory to your Lord.  So, the question you must answer is: are you walking in the gift of freedom, no matter your trials or circumstances?

 

Examine oneself: 2 Corinthians 13:5,  “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!”

 

At the age of 27, I was confronted with men in a Bible Study that knew the Jesus I knew about. As I examine myself one night as I enter my motel room, and hear a voice telling me this is the last time my Spirit will deal with you.  I've been in that Bible study with four guys, one being my barber.  It became clear that they had a personal relationship with Jesus.  I tried making a deal with the Lord, and it was clear He offered to confess your sins; mine were many, and I asked Jesus to forgive me and to come into my life. As I said, I believe a lot about Jesus.  I believe He was God only Son, I believe He was born by a virgin by the name of Mary.  I also believe He died on a Cross and paid my sin debt.  But I was not willing to allow Him to be the Lord of my life.  That night I got to the hotel Bible it open to Romans 10, and my eye went to verse 9-10.  It reads: “Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart, one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.”  I ask Jesus to forgive me, and to come into my life as Lord and Master.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice