Freedom in Christ

Adam and Eve had life in all its fullness - perfectly accepted, secure, and significant - but lost it in the fall. Jesus came to restore that very same life and those who receive Him become brand new creations in Christ. Knowing that we are now “holy ones” who can come boldly into God’s presence without condemnation changes everything.

Everyone lives by faith, even those who are not Christians. It’s who or what we put our faith in that determines whether or not it will be effective. As Christians, it’s essential that what we believe is in agreement with what God has revealed in His Word which shows us how things really are.

The world distorts the way we see the Truth. It makes its relentless appeal to us and paints a complete but false picture of our reality — our worldview. When we become Christians we need to make a radical decision to start seeing the Truth from God’s perspective - by adopting a Biblical Worldview which is “how God says it is”.

Christians have a new heart and a new spirit, but we still struggle with “the flesh”. We don’t have to give in to it though. We can choose day by day and moment by moment whether to live according to the flesh’s urges or according to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

We are in a spiritual battle. Every day we face a battle between truth and lies and the battleground is our minds. However, understanding how Satan works and our amazing position in Christ will equip us to win.

Our emotions are based largely on what we choose to believe. A wrong understanding of God and His Word, of who we are in Christ, or a faulty life-goal will be signalled to us through our emotions. Committing ourselves to the truth and choosing to believe that what God says is true, will ensure we handle our emotions well and protect us from spiritual attack.

Our relationship with others must have the same basis as our relationship with God. Nothing keeps you in bondage more, or gives the enemy more influence, than unforgiveness. Forgiveness is not so much between you and the person who has offended you, but between you and God. Learning to forgive from the heart sets us free from our past and heals our emotional pain.

How we grew up, traumatic experiences, giving in to temptation all lead to “strongholds” in our minds preventing us living according to the truth. We became aware of some of these during The Steps To Freedom In Christ. We can demolish strongholds by choosing to renew our minds to the truth of God’s Word and we will learn a strategy — stronghold-busting” — to help us do this.

The one thing that Jesus prayed for those who came after His first disciples — that’s us — is that we would be one, so that the world would know that we are His disciples. His great commandment says we are to love the Lord our God with all our hearts, souls, and minds, and to love our neighbour as ourselves. A right relationship with God should lead to a right relationship with others.

God’s life-goal for us is that we become more and more like Jesus in character. Bringing our own goals into line with that will enable us to live a life of true freedom. True success, fulfilment, and satisfaction depend on us uncovering and throwing out false beliefs and committing ourselves to believing the truth in God’s Word.