Freedom in Christ

“I saw mercy,

Mercy seated where the judge should be.

Was guilty,

Guilty and getting out of jail free.”

-Andrew Ripp “For the Love of God.”

Guilty. Romans 3:23 calls us all guilty. James 2:10 offers no distinction whether we’ve only stumbled once or if we’ve fallen again and again. The truth remains, every time and for everyone, that we are guilty.

The Bible calls him the accuser, and in the last days, accuse is exactly what he will do when we stand before the throne, the Book of Life open in the hands of the Father.

For now though, we’ll call him the liar. Sometimes, his lies are obvious. Lies against the Lamb, lies that shake our faith or threaten to destroy our confidence. Then there are times, however, when they’re sneakier, more discreet. Sometimes, these dirty lies come out sounding like sweet, syrupy encouragement. “You’re strong enough on your own.” “Don’t bother God with what you can handle yourself.” And the thing about our humanity is . . . we’re arrogant enough to believe those lies. We’re arrogant enough to believe we can conquer our sins on our own.”

He’s the liar, the accuser, the enemy, and in the heavenly courts, the prosecutor.

But we don’t have to rise to our own defense. It’s okay to not be able to do it on our own. In fact, it's expected. Mercy still sits in the judgement seat; all we have to do is call on our heavenly appointed defense. All we have to do is repent, and our sins and the crimes for which we’ve been accused will be no more (Acts 3:19-20).

We are free in Christ, friends. That means the above-referenced Book of Life won’t contain a list of our sins and transgressions, but simply our names. Jesus has already pled our case. He’s already won—the battles we’ve faced, and the battles still to come. He’s already won.

That’s freedom in Christ. Not the ability to live however we want, but the acknowledgement that God has already broken the chains and bondage of sin.

This freedom is freely given but only activated if received through recognition and repentance.

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.”

-Romans 8:1-2