I Am Free At Last!

There is freedom from sin’s control and condemnation through faith in the Son of God, Jesus Christ. It is Christ who died in our stead and for our sins; He was buried demonstrating He truly died and that sin was actually fully paid for! He also rose again from the dead on the third day proving the Father accepted His complete payment for sin. The resurrection of Christ also demonstrated that Christ has no more obligations to sin’s debt. He is free and so is everyone who has repented and placed their faith in Christ. Yes, Beloved, we are free in the Lord Jesus. Not free to sin, but free from its control, condemnation, and eternal consequences. We are free to live up to God’s design and expectations for each of us as His children.

Our freedom in Christ is directly related to two main concepts in the Bible:

·        Redemption —we have been redeemed by Christ Jesus with His precious blood.

·        Service —we, as believers, are to serve our new Master.

The choice to receive Christ and God’s forgiveness avails to us spiritual redemption; becoming a child of God also places us into the service of God. Not service for our salvation, but service because we are saved and have a new purpose in Christ. After all, God’s people no longer serve sin (Rom. 6)!

Make no mistake about this, a failure to receive Christ and His payment for our sins keeps a person from experiencing redemption. Such rejection of Christ effectively enslaves an individual in servitude to the “law of sin and death.” My friend, there is NO hope in this scenario….

Perhaps we will appreciate this more if we understand something about the basis and foundation of our spiritual freedom in Christ.

Consider the Truth that Redemption is the Foundation of Spiritual Freedom

Paul makes the following incredible statements in Colossians 1:13-14, “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: [14] In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins”.

A wonderful and notable truth is expressed in this passage. God the Father has rescued believers from the power of darkness and has placed us in the grand kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ! We have a new master and authority in our lives that is superior to any and all others. His name is King Jesus! As believers we also presently possess “redemption” through the blood of our Lord. As a result this great passage informs us that we currently have been forgiven for our sins. We are no longer guilty before God, but are now forgiven by Him! As God intervened for Israel to rescue her from Egyptian bondage, He has likewise intervened for us to deliver us from the bondage of the Devil into the freedom of Christ Jesus and the blessings He affords us.

All of this is entirely interesting, but let us consider further the thought of “redemption through his blood”. The Cross of Calvary laid the essential foundation for our salvation and redemption!

Redemption in New Testament Times and Culture Referred to Freedom.

This honestly recognizes what redemption means and how the term was used in the First Century.

Redemption Was for Freedom

Actually the word “redemption” in the Greek and Roman culture literally referred to the purchase of a slave from the marketplace, with the purpose of giving the slave his freedom.

Redemption Required a Price

This is basically true with any purchase. “Redemption” means “to buy back” or “to save from captivity by paying a ransom.” One way to buy back a slave was to offer an equivalent or superior slave in exchange. That is the way God chose to buy sinful people back—He offered his precious Son in exchange for us. Please allow this incredible reality to sink deeply into your consciousness, because it has life-transforming potential and power! The wonderful Lord Jesus Christ, the darling Son of God, was exchanged for you and me. God truly and deeply wanted our spiritual freedom!

Redemption in the New Testament Teaching Emphasizes the Price of Freedom.

Note the crystal clear words of the familiar First Peter 1:18-19, reminding us by saying, "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; [19] But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:"

Beloved, it was not mere money, silver, or gold that could pay for our sins. Something grander, more glorious, and more significant was required. What? you ask.... Peter tells us it was the “precious blood of Christ” the spotless Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Again this was not mere "blood." Peter did not only say "precious blood." No, Beloved, he said the "precious blood of Christ"! God's very own Son died while profusely suffering  for our sin! Freedom was secured at a tremendous price! It is entirely true for Christ Jesus, that ‘freedom is NOT free!’ It is free to every believer, but it is far from cheap. Our freedom must be a valuable matter to our great God! Oh how we should value and treasure our salvation..... It should be prized more than money, silver, gold, or platinum.... Our redemption price was the blood of the Son of God!

Christ’s Blood Was the Redemption Price

In spiritual terms, redemption refers to the blood Jesus paid; the “ransom” that was required for each of us to be set free from enslavement to our sinful nature. It is the required cost for us to experience the fullness of God’s extravagant forgiveness. God provided a total means of redemption through the bloodshed and death of Jesus on the cross.

Redemption is not the product of human efforts, good deeds, noble gestures of kindness, or human inventions that actually help our fellow man. No! All of these things are good in and of themselves, but they cannot and do not secure our redemption and freedom from the penalty and power of sin. Consider the Song of Redemption the ransomed of the ages will sing around the throne of God in heaven one day in Revelation 5:9, “And they sung a new song, saying, Thou [Jesus Christ] art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; [both his death and bloodshed were essential for our salvation].” In that eternal day, we will correctly accredit the blood and death of Christ as the redemptive price for our spiritual freedom!

