True Freedom for Eternity!

"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." 2 Corinthians 3:17

Tomorrow is "Canada Day" and a few days later is the "4th of July" - both days celebrating FREEDOM.  I am so thankful to have spent my life in North America where we are overflowing with freedom.  I was born in Canada and have lived in the USA for about 20 years now (I married an American).  Putting political opinions aside (capitalism vs socialism) - the only true freedom comes from God through Jesus Christ who died for our sins so that we might have eternal life. 

Dictionary meaning of "Freedom - the quality or state of being free:

a.  as the absence of necessity, coercion or constraint in choice or action.

b.  liberation from slavery or restraint or from the power of another: Independence

c.  Free-will"

(definition from Merriam-Webster.com )

True Freedom is the freedom from the bondage of sin - because Jesus died for our sins we are no longer condemned to a fiery afterlife - instead we are assured a glorious eternity of freedom.  Look at the verse above - wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom!!

"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."  Galatians 5:13

Now this does NOT mean that we can do whatever we want - this does NOT mean that we can sin whenever we want to sin.  Being cleansed through the blood of Christ also means that our motives and desires have been cleansed and changed to now strive to act and live like Christ.  We cannot hide behind Jesus saying "I sinned but I can keep on sinning since I'm forgiven"  - no No NO!  That is so hypocritical - that kind of attitude is not truly loving God and not truly loving others - there is NO love in sin.

"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 and believers, fear God, honor the King."  1 Peter 2:16 & 17

Have you ever known someone who can twist the truth and make a sin seem OK?  Something like: "I didn't tell the cashier that she gave me 5 extra dollars in change because I'll put it in the tithe basket on Sunday" - or "It's OK if I don't report cash payments on my income tax because everyone does it and I view it as a gift from God"  - what a distorted way of thinking!  That is exactly like the verse above - using our freedom from God as "a cover-up for evil."  Notice that the verse goes on to say that instead we are to "show proper respect to EVERYONE" and also we are to love everyone!  There is no conniving in love.

"I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts."  Psalm 119:45

If we seek out God's way then we walk in freedom - freedom from guilt - freedom from worry - freedom from eternal disaster.  There is no hopelessness in freedom. 

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.  Stand firm then and don't let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery."  Galatians 5:1

The verse above cautions us about extremes - there is the Hippie extreme of anything and everything goes - twisting the truth and calling that "love".  Then there is the other extreme of going back to the old Testament and living under the law.  The whole reason that Jesus died on the cross was to save us from our sin in other words it was for our freedom - Jesus loves us so much that He "has set us free!"

Love + Hope + Freedom = Jesus

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