Freedom in Christ

Gal.5:1, ‘Stand^[a] fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.’

 The Israelites were delivered by the Lord God Almighty from the oppressing hands of Egyptians. They were oppressed for 400 long years by the Egyptians. But even after leaving Egypt, their minds and hearts were bound and hence they often murmured and became victims of Gods’ wrath. Similarly, the faith on Christ’s crucifiction for our sins, His resurrection on the 3^rd day and the hope of His return to gather His children sets us free from the bondage of sin and death. But this truth of being free in Christ is not as easy to be experienced as said. The entire mankind is oppressed in some way or the other. Even the so-called God’s children who claim to be regular church goers, tithe givers, active participators in church programs etc. face this oppression in some phase of their lives. Oppression points out to the fact of being ruled by something or someone in some or most part of our lives which gives us pain either physically or mentally. This suppresses us and enslaves us to negativity, fear and doubt.

Apostle Paul talks about living a life free in Christ.  It’s important to understand what makes us free and what oppresses us. It’s amazing to see that none of us can have all that we desire in the way which we desire. This might oppress us in some way or the other. But if we as God’s children do not allow anything to stop us from rejoicing in the Lord’s presence, we are indeed free in Christ. Lot was free to choose his dwelling place but later we see him being vexed by the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham chose not to be free by giving the 1^st and best choice to Lot, but then he was free to walk with God and enjoy His peace.

When Paul wrote, ‘stand therefore in the liberty of Christ’, we read about two women in the verses just before that. He referred Hagar to be the bondwoman and referred Sarah to be the free woman. Gal.4: 22-26, ‘For it is written that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a freewoman. ²³ But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the freewoman through promise, ²⁴ which things are symbolic. For these are ^[g]the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar— ²⁵ for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children— ²⁶ but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all.’

• Being led by flesh ends up in oppression. The son born according to the flesh was born from Hagar, the bondwoman. Abraham and Sarah were given a promise of being blessed with a child. But as the waiting period went on for years and years, Sarah counseled her husband to help God fulfil His promise through Hagar, their maidservant. Sarah was later on oppressed by this same Hagar in her own house. 21:9-11, ‘And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, scoffing.^[c]10 Therefore she said to Abraham, “Cast out this bondwoman and her son; for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, namely with Isaac.” ¹¹ And the matter was very ^[d]displeasing in Abraham’s sight because of his son.’  Not only Sarah, but her son Isaac too faced the danger of losing his inheritance of his father because of Ishmael. As God’s children, we need to seek His guidance for every decision we take.
• The depth of our faith determines our freedom in Christ:  Had Sarah realized the might and faithfulness of the One who had promised her all throughout while she waited those long years for the promised child, she would never face such oppression in her own house.  The way to promise is as important as the promise itself.  When God promises us, He Himself fulfils it in His ways and time. Man has no role except to submit, believe and wait patiently for it.  At times, the pressing situations of life numbs our spiritual realization and revelation about His great might and power. This makes our mind to be led by wisdom of the world. Salvation through Christ is a promise of God. As we believe this, we submit to walk in obedience to God and wait. Our obedience which is indeed important becomes the proof of our faith and not the reason for salvation. Let us not give more weight to works or obedience more than faith. Sarah, instead of waiting, tried to earn her promise through works out of her own wisdom. And she ended up in oppression. Similarly, our works of faith or obedience to the Lord might lack in perfectness. And depending on them for salvation instead of faith in the finished work on cross by Christ will lead us to oppression.
• Slavery to Christ out of love determines our freedom in Christ: Apostle Paul wrote about being led by His Spirit, being filled by His Spirit and walk in Spirit. This refers to slavery to Christ i.e., letting every thought, action, decision etc. being ruled by His Spirit. Paul often called himself as slave of Christ. This slavery to Christ did not oppress him but gave him much peace and divine strength, because this was out of deep love for Christ and not a forced slavery. Hence, even while in jail or in midst of persecution, he would never fail to rejoice in Christ, which in turn expressed his freedom in Christ i.e., no adverse situation could prevent Paul from rejoicing in Christ.
• A conscience free of guilt is a reflection of our freedom in Christ: David was often pursued and threatened by enemies. He was often in the war fields or hiding in caves or mountains. Yet he was full of joy when in God’s presence. 37:4, ‘Delight thyself also in the Lord; and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart.’ Delighting refers to the extreme excitement. When the Lord’s presence excites us extremely, it means that all the rest are of lesser priority. He lost this delight when he sinned and continued to live without repenting.  For King David, more than his position, authority and luxury, the Lord’s presence made him most excited. Hence, when he was convicted of his sin through prophet Nathan, the spontaneous cry from his heart was of repentance and not to remove the Spirit of God from him (Ps.51:11). The shame and dishonor it would bring upon him was of lesser concern. He wrote about the blessedness of a person whose sins are forgiven in Psalms 32. V 3 says, ‘When I kept silent, my bones grew old Through my groaning all the day long.’  This refers to the oppressed soul, oppressed because of guilt. How grateful we need to be to the access we have been given to His throne directly to confess our sins, to be forgiven and to be free in Christ.

Sarah realized that casting out the bondwoman out of her house was the only solution to her oppression. Any kind of compromising stay with her would not give her the freedom. Therefore, she said to Abraham, “Cast out this bondwoman and her son; for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, namely with Isaac’. In the same way, we need to identify the factors that hinder our freedom in Christ and cast them out of our hearts, minds and lives. No degree of compromise can restore our freedom in Christ.

Issues of this life might seem to bind our bodies and situations. But it’s important for our souls and mind to be always free in Christ, ready, willing always to rejoice in His presence and to be submissive to Him. Only a person enjoying the freedom in Christ can offer worship with all one’s heart and mind, acceptable and pleasing to God. As apostle Paul wrote, let us stand fast in the liberty of Christ and not be entangled again to the yoke of bondage.

God bless us all.

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