Free At Last, Now What Do We Do?

Scripture Reading: John 8:31-36

Another week went by with no message until yesterday. What was the message? There was only a word, Free. What does Free mean to you? There are 17 different definitions of the word Free. Not imprisoned or enslaved, Being at liberty, Not controlled by obligation or the will of another, Not subject to external restraint, Unobstructed, Given, Not bound, fastened, or attached are just a few of the definitions. How is free defined in scripture? A quick internet search revealed dozens of sites about “Free Will”. A quick biblical search revealed much more about the word free.

Freedom According To Scripture:

Psalm 146:7 “He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets prisoners free,” The Lord sets prisoners free. Free from what? Free from sin, free from the sting of death that is a result of sin.

Romans 6:18 “You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.” We have been set free from sin but now we are slaves to righteousness and to God

Revelation 1:5 “and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood,” By the blood of Jesus Christ we have been freed form the bondage of sin. The price that was paid for our sins was the blood of Christ.

Isaiah 55:7 “Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.” For God will freely pardon. God has freely pardoned us of our sins through the blood of Jesus Christ. No conditions, no stipulations, no cost to us, we only have to believe in Jesus and what He has done for us.

“Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty, free at last”, a famous quote from Martin Luther King Jr. He was not talking about the freedom of people from the grasp of others, he was talking about the freedom that we all have in Jesus. The forgiveness of our sins, our complete pardon from God as sinners. All of us.

Galatians 3:28 “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Everyone can be freed from the clutches of sin, a free gift from our Lord and Savior. When you accept Jesus Christ into your heart you are free. With our new freedom comes biblical responsibility, our gift is free but scripture tells us how to enjoy our freedom from sin.

Our Scriptural Responsibilities:

Matthew 10:8 “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.” We are to freely give to others the gift that God has given to us.

The song Freely, Freely, Freely say’s it all, the chorus goes: He said: 'Freely, freely, you have received, Freely, freely give, Go in My name, and because you believe, Others will know that I live. We are to share the good news of Jesus Christ with others, we are to freely offer the gift to others.

Romans 8:21 “that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.” We have freedom, we are no longer slaves to sin, we are forgiven, we are children of God. Being free does not give us a “free pass” to continue sinning, our freedom brings about responsibility to others.

“Free Will” is not mentioned anywhere in scripture. It is understood that we have a will to make choices. Are you making the right choices or are you hiding behind the fact that you are already forgiven? Are you using your freedom to justify what you are doing?

Romans 3:22-24 “This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”

We have become righteous, we are justified by his grace. Yes, we have free will but God wants us to be Christ like and to obey Him. Because we are redeemed we shouldn't continue to walk in darkness. Use your free will to do His will.

Biblical Wisdom About Freedom:

Galatians 5:13 “You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.”

Do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature. We have clear and direct direction on how to serve God in our freedom. Service and love. We are to serve one another, love one another, help one another, it’s all about using our free gift of sin separation to help others separate from sin.

1Peter 2:16 “Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.”

Do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil. We can make right and wrong choices in our freedom, we can do good or we can do evil. The choice is up to you but we are warned to do right. Serve God, respect and love others, fear God and honor Him.

Ephesians 1:4-10 “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will-- to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment--to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.”

The truth will set you free. He has freely given us in the One he loves, Christ Jesus. In our freedom we have God’s redemption, forgiveness, grace, wisdom, and understanding. In our freedom we have responsibilities to serve God and one another, to love God and one another, and to share God to everyone. Are you using your free gift from God as He would have you? Are you holy and blameless or are you using your free will as a free pass to live in the flesh?