How you are made free

[veryberry]

John 8:32 - And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

John 8:36 - If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.



This is an act of creation.



You are made free from being a servant of sin.

John 8:34 - Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.



Then you are in Christ and become a new creature.

2 Cor 5:17 - Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.



Then you receive the holy Spirit which guides you in all Truth

John 16:13 - Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.



And you are made servants of righteousness.

Romans 6:18 - Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.

Romans 6:22 - But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.

1 Cor 7:21 - Art thou called being a servant? care not for it: but if thou mayest be made free, use it rather.



Created unto good works.

Eph 2:10 - For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.





Lets take a dog that has been chained up for 7 years. You can go and take his chain off "set him free" and walk away. Chances are he will stay with in the dirt circle that he created for 7 years because he knows no difference. But if you walk in, and put a leash on the dog and walk him, and guide him out, you have "made him free". We are that dog and Jesus Christ is the master that walks with us and guides us. He makes us free.

 

[reba]

 

[TOG]

Hmmm... I don't see a "Like" link anywhere. Apparently, it's not allowed to like in this section. I would like that article post if I could. Here's the next best thing.

The TOG​

 

[mondar]

veryberry, good post. I do not disagree, but can I make some clarifications? I hope to add some stuff and get a little more specific about the nature of our freedom in Christ. I sincerely hope that it does not take away from your exellent OP in any way.

You used two references from Romans 6.

Romans 6:18 - Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
Romans 6:22 - But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.

Our freedom is not from sins, but from sin. I left your bolded words in, but underlined "from sin." We are not freed from sins, but from sin. We continue to have personal sins, but we are freed from the power of sin nature. This of course raises a question. If we are freed from the power of our sin nature, why then to we have personal sins? My point here is that the word "sin" in Romans 6 is referring to our nature.

As Romans 5:12 says, with sin, comes death.
Rom 5:12 Therefore, as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin; and so death passed unto all men, for that all sinned: -
Now this death is both spiritual and physical. The freedom from sin that we have relates to this death. Chapter 6 says so much about sin and death and their relationship. Notice the frequency of the concept of death and died in the beginning of Romans 6.....
Rom 6:3 Or are ye ignorant that all we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
Rom 6:4 We were buried therefore with him through baptism unto death: that like as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life.
Rom 6:5 For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection;
Rom 6:7 for he that hath died is justified from sin.
Rom 6:8 But if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him;
Rom 6:9 knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death no more hath dominion over him.
Rom 6:10 For the death that he died, he died unto sin once: but the life that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
Rom 6:11 Even so reckon ye also yourselves to be dead unto sin, but alive unto God in Christ Jesus.
I count 13 times in 9 verses (I did not include verse 6).
So then, the first thing we can observe about our "freedom from sin" is that it is not we ourselves that make ourselves free, but our freedom in in and through the death of Christ. With sin, there had to be death. While we will still suffer physical death, it was Christ death that the spiritual death happened when he was a substitute spiritual death in taking the penalty for our sin. So then, it is not we ourselves that make ourselves free from sin, it is the spiritual death of Christ on the cross. Christ said "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me. In Romans 6, what makes the believer free is that we died in Christ, as our federal head, we died with him. I am tempted to get into that union between the believer and Christ that the phrase "in Christ" speaks of. This is a union of a federal head. The phrase is defined in Romans 5, but that is another subject. I will stick to your OP and the concept of our freedom.... our freedom "in Christ." Suffice it to say that our freedom came at a price, but that price was fully paid by Christ alone. Of course with Christ death and then resurrection comes "life" or even "eternal life." Notice how Romans 6, while it speaks so much of death, it ends with the concept of life, even eternal life.
Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The amazing things is that this freedom is free itself. Free freedom sounds wierd, but this free freedom came at great cost to Christ, but free to believers.

Yet there is another aspect of our freedom mentioned in Romans 6. Notice the concept of servant, or slavery.
Rom 6:16 Know ye not, that to whom ye present yourselves as servants unto obedience, his servants ye are whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
Rom 6:17 But thanks be to God, that, whereas ye were servants of sin, ye became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching whereunto ye were delivered;
Rom 6:18 and being made free from sin, ye became servants of righteousness.
Rom 6:19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye presented your members as servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity, even so now present your members as servants to righteousness unto sanctification.
Rom 6:20 For when ye were servants of sin, ye were free in regard of righteousness.
Rom 6:21 What fruit then had ye at that time in the things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.
Rom 6:22 But now being made free from sin and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto sanctification, and the end eternal life.
I count 8 times in 7 verses. Now this term "servant" is doulos in greek. It speaks of the bondage of slavery. A kind of service that is bondage. When we were not believers, we had no rights to not sin. We were bond slaves who served sin. When Christ died in our place, this slavery to sin was ended.

