How to become Truly Free

Freedom becomes truly free when complimentary sacrifice is shown as a token of appreciation to the sacrificed. This is done through self controlled actions of the beneficiary; thus avoiding repeated acts of captivity. Basically, freedom is born after an ultimate sacrifice has been made. For this newborn freedom to stay alive or remain in existence, it requires minimal sacrifice from the one who benefits from it. Here is a quick example.

Someone gets arrested for aggravated assault and the judge told them during the hearing for the offense: "If I see you in my courtroom again, I'll throw the book at you and you will never see the light of day." The offender gets jail time and looses their freedom until they are released from jail. The next time someone or something provokes this individual, they will take a deep breath and think twice if they truly want to stay out of jail. This doesn't mean they will not make mistakes ever in life, it just means that they now have to make some sacrifices of their own if they truly want to stay free. This person may make mistakes like using "bad words" to insult others when provoked or even charge towards someone in anger to invite a fight. But as soon as they realized their freedom is at stake especially after their previous charge for aggravated assault, they quickly control themselves before a physical altercation breaks out.

This small sacrifice of self control shows that they appreciate their freedom and will in turn keep them free from going back to jail. The sacrifice could also be something like avoiding drinking alcohol, if alcohol is what triggers their anger. The point is that we learn to exercise self-control after we receive freedom to avoid becoming captured again. This is what a Christian life looks like after receiving freedom from the bondage of sin.

When the blood of Jesus frees us from the bondage of sin and death, we do whatever it takes to stay away from that bondage of sin and death. We still sin but we do not become slaves to sin by openly and willingly practicing sin (1 John 3:9-10; Romans 6:1-2). Self control becomes key to our everyday living because you become more self-aware by doing your very best to avoid anything that will drag you down the pit for good. This continued action to avoid going back as a slave to sin is the complimentary sacrifice that you make to stay free. It makes the freedom truly free. It is also the token of appreciation we show to Christ, who is the ultimate sacrifice that gave us the freedom in the first place. Like the song say: "I gave my life for thee, what has thou given for me?" Whenever the devil pushes our buttons by throwing trials and temptations our way, the goal is to provoke us to continue in sin by going back as slaves to sin - like a dog that goes back to its vomit (Proverbs 26:11; 2 Peter 2:19-22).

"False freedom" is when we claim that the end always justifies the means. This is false because the only justified means is a godly means. I can't tell you how many times I've heard Romans 8:28 quoted - "...all things work together for good for those that love the Lord..." But we forget to emphasize the Phrase "Love the Lord..." Those who love the Lord keep his commands and His command can only be found in the bible - 1 John 14:15. Paul is letting us know that this freedom from sin that has been given to us means we have been justified and the only way to loose this freedom is to let the things of this world separate us from God (Romans 8:35). Anything that we prioritize over God becomes our master in bondage. It's great to be saved by grace through faith but "the perfect law of liberty" is called "law" for a reason. Keeping God's law is freedom in itself (James 1:19-27) and it is essential to staying free from sin and death.

So "all things" as made clear in verse 35 of the same Romans 8 simply mean all trials and tribulations that comes our way to test our faith in God, will turn out to God's glory if we persevere. The book of Job is a great example of how not to let anything separate us from the love of God. The result for Job turned out to be better for him because he persevered. "All things" does not mean we have a freedom or license to go back to our old ways and do whatever we please. It also does not give us the right to promote (by condoning) the evil deeds being put forth by others in the name of God so we can later claim that it all "worked" out for good.

Finally, you've probably heard of someone that had all the theory of a crime pointing towards them and eventually they are set free based of a DNA evidence that exonerates them. When non-biblical things that we do look and sound good to us and others (not God), the truth is we are in spiritual captivity (Romans 8:7). The only "DNA evidence" that can set us free is God's word (Romans 8:1-2; Romans 6:4). When the things we do are biblical like obeying the gospel (Acts 2:37-41), it looks good to God and the glory goes to Him. This is the only way we become spiritually free (Romans 8:6). If you are a Christian, you already have this freedom. If you stay faithful through prayer, you will remain free by His blood that continually cleans your sins (Revelation 2:10). Exercising self control is not being weak or fake like some would want you to think. It takes a lot of mental strength for such. Do your very best to offer the truth in love from your heart and do it without fear or compromise. STAY FREE!

How to become Truly Free

Abraham Inetianbor Monday, April 22, 2019

Freedom becomes truly free when complimentary sacrifice is shown as a token of appreciation to the sacrificed. This is done through self con...

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