home > Pastor’s Desk > 2023 > October 13th > Freedom in Christ Encompasses Freedom FROM and Freedom FOR

God offers freedom to those who turn to Him in faith, and this, as Pastor Andrew says, deserves a Toyota jump. It is worth celebrating! The freedom the New Testament speaks of is not just any old freedom. In Romans 8:21 Paul speaks of ‘the glorious freedom of God’s children’ (NET). In the same way you might savour a piece of chocolate as it slowly melts in your mouth, allow your spirit to savour the meaning of the freedom that is yours in Christ in all its richness. This single word freedom is densely packed with meaning, and we benefit from taking time to unpack just a little of what it means for believers.

 

The Apostle Paul wrote –

‘For freedom Christ has set us free’
Galatians 5:1

and he refers to the –

‘… freedom that we have in Christ Jesus’
Galatians 2:4

 

 

When Dr Andy Bannister visited recently, he highlighted the importance of questions, so perhaps it’s worth posing a couple here. In considering a believer’s freedom two simple questions prove useful in helping to break it down:

  • From what do believers have freedom?
  • For what are believers set free?

Both Rom 6:18 and Rom 6:22 make it very clear that Christians have been set free from sin, and sin has the power to enslave. Jesus said:

“Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin”
John 8:34

However, sin has another partner in crime, and this is death. Paul explains that sin came into the world through Adam and that death came into the world through sin and spread to all people because each sinned (Rom 5:12). The death Paul refers to is both physical and spiritual and is the penalty for disobeying God’s law.

Sin and death separate us from God. Not even God’s Holy law given to Moses sets people free, because the law is weakened by the sinful nature to the point where it becomes a law of sin and death (Rom 8:2).

There are a few things to consider when looking at sin:

  • Sin can start small and may even seem relatively harmless at times. Yet it is deadly and can grow quickly.
  • Sin can enslave a person and drive their behaviour (Rom 7:15-23).
  • Sin in the life of one person can influence others and lead to mutual destruction (1 Cor 15:33).

Enslavement to sin and death is inescapable without Christ. But the gospel offers great news! In Christ, God offers an end to this slavery and extends freedom. People who are ‘in Christ’ through faith, are set free from the sinful nature which reaps destruction.

The New Testament shows that those who belong to Christ, or who are ‘in Christ’, have more to thank God for than simply being set free from sin and death. The freedom of a believer is so much greater than being released from slavery. (Gal 5:1) tells us that it is ‘for freedom’ that we have been set free.

 

 

Paul’s writings, especially in Galatians and Romans, naturally lead the reader towards another facet of freedom that serves to further enrich our understanding of the Christian gift of freedom. Freedom encompasses the right of enjoying all the privileges or peculiar rights of citizenship or membership; and when a person accepts Christ as Lord, they become a child of God.

“for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.”
Gal 3:26

Being a child of God means being a co-heir with Christ and thereby eligible for all the benefits accorded this position.

The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
Rom 8:16-17

Believers, through faith in Christ are offered the free gift of eternal life in place of slavery to sin and death. What a wonderful exchange. C.S. Lewis saidOnce a man is united to God, how could he not live forever?’ The glorious freedom of a believer is for eternal life, and this is a life the believer doesn’t have to wait for.

Jesus said:

… “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly”.
John 10:10

 

Believers are free to ‘walk in newness of life’ and to be united with Christ in a resurrection like His (Rom 6:4-5). And that is no ordinary monochrome, monotone life. Instead, it is a life of the law of the Spirit (Rom 8:2), and this is the good news offered by the gospel. This life results not in fruit for death (Rom 7:5) like the sinful nature, but results in that which flows naturally from the Spirit, and this includes qualities such as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Gal 5:22-23).

May you live a life of glorious freedom this and every week, enjoying all that God freely offers you ‘in Christ’.

Amen.

Online Discipleship Facilitator

Kate.

Let me know what you think below in the comment section and feel free to share this someone who might benefit from this Pastor’s Desk.

2 Comments

  1. Kim

    I love it Kate, God’s love is SO liberating. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  2. Nicky Marzetti

    Beautifully written. Blessed with freedom.

    Reply

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

COMMISSIONED FOR A PURPOSE

Think about your life for a second. How important are you daily activities? What if I told you that God’s grand plan for the world isn’t just about some extraordinary few, but includes you, right where you are in the tediousness of every day life? You may have heard this sort of thing from an animated and passionate preacher: That the same God who set the stars in place has a purpose for your life that echoes into eternity… sure, that’ll preach, but what if it were actually true?

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO HONOUR SOMEONE’S LIFE’S WORK?

This is the question that’s been on my mind since I stepped into the role of Senior Pastor here at Legana Christian Church. I think we all know what it looks like to deface someone’s life’s work! Back in 2022, there were 38 “Art Attacks” staged by groups like Extinction Rebellion. They went into museums and threw food, paint, and sometimes even glued themselves to significant works of art. In the midst of it all, I’ll be honest, I wasn’t thinking about how I should save the world. Rather, I couldn’t help but think: What had the artist done to deserve such disrespect? What did vandalising art have to do with fossil fuels, cutting down rainforests or large-scale mining? Maybe I missed the point, but this seemed more like childish, attention-grabbing tantrums than meaningful protests.

Looking Forward in Faith and Finishing Well

Have you ever had one of those moments when you just know something significant is about to happen? That feeling where everything in your life has been preparing you for this moment? That sense that, through all the trials and struggles, God has been at work preparing you for ‘such a time as this’? That’s exactly how Bec and I feel as we step into this new season here at Legana Christian Church. From the moment we—Bec, the kids (Nissi, Otto, Mila and Bijou) and I—arrived, I’ve felt so welcomed by the congregation’s warmth and encouragement. The last few years have been a whirlwind for us, but already we feel like part of the family. So, before I say anything else, I’d like to say thank you to the congregation for embracing us wholeheartedly. It really means the world to our family.

