I’ve written before about how the Gospel is the great Good News that Jesus took on the burden of our sin, “lived the life we should have lived and died the death we should have died” and “was treated as we deserved so that …. God treats us as Jesus deserves.” ¹ As soon as we accept Him, God sees us through the lens of Jesus, as if we are as pure and righteous as He is. We don’t have to live in guilt. Even though we ARE guilty, Jesus has washed it all away — whiter than snow (Psalm 51:7, Isaiah 1:18). Through Him, we have victory over sin. Isn’t that incredible?!

But…

It can be difficult to really live in that freedom. It’s like being in the dark for a long time, and then blinded by a sudden light. There’s an adjustment that must be made.

When a person has been a slave or imprisoned, they often don’t know at first how to react to being released. They have to learn how to handle freedom. In 1865, the United States passed a law, called the Freedmen’s Bureau, to help newly-freed slaves start to deal with their changed circumstances. Today, organizations like Prison Fellowship help those released from prison to integrate back into society as productive citizens. In this thread from the Quora forum website, several former inmates describe their difficulties. I encourage you to follow the link; it’s quite enlightening.

Common reactions to sudden freedom run the gamut between two extremes: Still living as if in bondage, or going crazy in a free-for-all of license-aka-licentiousness. The Apostle Paul discussed both in his letters to the churches in Rome and Galatia. Both books are wonderful treasures of Gospel truth, but for this article I direct your attention to Romans chapters 6 and 8, and to Galatians chapters 3 through 5.

Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.
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For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!”
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Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.

Romans 8:1-2, 15, 33-34

Living in Unnecessary Bondage

Let’s first look at Paul’s warnings against living in unnecessary bondage. The church at Galatia, especially, seems to have had a real problem with this. They were being influenced by what is termed “Judaizers“, those who tried to insist on faith in Jesus in addition to following the full Judaic law. For instance, they would say that Gentile Christians needed to be circumcised before they were really OK with God. Paul reprimanded the Galatians for not trusting in Jesus alone to be sufficient.

This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?
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Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.
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It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.

Galatians 3:2-3, 4:7, 5:1

A modern-day equivalent would be saying that you can’t really be a Christian unless you are at church every time the doors are open. Or that you need to give a lot of money, or go on mission trips, or teach Sunday School while also singing in the choir and driving the church bus…all at the same time! It’s easy to get caught up in the “stuff” of church and think that it is a cause of earned righteousness…rather than a result of receiving un-earned grace.

Another unnecessary bondage is what I would call “wallowing” in my sin. Yes, I am well aware that I’m a sinner. Yes, I know that I don’t live a perfectly pleasing, glowingly-spotless life. Yes, I need to repent, turn away from each sin, and ask forgiveness each time.

But, I don’t have to grovel, or beg and plead for forgiveness, or give myself a hundred lashes each time. Jesus has already paid. God is hovering, just waiting for me to return, looking forward to forgiving me. Remember, the prodigal son’s father saw him coming from a long way off and ran to welcome him (Luke 15).

This article was inspired by a new-to-me song by Gordon Mote, called “Door Wide Open“. It asks “Why are you sitting in a prison with the door wide open?” Why do we keep ourselves chained when Jesus died to set us free? There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus!

A similar song that I’ve been hearing recently is “Big Ol’ Stone” by the Triumphant Quartet. It reiterates the Gospel that the stone is rolled away, not only from Jesus’ tomb but from our own sin-dug grave. It reminds us that “if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36)

Living with Too Much License

We do, however, need to live that freedom without dishonoring the One who gave it to us. In Romans and Galatians again:

Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?
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Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be!
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For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
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If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.

Romans 6:1-2, 15, Galatians 5:13, 25

Knowing that I am free and don’t need to wallow in self-reproach does not mean that I can just live however I want with no consequences. I can’t lie, cheat, and steal, gleefully break every commandment for the fun of it, and say “No problem, God will forgive me.” Taking advantage like that would negate the benefits (although not the fact) of my salvation.

The point of His grace and forgiveness is to allow me into relationship with Him, to be adopted as His child. If He loves me that much, how could I stand to deliberately break His heart again? Why damage the relationship He went to such effort to make possible? I’ll slip, of course, since I’m human. But it hurts me to know that I’ve hurt him, so I don’t do it on purpose.

Balanced Freedom

The gift Jesus offers is a joyous, relaxed freedom. It’s a warm hug even if I’ve goofed again; it’s also a delight when I make Him happy. From Galatians again, it’s replacing the old “immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these” with the new and much happier “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:16-23).

1. Quotes by Dr. Timothy Keller.