If the Son sets you free then you will be free indeed (John 8v36). Our human nature, because of sin, is able to hold us in captivity. Not with bars of iron or shackles and chains but with lusts, desires and the torments of our own thinking. As a result the devil is able to oppress and trap us in spiritual captivity, we become slaves. The writer of Hebrews warns us of this sin that so easily ensnares. It is not only the outward acts of sin born out of our temptations and desires that can imprison us but also those inward, self destructive, thoughts and feelings. Toxic thoughts that consume our ability to break the cycles of life that can so easily become the prisons of the heart and mind (fear, insecurity, self loathing to name just a few). This is a powerful description of the nature of sin and the deceitful schemes of the enemy. It is so easy to convince ourselves that somehow we are free because we can do what we like in this life (or so it may seem). The truth is there are so many things that we have little or no control over. It may at times become evident to us that our lives are not really our own as we labour and toil in this life. God in His infinite love and wisdom makes a way for us to be set free from such captivity. Not by relocating us to a new area or changing our job, but by releasing us from the hold that sin and our self destructive nature can have upon us. Jesus bought our freedom upon the cross. Freedom not only from the righteous requirement of the law (God’s standards) but also from the captivity of our hearts and minds. A freedom from behind the bars, Paul wrote much about our spiritual liberty and freedom whilst imprisoned under house arrest in Rome. Others too through out the ages have proven this freedom of heart and spirit that is found in Christ the One who is able to truly set us free. Paul writes in Romans to be transformed by the renewing of your mind (Romans 12v2). So we see that in Christ there is a change of heart and then a transformation of thinking as He sets us free. As we grow in Him we find there is a change of perspective, a different way of seeing ourselves and the world in which we exist. Let this mind be in you (Philippians 2v5) in other words see things from God’s perspective. In this way we find ever increasing freedom in Christ as we lose the selfish and often destructive thinking of the old nature and put on this new perspective. It is both a spiritual and a psychological freedom (hearts and minds) that comes from trusting Him for both the major events and the small details of our every day lives. For I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able…(2 Timothy 1v12) declares Paul. Our challenge then is not in being set free (Jesus has done that) but in living free, learning to walk and grow in this new found freedom. Free from fear, self loathing, insecurity, selfishness, anger, resentment and so much more!
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