Redemption Was Christ’s Stated Goal and Purpose

The Lord Jesus explicitly stated his purpose for coming to live with humanity for the brief season of his earthly life. Redemption was his focus and stated goal. MacDonald observed,

Redemption describes the act whereby we were bought from the slave market of sin. The Lord Jesus, as it were, put a price tag on us. How highly did He value us? He said, in effect, “I value them so highly that I am willing to shed My blood to purchase them. (MacDonald, W. (1995); Believer’s Bible Commentary)

Jesus taught His disciples that His very purpose was to provide redemption for you, me, and even the entire world. He said in Matthew 20:28, “Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” Jesus understood a price must be paid to free us from our spiritual bondage, and He came with that very intent. Christ’s life was the ransom payment!  Notice the same truth echoed by Mark in Mark 10:45, asserting, “For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” Jesus clearly stated He came to lay the essential foundation for our redemption. If men could save themselves or if there were some other way, Christ never would have paid such an incredible price for our redemption. It is imperative that we understand that Christ laid the foundation for our redemption and not we for ourselves.

Paul also referred to the redemptive purpose of Jesus when he wrote, First Timothy 2:5-6, saying, “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; [6] Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.” Once again God communicates to us that Christ willingly gave himself a ransom payment for all humanity at Calvary’s Cross! Calvary was God’s fascinating design, and not a miscalculation that went wrong somehow!

Redemption in the Whole Bible and Plan of God is the Exchange of Life for Freedom. Redemption is not a concept limited to the New Testament.

Remember When God Redeemed Israel from Egyptian Enslavement?

The word “redemption” has a rich Old Testament meaning and goes back, once again, to the analogy of Israel’s rescue and deliverance from Egypt. The last plague and disaster God sent upon the Egyptians was the death of the children (Ex 12:29-30). Every firstborn son of the Egyptians died, but the Israelite children were spared because the Israelites placed the blood of a lamb on their doorframes (Ex 12:22-23). This is just one place where the concept of “redemption” is vividly illustrated in the Bible. Notice again two common facets:

·        The Price of Bloodshed and Death

·        The Exchange of Life for Freedom

Actually, The Message of Redemption Can Be Seen from Cover to Cover in the Bible.  Note carefully the following observations:

·        God planned for our redemption (Gen. 1–3)

·        God required redemption (Gen. 3:21)

·        God prepared the way for redemption (Gen. 12–Mal.)

·        God instituted His redemptive plan through Jesus Christ (the Gospels)

·        News of God’s redemptive plan was spread (Acts)

·        God's redemptive plan was explained (the Epistles)

·        God's redemption of man will be consummated (Revelation)

The entire Bible is the story of God’s redeeming love. Obviously God desires for His people to be free! It is no stretch of the imagination to note that God sacrificed greatly to secure our freedom! We can also safely conclude that our spiritual obligations to God are colossal!

Your and my spiritual freedom has been purchased for us by God through His Son, Jesus Christ. Just as no slave can redeem himself, so no person can redeem himself spiritually. Stop trying to make your own way to God and come to God by the means He has already provided. Come through the Cross of Jesus Christ and His resurrection. Stop trying to earn your own way; this method is as old as sin, and it still does not work (Gen. 3). God laid the foundation for redemption Himself. We do not need to lay another foundation! Place your trust in Jesus Christ. Jesus is God who became a man for the purpose of dying for our sins. He literally died and made full payment for all sin two thousand years ago. We know that God the Father accepted Christ’s payment because God raised the Lord Jesus from the dead. Since Christ is alive we can come to Him and trust Him for forgiveness and redemption. If you have never trusted Jesus Christ to save you then you need to do so today. In fact, now is as good an opportunity as ever. God went through the extremes to have you for Himself…He even gave His beloved Son in the process… Surely you do not want to reject His grand redemption believing you can make it on your own!  

As genuine Believers, we are indebted forever to the One who paid the price for our freedom, since there is no means by which we can pay Him back for what He has done for us. We have a great debt of gratitude; indeed, we “owe” our eternal lives to Christ Jesus, who purchased our freedom for us.

Once again note the insightful words of MacDonald,

Since we have been purchased at such a tremendous cost, it should be clear to us that we no longer belong to ourselves; we have been bought with a price. Therefore we should not live our lives the way we choose. Borden of Yale pointed out that if we take our lives and do what we want with them, we are taking something that does not belong to us, and therefore we are thieves! (MacDonald, W. (1995); Believer’s Bible Commentary)

Yes, God has given us freedom in Christ and we are to use that freedom to honor and glorify Him! I challenge you, by the grace that has been given me in Christ Jesus, to live free! Let freedom ring! Be free indeed! If the Son of God has made you free then live like it! We are NOT slaves to our will, but to His—that is freedom! We are NOT slaves to the Devil; we have a new Master in Jesus Christ—that is freedom! We are NOT enslaved by sinful habits and practices; we are free to reject all sinful indulgences by the power of Jesus Christ! Beloved, we are free! Yes, we are free from sin; we are not free to live in sin. We are free to live without its dominance and control. The period of enslavement is over. Christ Jesus is the great Emancipator! Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty I am free at last!