Eleven Freedom In Christ

Chapter Eleven

Freedom In Christ

hat is freedom in Christ? In the next couple of chapters I will share with you what the Lord revealed to me in regards to the answer to this question. I pray that it opens your eyes and stirs your heart as it W did mine.

The citizens in the United States, where I live, have been blessed with a great amount of freedom, as long as they abide by the laws that govern it. To break the law is to possibly forfeit that freedom and be placed into prison. The Bible, though, reveals a different freedom, a freedom in Christ that occurs from within as we abide in Him, no matter what your external situation may be.

A person can be living in a free nation and yet be bound in an internal prison that they cannot escape from. Another may be living under an extremely oppressive government, or even in an actual prison cell, and because of their acceptance of Jesus as their Messiah be living free from within with unexplainable joy and hope. The good news in this is that Jesus Christ came to set the captives free, in all nations, under any circumstance.

Freedom To Choose

The Gospel of John begins by proclaiming the deity of Jesus Christ, and that all things came into being through Him. It declares what occurred when He, the Light which enlightens every man, came into the world He made. As briefly discussed in the previous chapter, John tells us that;

“He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But

as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of

God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:11-13/NASU)

In this passage, John’s subject is clearly those who “received” Christ. They “believed in His name” and were “born of God.” By definition of the Greek word that we interpret into English as “received,” they have laid hold of Christ, making Him their own.

Those who receive Him, thereby becoming a citizen of the kingdom of God, are given “the right to become children of God.” Per John, though, there is more in regards to bringing this right to completion in Him.

The Greek that we interpret as “right” is exousia (ex-oo-see'-ah). It’s defined as “privilege, power of choice, liberty of doing as one pleases, the power of rule or government.” Freedom in Christ, therefore, is a right granted only to those who turn in repentance to Jesus Christ, taking Him as their Lord and Savior. The unbelievers do not have this freedom to choose and become His child.

Without Christ, all of mankind is said to be slaves to sin and are held captive to do the devil’s will (2 Timothy 2:26). They are his children, he is their father (John 8:44). The good news of the Gospel is that Jesus came to give freedom to the prisoners and to release the oppressed (Luke 4:18).

Receiving Him as your Lord and Savior grants you the right of access to the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. When we say “no” to sin we are saying “yes” to the power of God that enables us to become an overcomer and partake of His Divine nature (2 Peter 1:3-4). This choice to change isn’t even an option for the unbeliever. They could choose to not take part in certain sins but it will not change their status or image before God.

The Father must see the image of His Son, Jesus Christ, in us because it is only His sacrifice on the cross at Calvary that is acceptable in His sight. This is why it is so crucial for a Christian to not fight against the work of the Holy Spirit within us to transform us, but to “work together” with Him, not receiving the grace of God in vain which means “empty, vain, fruitless, and without effect.”

The Second Death And The Overcomer

In one of His letters written to the seven churches in Revelation, Jesus warned the church in Smyrna of what they were about to go through. He said to them;

“Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death.” (Revelation 2:10-11/NIV)

After warning them of their coming persecution, Jesus then says that if they overcome by being faithful, even when faced with death, that they “will not be hurt at all by the second death.” There are two questions that come to mind here; “What is the second death?” and “What is an overcomer?” Since the Bible is in and of itself its best commentary, let’s look at some Scripture passages.

In Revelation, chapter twenty, John says that he saw an angel come down from heaven who threw Satan into the abyss and bound him for a thousand years. He then saw thrones where judgment was taking place. He also saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and the word of God. Because they had not worshipped the beast or received his mark, they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years (Revelation 20:1-4).

John then writes;

“The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.” (Revelation 20:5-6/NASU)

There is an old saying; “Born once, die twice. Born twice, die once.” To die on earth in Christ, having been born again, is to partake of the first resurrection. For these saints the second death has no power. But we still have not read exactly what the second death is.

John says that when the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison and will once again deceive the nations. He will gather them together to go fight against the saints. It’s described as a very short campaign. Fire comes down from heaven and devours them. It is at this point that the devil is thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and false prophet are also (Revelation 20:7-10).

John then saw God on a great white throne where the dead were being judged. Books were being opened, including the book of life, and they were being judged from the things which were written in them, “according to their works” (Revelation 20:11-13). He then declares;

“Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:14-15/NASU)

And there it is; “the second death is the lake of fire.” Possibly to reinforce what it is, John repeats the identity of the second death as well as the “overcomer” who not will partake of it a few verses later;

“He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” (Revelation 21:7-8/NASU)

May the fear of the Lord overwhelm our hearts in order to move us quickly under His wings of protection while His invitation to draw near through repentance is still attainable.