Living As Free People

This month we are learning all about freedom in Jesus! We have been reminded that the only way to truly be set free is to accept Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior, and when we do so, then we are eternally set free from sin and death in Him! We have also been reminded that if Jesus is living in our inner being as our personal Lord and Savior, then we have been set free from the law of sin and death in Him and we now live our lives for God! In Jesus, sin is no longer our master and Jesus is our life! (Romans 6:14, Colossians 3:4) We are free from sin and now we live to serve the God who created us, the God who saved us, the God who redeemed us and the God who has called us to eternal life in His one and only Son! We do not deserve the blessed eternal Iife to which God has called us in His Son but God, in His grace, has blessed us with our salvation in our Savior Jesus and, in Him, we have been forgiven for all of our past, present and future sins for all of eternity! We have been set free in our Savior Jesus and we are called to live a holy life in Him. (1 Peter 1:16) We are to put the ways of the world behind us striving to always keep God’s commands and live a life that brings Him glory! We are no longer slaves to sin, in our Savior Jesus, (Romans 6:14) and He has conquered sin and death for us!

1 Peter 2:16 says that we are to “Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. (NIV) We have been set free from sin and death in our Savior Jesus, but we have not been set free to live a life that glorifies our sinful nature, we have been set free to live a life that glorifies God! We have been set free from sin and death for all of eternity and we have been blessed with true life and eternal life in our Savior Jesus! Let us live a life that is worthy of this blessed calling that we have received in Jesus, a calling that we do not deserve! Let us live as free people who serve the one and only living God of all creation, as His precious and dearly loved children, who He has called to eternal life in His Son! Let us live as those who have Jesus living in our inner being for, as children of God who believe in His one and only Son, Jesus does in fact live in our inner being! We have spent enough time indulging in sinful acts when we were still alienated from God because of our sin, but now, in Jesus, we have been reconciled to God by the blood of His one and only Son who loves us and gave Himself for us! As Ephesians 2:3-5 says “All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. (NIV) We have been blessed with the grace of God! The God who we sin against has saved us, redeemed us and blessed us with eternal life in His Son who died for us so that we could have this blessed eternal life to which we have been called in Him! Let us not grow weary in doing good for we are looking forward to an eternal future in heaven with our Savior Jesus! Let us live accordingly! Since we have been set free from sin, let us not burden ourselves again by living as though we are still slaves to sin! We are no longer slaves to sin (Romans 6:14) so let us live as free people who have Jesus living in our inner being because that is who we are!

Galatians 5:13-14 says “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (NIV) We have been blessed with salvation in our Savior Jesus and we have been blessed with eternal life in Him, even though we deserve death and punishment because of our sin. We have been blessed with the grace of God! In Jesus, we have been forgiven for all of our past, present and future sins for all of eternity and none of our sins will ever be counted against us! We have been blessed with these perfect blessings from God, we do not deserve them and we have not received these blessing because of anything we have done. We have been blessed with God’s grace in our Savior Jesus who loves us and died on the cross to save us from our sins and reconcile us to God! We must walk humbly with the Lord our God for we do not deserve the blessed eternal life to which we have been called in our Savior Jesus but God loves us perfectly and He has blessed us with everything we do not deserve! As children of God, who believe in Jesus, we have Jesus living in our inner being! Let us always remember that we are sinners and we do not deserve the forgiveness we have been blessed with, in our Savior Jesus, and let us be faithful in seeing everyone around us as we should! Let us see people through the eyes of a child of God for that is who we are in our Savior Jesus! Let us remember that no one is perfect and we all sin, and that includes us. We all need Jesus! Praise God that we have been blessed with our faith in Jesus so that none of our sins will ever be counted against us!

Jesus lives in our inner being and He is the light of life! (John 1:4) Jesus lives in us and He is constantly sharing His truth and love with everyone around us through us! It is God who works in us to do His will. (Philippians 2:13) Jesus is the light of life, He lives in our inner being and His light is constantly shining in us and through us! Jesus is the light in us who constantly shines as an eternal beacon of hope, peace and love that never goes out! We have escaped darkness in Him so let us live as those who have the light of life in us and let us be careful to never act as someone who walks in darkness for, in Jesus, we have escaped darkness and we have been set free from sin and death for all of eternity! Let us remember that Jesus is always loving others through us and let us keep in step with Him. All of the good in us is Christ in us and praise God for this perfect blessing, for since the good in us is Christ in us, the good in us will never cease or fail! Be careful to love those around you for you have been called to eternal life in your Savior Jesus and He lives in you, so let your light shine before all people! Forgive others and be compassionate! As Colossians 3:13 says “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. (NIV) Praise God that your sins have been eternally forgiven in your Savior Jesus and be faithful in forgiving those around you with a sincere heart!

Praise God for the blessed eternal life to which we have been called in our Savior Jesus! Now let us enjoy this blessed life to which we have been called and let us be faithful in living a life that glorifies God! For God has rescued us from darkness, set us free from sin and death and He has brought us into the light blessing us with our faith in His one and only Son who paid the full price for us! As Colossians 1:13-14 says “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (NIV) Go forth rejoicing in the Lord your God sharing your joy with all those around you! For you have been eternally set free in your Savior Jesus and you are looking forward to an eternal future in heaven with Him!