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Finding Freedom

This past month the Lord has taught me a lot about what walking in true freedom looks like.

I have always known that freedom is something the Lord offers us as Christians, but I have never tasted true freedom until coming on the Race.

My Christian walk thus far has been a walk in bondage.….let me rephrase: I, myself, have been living a life in bondage. I have been tying my salvation to my behavior, attitude, appearance, and how well I follow law. This has led to very little freedom to live, make mistakes, and grow. Instead of embracing the abundant life the Lord was offering, I was living in fear.

The problem was, I didn’t realize that there was so much more that The Lord offered- so much more that He was calling me to walk in. I figured that what I had was it- and I was fine with it.

And I can’t help but to think that lots of others are living this way as well.

The American church has become a church of appearance; a church where failure is looked down upon; a church where your social status is dependent on your outward godliness. So many modern day churches have become a Sunday morning/Wednesday evening routine where you come in, put a smile on your face, and never share the serious issues that are occurring in your life.

This is so unbiblical.

And for this reason, there are a multitude of people who don’t even know the true gospel message. People just like me, who have lived their whole lives inside the church yet still live a life in fear of not being good enough. On the contrary, there are people who don’t want anything to do with the church because they believe the Christian lifestyle is a life full of rules they must follow.

Why would any unbeliever want to dedicate their life to a “religion” that is nothing but bondage to a bunch of ancient laws? How will we ever reach a lost and dying world if we are not walking in the complete freedom that Christ died to give us?

Unbelievers don’t know about the freedom, because we aren’t walking it out. I wasn’t walking it out.

The Lord has graciously been reminding me that He loves me because of who He is, not because of who I am.

True Christians are not obligated to keep the Laws of God in order to be forgiven of our sins – or even to be made righteous in His sight. Because God understands that no matter how hard we try, we will never be able to be “good enough”. John Piper says in his book Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die that, “even our good deeds are defective, because we don’t honor God in the way we do them…without Christ-exalting faith, our deeds will signify nothing but rebellion”.

That is why the death of Jesus is so important.

Christ took our place on the cross, cancelled our sins by His blood, and made us righteous in His sight.

“Our sin was imputed to Him and He became our pardon. Christ’s righteousness is imputed to us, and thus He became our perfection” (John Piper). Jesus became our sin, so that we don’t have to pay the price for what we have done. So that we can have communion with a perfect God. We are no longer bound by the law. We are declared just; tried and found innocent. This is freedom.

Walking in freedom is essential to living the Christian life.

We do not need to keep the law in order to please God. God’s favor is not dependent on our obedience, but on what He accomplished on the cross. We are free to drink coffee, dance, laugh, go to work, make mistakes and learn from them, enjoy life, and so much more!

God is not a God standing above us with a whip ready to strike us every time we mess up. He is a God who is both loving and just. His perfect love is willing to meet the demands of His justice because we are not able to.

Yet, our freedom is not an excuse to sin. But when Christ lives in us, we have a desire to follow the law because His love flows out of our hearts.

I am just now learning to walk in freedom. Freedom from comparison. Freedom from others opinions of me. Freedom from fear. Freedom from anger and bitterness. Freedom from my past sins. And so much more.

My heart longs for every Christian to start walking in the true freedom that God sacrificed His son to give us. To choose not to walk in freedom, is to refuse the gift that God has so graciously given us.

Everyone is searching for freedom. So when we, as the Church, start to embrace a life of faith and not works, unbelievers will see and want what we have!

 Verses:

  • Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.”
  • Romans 6: 6-7, “For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with,[a] that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.”
  • Romans 5:1, “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
  • John 8:36, “So if the Son makes you free, ye are free indeed.”
  • Galatians 5:1, “It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.”

15 Comments

  1. Good solid truth! Love to see all that God is revealing to you. Freedom is key! Love you.

  2. WOW Gracie! Those are some amazing good revelations! As I’ve heard it said, “That will preach!” And it just did. I just pray that we don’t just hear it, but do it also. Thx for the truths you’ve shared. It can be life-changing for all of us…..and Jesus is a life-changer! So happy you’re getting it. Hang on to what God is teaching you and don’t let go when you return. Don’t ever lose this FREEDOM you’ve gained. We love you and miss you, but not so much we’d want you to miss out on this great experience.

  3. Love your blogs! This one sure was very thought provoking. We do not need to live in bondage to rules, but to live a life loving and serving our God! He loves us no matter what! Miss your smiling face, but love reading about what God is doing in your life! Thanks for sharing.

  4. Wow. The part that said “coming in to church and putting a smile on your face and never showing the serious issues that are occurring in your life” hit me so very hard. That’s something I’ve been noticing so often lately in the church, in my ministries, In my friendships, and even in my relationship with God. God wants us to be vulnerable with Him. He wants us to let Him search us intimately and to truly know us. Living in fear and hiding from who we really are called to be in not how we’ve been called to live as Christians. So powerful Gracie. I am so glad God is using you so powerfully. Love and miss you so very much!

  5. You are absolutely right. If we as christians live free, people will be drawn to that because it isn’t about the rules and measuring up since we know we never can. Thanks for sharing your struggle with this and encouraging us to wrestle through it as well. We did an Easter play called free indeed a few years ago and the point was Christ set us free, now live in it. I’m so excited that you are learning this and applying it on your race. Keep leaning in to Jesus!

  6. So true, Gracie. Thank you.
    Jesus did for us what we could not do for ourselves. As the perfect one, Jesus lived the perfect life for us and was the perfect sacrifice. There is nothing that we can do or will do that can add or take away from this perfection that is simply given to us by His grace. That’s why grace is so amazing! (Ephesians 2:8-9)(Galatians 2:16)
    (Romans 8:28-39)

  7. Gracie, I feel the power this was written with! This kind of Truth comes from experiencing Jesus and basking in His presence! I am thrilled to hear you proclaim your freedom and that you are enjoying the freedom we have in and through the blood of our precious Savior, Jesus Christ. May the deep love you have found overflow on all those you encounter, just as it has overflowed on us! May this Truth change lives everywhere! We love you, Gracie! Continue to go and tell, to be His hands and feet, to see with His eyes, to hear and obey His voice! We are lifting you up in prayer! ??

  8. Preach! Freedom is a such a beautiful gift. I’m so excited to see how this new found gift will radically change your life. Keep seeking more! He is faithful.

  9. C’mon now Gracie!! Living in the freedom of the Lord radically changes everything. Thank you for sharing what the Lord has given you and inviting others into it.

  10. Preach Sister! Truth! Love, Love, Love this blog. Continued prayers for y’all.
    Blessings!
    Annika’s Mom

  11. You sure have given us something to chew on. You are so right. I do agree that because we can be free does not give us the right to sin. Love your blogs & you

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