WHEN JESUS SPOKE, PEOPLE DID MORE THAN LISTEN

William L. Thompson was born in Ohio in 1847. He studied music as a young and was talented enough to be invited to study music in Germany. After some time in Germany, he returned to America and became a popular song-writer for famous performing artists. But Thompson also began to experience rejections from music publishers. During this difficult phase of his life he turned to Christ. He had begun reading through the Gospels with fresh zeal and discovered that the Jesus described in those Gospels was deeply caring, very tender especially with women and children and anyone who truly turned to Him. Even though he had started his own music publishing company and also a music store in Ohio, his focus and priorities had now changed.
In the 1870s there were many people in the America and the United Kingdom who were coming to Christ under the evangelistic ministry of Dwight L. Moody. Thompson was certainly aware of the great evangelist. He had moved from writing popular songs to writing hymns. He wrote a hymn that he felt was appropriate for the type of evangelistic meetings that Mr. Moody was conducted. He called it, an invitation hymn. It was designed to come after the sermon and led to what had become referred to as ‘the altar call’ where people were invited to receive Christ and become a Christian. The invitation hymn was called, Softly and Tenderly. When D.L. Moody first heard it he insisted that they begin using it in their revival meetings. In fact, it almost became known  as D.L. Moody song! As the aged Mr. Moody was confined to what would be his death-bed, he called for Mr. Thompson and told him: 

DUMB PRAYERS THAT I HAVE PRAYED AND GOD HAS ANSWERED OVER THE YEARS

Over the past nearly 29-years of pastoring Legana I have occasionally mentioned that one day I would write about “the dumb prayers that I’ve prayed.” It’s not really that they are all ‘dumb’ prayers, it’s that they are the kind of prayers that are guaranteed to be answered by God (because they are “surrendered” prayers) but have not been fully considered what God’s answer might entail. I do not consider the more well-known and obvious “dumb” prayers – such as praying for revival to bring in hundreds of lost/lonely/broken souls into the kingdom and then being surprised by God’s answer resulting in exhaustion, burn-out, over-stretched resources, spiritual attacks, and the inevitable pride. Neither do I consider the even more obvious “dumb” prayer for patience and humility and the resultant means (difficult people and obvious trials!) by which such a prayer can only be answered. Instead, I begin with a prayer I prayed as a teenager then others that I prayed down through the years which have led me to this unexpected point. What I hope, and pray, you might discover after you have read this is something which will might benefit you in your knowledge of God and how He often answers prayers.

COMPEL THEM TO COME HOME

Who is welcomed into your home especially if they are unexpected, unannounced and unknown? As Jesus travelled around Israel He often told a story which His disciples would have repeatedly heard. It was the story of a nobleman who was hosting a great banquet in his large home and had invited other nobles to be his guests. But one after another each made a weak excuse for not attending. The nobleman then told his servant to go and invite the outcasts to be his guests instead.

TRUST GOD, THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO

The Bible is the all-time best-selling book for good reason. It is a book like no other. If you have a problem, the answer is in there -if not directly, it shows where the answer is found: God. He is the most powerful being in the world. He is able to split the sea (Ex 14:22), make hungry lions oblivious to the ‘righteous food’ in front of them (Dan 6:22), stop a storm mid-track (Luke 8:24), win un-winnable battles (such as 1Kings 20:26-30), overfill previous bare fishing nets (Luke 5:5-6), permit pregnancy in (very) old age (Gen 21:2) or even without a man (Luke 1:34-35), and, heal the sick and make demons flee (Matt 4:24). These were all answers to difficult problems. Each is a remarkable and exciting story in itself, but the repetition of such extraordinary and powerful works shows it was never just a fluke or a mere coincidence. He is a powerful God-able to make the impossible possible.

WHAT DO YOU?

home > Pastor's Desk > 2024 > August 9th > What Do YouWhat do you want? What do you want to do? What do you hope to achieve? What do you long to buy? What do you wish for your community? What do you need to change? What do you aspire to learn? What do you...

Was Jesus Even A Christian

AS my pastoral ministry at Legana rapidly draws to an end it is my hope that I leave a deposit in your soul that encourages you to also Love God with all your mind as well. It is my contention that with the increasing screen addiction to social media — where viewing “memes” and watching “celebrity YouTubers” — is being confused for factual information with even believers susceptible to deception. I want to offer some ways to guard what might be being allowed into your heart.

HOW DID THEY UPSET MALACHI SO MUCH?

Over the past twenty-nine years of pastoring Legana, I have generally preached through biblical books verse-by-verse. These biblical books series have been interspersed with various shorter topical series (which is why it took me eight years to preach all the way through the Book of Jeremiah). As I now commence my last biblical book teaching series, through Malachi, I hope to leave a deposit in your souls about the value and authority of God’s Word and how we need to worshipfully approach it. While we all want to “cut to the chase” and “get to the point” when we approach God’s Word we must do so carefully. This takes time. “Time” is what most people complain they do not have. This is why I am doing so much background work on this often-neglected book so that you can take advantage of my time investment on your behalf. In this series so far, I have introduced the context of this book, discussed who Malachi was, explored where Malachi was, and examined who was Malachi’s immediate audience. I am now considering why Malachi was so profoundly upset and what we can learn from his passionate love for God and His Table.