There Is Freedom
by Kent Heaton
Freedom is a precious stone shared by a few and made precious by only those who understand its worth. Living in a land of freedom does not make us free. The heart is only free when one realizes the cost of liberty. Being free recognizes the darkness of bondage embraced by the pains of death. Independence comes from a price paid which no true worth can be measured for the cost is so high. To celebrate freedom without the observance of the sacrifice is a well without water.
Where is true freedom to be found but in the matters belonging unto God? The freedom we experience in our country is tempered by repeated changes throughout the years by the fickle nature of man. Liberty is relative to time when men seek to establish their laws. God is not like men! The freedom offered by God is unchangeable and cannot be altered by man. “God interposed by an oath, so that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us, which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast” (Hebrews 6:17-19). The liberty given by God is guaranteed by the impossibility for God to lie.
The darkness of sin brings death (Romans 6:23 ). Jesus proclaimed Himself to be the one from whence freedom would come for all men. "The Spirit of the Lord is on Me; because of this He has anointed Me to proclaim the Gospel to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim deliverance to the captives, and new sight to the blind, to set at liberty those having been crushed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord" (Luke 4:18-19). Through the cross, Jesus offered freedom to those who would be willing to take up their cross and follow Him.
Freedom is found in Jesus Christ. We are to stand fast in this liberty (Galatians 5;1) and remember that we are “called to liberty” (Galatians 5:13 ). That freedom is found where the Spirit of the Lord is. “And the Lord is that Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with our face having been unveiled, having beheld the glory of the Lord as in a mirror, are being changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Lord Spirit” (II Corinthians 3:17-18).
Freedom brings peace of mind to face the haunting darkness of death (Philippians 4:7). In Christ one has hope of eternal life that transcends the mortal flesh (II Corinthians 5:1-1-8). The plague of fleshly temptation will not be victorious to those who are free from sin (Romans 6:12-22). Paul and Silas were imprisoned in a Roman jail but they sang songs of freedom (Acts 16:25 ). Epictetus (60-140 A.D.) said, “He whose body is chained, and his soul unbound, is free.” There are no cords of imprisonment to children of God.
Freedom comes from the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ (I John 1:7). By His sacrifice we are no longer bound in the chains of sin. Our liberty is the everlasting hope of “a pure river of Water of Life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb” (Revelation 22:1). That is the greatest joy in our freedom. In the Spirit, we find liberty and peace forever more.
