Freedom In Christ

John 8:31-36

31.Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32.Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

33They answered Him, "We are Abraham's descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say we shall be set free?"

34.Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35.Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36.So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

Romans 8:1-17

1.Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2.because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. 3.For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of a sinful man to be a sin offering. And so He condemned sin in sinful man, 4.in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.

5.Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6.The mind of a sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; 7.the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. 8.Those controlled by sinful nature cannot please God.

9.You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. 10.But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your Spirit is alive because of righteousness. 11.And the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, who lives in you.

12.Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation-but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. 13.For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, 14.because those who are lead by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15.For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." 16.The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. 17.Now if we are children, then we are heirs-heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share His sufferings in order that we may also share His glory.

Galatians 5:22-24

22.But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23.gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24.Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.

Everyone of us is a sinner. Our nature as humans is to sin. By surrendering ourselves to Christ and by crucifying our sinful nature and allowing the Spirit of God to control our lives, we are set free.

A question often asked, " Why, if we have given ourselves to Christ and the Spirit is within us, do we still sin?"
Our sinful nature and the Spirit are always in conflict. We have the choice to feed the one we wish to prevail. We have free will. If we feed the sinful nature with sin we will die. If we feed the Spirit by obeying God and serving His will, we will live eternal. We must obey God and ask for His help. The more we let the Spirit take control in our lives the more fruits we will receive. Faith and obedience go hand in hand. The fruits of the Spirit is something that only The Holy Spirit can produce in the life of a believer. As such, it's something that we receive by faith. A gift given to us when we receive Christ as or Savior. At the same time, as we live in obedience to God's commands, the fruits grow and develop in our lives. So you see how faith and obedience go hand in hand. I remind you again the wages of sin is death. Live forever in Christ! I love you all! God Bless you and your families!