The Experience of His Freedom - First15 - December 1

Weekly Overview:

To know God is to experience God. Just as we experience aspects of one another as we grow in friendship, we experience the wonders of God as we seek to simply know him. God is calling us to a life of seeking him with all we are. He is calling us to value relationship with him above all else that we would love no other but him. May you encounter wonderful aspects of relationship with your heavenly Father this week as we wholeheartedly seek to know him with all we are.

Scripture:

“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” Romans 6:1-4

Devotional:

The Christian experience of freedom was not established by the power and endurance of mankind, but by the sacrifice and love of our God. The freedom we experience is not our own, but his. Apart from the redemption bought for us, we have no strength to resist sin. And apart from continually renewing our minds to the truth of this redemption, we’ll continue to act as if chains that were broken long ago still tie us down to the world from which we’ve been successfully ransomed. Paul says in Romans 6:1-4,

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

To experience freedom here on earth is to continuously acknowledge that our old ways—our former self—was buried with Christ the day we accepted him as Lord. To sin is to live outside of the reality that we’ve been given a new resurrected identity in Christ, our resurrected King.

How do you see yourself in regard to your sin today? How do you believe you experience freedom? In what areas of your life are you still trying in your own strength to fight for something Jesus already bought with his blood? What sin have you not yet brought to the glorious light of God’s powerful resurrection that you might see it for what it truly is?

There is freedom for you today in Christ that’s available apart from any past failures, present downfalls, or future concerns. You can “walk in newness of life” as you live in the reality of the inner working of the Holy Spirit and follow his leadership away from your old identity. Your mistakes don’t change the reality of God’s grace. Your sin is powerless to bind you. Your freedom is just as sure as the limitless love of your Savior.

Take time today to renew your mind to who you are in Christ. Take time to bring your sin to the light and confess it that God might take it from you as far as the east is from the west. May you experience the freedom of your risen King today as you live in light of his powerful grace.

Guided Prayer:

1. Meditate on what the Bible says about freedom from sin. Align your understanding of your sin with the truth of God’s word.

“But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.” Romans 6:22

“Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” Romans 6:3-4

“And by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses.” Acts 13:39

2. What sin do you need to bring to God today in confession? What feels too dark and too powerful to gain freedom from? Bring it to him that you might see it in light of his power and sacrifice.

3. Ask God to reveal how he sees you. Ask him to reveal your new identity in him. Ask him how you can experience freedom from that which doesn’t align with your new identity.

Renewing our minds to our new identity takes time. Often, while we are gaining a correct understanding of our freedom, we need to set up boundaries to gain separation from darkness. Take time to identify things that continuously lead you into temptation. It could be friends, media, or actions that seem beneficial, like lifting weights or going shopping. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you establish boundaries that will guard your heart from the outside as he does a powerful work in you on the inside. May you experience the freedom purchased for you by the blood of Jesus as you “walk in newness of life” with the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Extended Reading: Romans 6

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