What Is Freedom

AVOID USING GUILT OR MANIPULATION WORDS. STAY POSITIVE

Week 1: What Is Freedom?

Key Text: John 8:31–36

“So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, ‘If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’ They answered him, ‘We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, “You will become free”?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.’”

Big Idea

Jesus did not merely set us free from something; He set us free for something—to live the life God designed for us.

Introduction

CHAIN ILLUSTRATION

Everyone wants freedom.

Freedom from debt.

Freedom from fear.

Freedom from addiction.

Freedom from guilt.

Freedom from shame.

However, the Bible teaches that the greatest freedom is spiritual freedom.

A person can be physically free and still be emotionally, mentally, or spiritually bound. You can live in a free country, make your own decisions, and still be controlled by something you cannot overcome, conquer or defeat.

Jesus said:

“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

That is not a suggestion that is a promise.

The question is not merely, “Am I free to do what I want?”

The question is, “Am I free to become who God created me to be?”

I. FREEDOM IS FOUND ONLY THROUGH JESUS CHRIST

John 8:36 “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

A. Freedom is a person before it is an experience.

Freedom begins with knowing Jesus.

Freedom cannot be separated from a relationship with Christ.

You cannot experience true freedom while rejecting the One who provides it.

B. Religion cannot produce freedom.

Religion attempts to change people through rules and outward behavior.

Rules may control behavior temporarily, but they cannot transform the heart.

Religion teaches people how to appear righteous.

Jesus makes people righteous through faith in Him.

C. Jesus came to set captives free.

Jesus did not come merely to make bondage more manageable.

He came to break bondage’s authority.

He came to release people from sin, shame, condemnation, and spiritual oppression.

What human effort could not accomplish, Jesus accomplished through His death and resurrection.

Key Truth

Freedom is not earned; it is received through Jesus Christ.

II. FREEDOM IS NOT THE ABILITY TO LIVE HOWEVER YOU WANT

Many people define freedom by saying:

“Nobody can tell me what to do.”

However, biblical freedom is not the absence of authority. It is freedom from the wrong authority so that we can live under the authority of Christ.

Galatians 5:13 “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.”

A. Freedom is not lawlessness.

Freedom does not mean living without boundaries.

Freedom does not mean following every feeling or desire.

Freedom does not give us permission to continue in sin.

Anything that destroys us cannot be called freedom.

B. Everyone serves someone or something.

Every person lives under some form of influence.

We are either influenced by sin or led by righteousness.

We are either controlled by the flesh or directed by the Spirit.

What we consistently obey eventually becomes our master.

C. Grace empowers obedience, not rebellion.

Grace does not excuse sinful living.

Grace teaches us how to reject ungodliness.

Grace gives us the power to live differently.

Grace enables us to do what willpower alone could never accomplish.

D. Freedom allows us to serve others.

The evidence of freedom is not selfishness.

A free person no longer has to make everything about himself.

We have been set free to love, serve, give, forgive, and obey God.

Key Truth

Biblical freedom is the power to obey God, not permission to disobey Him.

III. CHRIST HAS SET US FREE FROM THE RULE OF SIN AND DEATH

Romans 8:1–2 “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.”

A. Christ has freed us from the penalty of sin.

Sin produced guilt before God.

Sin separated humanity from God.

Jesus took the penalty of our sin upon Himself.

Those who are in Christ are no longer under condemnation.

We may experience conviction, but we no longer live under condemnation.

Conviction tells us that we have done something wrong and draws us toward God.

Condemnation tells us that we are something wrong and drives us away from God.

B. Christ has freed us from the power of sin.

Sin may still tempt the believer, but it no longer has to dominate the believer.

We are no longer helpless against sinful desires.

Through Christ, we have the power to say no to what once controlled us.

Temptation may speak, but it no longer has the final authority.

C. Christ has freed us from spiritual death.

Before Christ, we were spiritually separated from God.

We could not produce spiritual life within ourselves.

Christ did not simply improve our old lives; He gave us new life.

We were spiritually dead, but through Christ, we have been made alive.

D. Christ has freed us from fear, guilt, shame, and condemnation.

Fear no longer has to control our decisions.

Guilt no longer has to define our relationship with God.

Shame no longer has to become our identity.

Condemnation no longer has the right to determine our future.

Your past may explain part of your story, but it does not have the authority to define your identity.

Key Truth

Freedom means sin is no longer your master, condemnation is no longer your sentence, and spiritual death is no longer your condition.

IV. HOW DO WE WALK IN FREEDOM?

Being set free is the work of Christ. Learning to walk in that freedom is the responsibility of the believer.

A. Believe what Christ has already accomplished.

John 8:31–32 “So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.””

Freedom begins with truth.

You cannot walk in a freedom you do not believe belongs to you.

We must believe what God says more than what our feelings, past, or circumstances say.

B. Renew your mind.

Romans 12:2 “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Christ may have freed your spirit while your mind still thinks like a slave.

Old ways of thinking can keep you living beneath your new identity.

Freedom grows as your thinking agrees with God’s Word.

C. Walk by the Holy Spirit.

Galatians 5:16 “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”

Freedom cannot be maintained through willpower alone.

The Holy Spirit gives us power over the desires of the flesh.

Walking in freedom requires daily dependence upon the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit empowers us to do what our flesh could never accomplish.

D. Stand firm in your freedom.

Galatians 5:1 “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.”

Freedom must be protected.

Old habits will attempt to reconnect us to old bondage.

Old environments may attempt to pull us back into former patterns.

We must refuse to return to what Christ has already delivered us from.

Do not pick up chains that Jesus has already removed.

Conclusion

Freedom is not:

Doing whatever feels good.

Living without boundaries.

Escaping responsibility.

Refusing accountability.

Following every desire.

Freedom is:

Knowing Jesus Christ.

Living under His lordship.

Being released from sin’s authority.

Walking by the Holy Spirit.

Becoming everything God created you to be.

Jesus did not free us so that we could live independently from Him. He freed us so that we could finally live fully for Him.

Closing Statement

Freedom is not the absence of restraint; it is the presence of Christ ruling in your life. When Jesus becomes your Master, sin is no longer your master. That is what it means to be free indeed.