Claiming Freedom

When someone says the Lord has set me free, what does it mean? How can one claim freedom in a world bent on captivity?

The freedom of a born-again Christian refers to a person’s frame of mind. It’s a conclusion of one’s perception. Jesus shed His blood so that we may be set free through our faith in Him. By our faith in Him, we may be set free! Notice the major factor resulting in our personal freedom is faith. Since faith is a bearing of a person’s mind, the freedom produced by that faith would also logically refer to a state of mind.

If I perceive myself free, then I am free. Without the work of Christ, however, one lacks an ability to conceive such liberty. Christ accomplished the only sufficient sacrifice that offers us eternal freedom, and when we apply our faith to His perfect sacrifice, we enter into that freedom. Without first the accomplishment, faith would go unjustified.

To explain, because we are freethinking creatures established by God, who is the ultimate judge, we remain inclined to judge as judges. We desire to understand principals of righteousness in order that we can judge. We are a race that wishes to choose a side, left or right, within the context of morality in order to express personal significance, or worth. Personal significance relates to humanity’s common purpose.

The common purpose of all humanity is to build strong relationships. That is because relationships confirm our worth. When we communicate with others, we know we’ve left an impression on their soul, which establishes our self worth because we also know that if our impression were then deducted from that person, a negative change would occur. The person would contain less of an everlasting impression. Even to the individual who seems peculiarly withdrawn or independent. To that individual, you can bet your hide he/she aims to acquire some form of relationship with someone somewhere. Relationships always stimulate favorable or unfavorable attitudes, which bear determined by a party’s stance on the object of morality. But, who or what distinguishes that object?

We do or God does. Many people commonly try to take ownership of the matter good-vs.-evil by believing their own discretions establish its veracity. For example, people commonly regard murder as an act of unrighteousness and that therefore, it is as they believe. However, when one really thinks about this, the question rises, why did he/she choose the act of murder as a base for major judgment? If humans design the measure, as implied by many, why don’t they mark drinking a glass of water as a major cause for judgment? I mean, seriously, our playing field is unlimited. Yet, people commonly view murder as an important issue requiring a verdict. Why? Who established condemnation for murder to begin with?

It wasn’t us. It’s not a man made law. NO! We received knowledge that murder is wrong. God imparted in us that knowledge, whether imparted by a separate person of God or by the Spirit of God, Himself! Some may try to justify such acts as murder in his/her own mind, but the impression of immorality remains. We continue to recognize inside our selves its indication of defiance, even if we refuse to admit it openly. Some may even take a certain pleasure in a defiant nature, but it doesn’t change the fact that the defiant implication continues to exist. Therefore, we come to recognize the ultimate significance of Almighty God in our lives. Since He is who defines morality, He must be the only One who can set us free from its judgment.

Now, when Jesus came to save us from judgment, He declared, "If ye continue in my word, [then] are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free (Jhn 8:31-32)." The precise truth that will set us free is the truth of the entire Gospel Message, learing that Jesus is The Son of God who came to us in the flesh and became our sacrifice for our disobedience against God.

Without acknowledging sufficient payment for our sins, we remain strained, or stressed, due to awareness of our indebtedness to God. However, with the realization that our debts were paid in full, we enter peace of mind, which signifies a Christian’s freedom. We stood damned by our recognition of disobedience, and set free by our conception of payment in full.