Let me give an illustration that might help. Back in the civil war (USA civil war in 1861 to 1865).... Before the civil war, the black man was enslaved. He had no legal rights to any freedom. He was not free. Then in the civil war, he was proclaimed free. Yet, where did many of the black men and black families go after they were free. They went right back to the old plantation and worked for their former masters. They were legally free, but their employment was the same. Little had changed. The former master was still alive and still tried to keep the slave on the plantation.

This is what Paul is arguing against in Romans 6. Since Christ set us free, we should serve Christ, not the former master, sin nature. Now the sin nature is not dead, it is still present in our flesh. Romans 7 talks about the presence of the sin nature in our flesh. But the power of that sin nature to demand our obedience has been destroyed at the cross. We are now free to leave the plantation and our former master, sin nature, and serve our new master, Christ, and righteousness. Our freedom is a legal, forensic freedom. We are free and have no obligation to serve our sin nature. We now have an obligation to serve our new master, Christ and righteousness.

As Romans Rom 6:18 says... "and being made free from sin, ye became servants of righteousness" we are free from the authority of sin (sin nature).... this freedom does not mean we do not have personal individual sins, but it means we no longer have that sin nature as our master.

In Romans 6, there is a huge difference between sins, and sin. Let us not serve sin by sinning. Let us serve Christ.

 

[iLOVE]

veryberry, good post. I do not disagree, but can I make some clarifications? I hope to add some stuff and get a little more specific about the nature of our freedom in Christ. I sincerely hope that it does not take away from your exellent OP in any way.

You used two references from Romans 6.


Our freedom is not from sins, but from sin. I left your bolded words in, but underlined "from sin." We are not freed from sins, but from sin. We continue to have personal sins, but we are freed from the power of sin nature. This of course raises a question. If we are freed from the power of our sin nature, why then to we have personal sins? My point here is that the word "sin" in Romans 6 is referring to our nature.

As Romans 5:12 says, with sin, comes death.
Rom 5:12 Therefore, as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin; and so death passed unto all men, for that all sinned: -
Now this death is both spiritual and physical. The freedom from sin that we have relates to this death. Chapter 6 says so much about sin and death and their relationship. Notice the frequency of the concept of death and died in the beginning of Romans 6.....
Rom 6:3 Or are ye ignorant that all we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
Rom 6:4 We were buried therefore with him through baptism unto death: that like as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life.
Rom 6:5 For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection;
Rom 6:7 for he that hath died is justified from sin.
Rom 6:8 But if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him;
Rom 6:9 knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death no more hath dominion over him.
Rom 6:10 For the death that he died, he died unto sin once: but the life that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
Rom 6:11 Even so reckon ye also yourselves to be dead unto sin, but alive unto God in Christ Jesus.
I count 13 times in 9 verses (I did not include verse 6).
So then, the first thing we can observe about our "freedom from sin" is that it is not we ourselves that make ourselves free, but our freedom in in and through the death of Christ. With sin, there had to be death. While we will still suffer physical death, it was Christ death that the spiritual death happened when he was a substitute spiritual death in taking the penalty for our sin. So then, it is not we ourselves that make ourselves free from sin, it is the spiritual death of Christ on the cross. Christ said "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me. In Romans 6, what makes the believer free is that we died in Christ, as our federal head, we died with him. I am tempted to get into that union between the believer and Christ that the phrase "in Christ" speaks of. This is a union of a federal head. The phrase is defined in Romans 5, but that is another subject. I will stick to your OP and the concept of our freedom.... our freedom "in Christ." Suffice it to say that our freedom came at a price, but that price was fully paid by Christ alone. Of course with Christ death and then resurrection comes "life" or even "eternal life." Notice how Romans 6, while it speaks so much of death, it ends with the concept of life, even eternal life.
Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The amazing things is that this freedom is free itself. Free freedom sounds wierd, but this free freedom came at great cost to Christ, but free to believers.

Yet there is another aspect of our freedom mentioned in Romans 6. Notice the concept of servant, or slavery.
Rom 6:16 Know ye not, that to whom ye present yourselves as servants unto obedience, his servants ye are whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
Rom 6:17 But thanks be to God, that, whereas ye were servants of sin, ye became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching whereunto ye were delivered;
Rom 6:18 and being made free from sin, ye became servants of righteousness.
Rom 6:19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye presented your members as servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity, even so now present your members as servants to righteousness unto sanctification.
Rom 6:20 For when ye were servants of sin, ye were free in regard of righteousness.
Rom 6:21 What fruit then had ye at that time in the things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.
Rom 6:22 But now being made free from sin and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto sanctification, and the end eternal life.
I count 8 times in 7 verses. Now this term "servant" is doulos in greek. It speaks of the bondage of slavery. A kind of service that is bondage. When we were not believers, we had no rights to not sin. We were bond slaves who served sin. When Christ died in our place, this slavery to sin was ended.

Let me give an illustration that might help. Back in the civil war (USA civil war in 1861 to 1865).... Before the civil war, the black man was enslaved. He had no legal rights to any freedom. He was not free. Then in the civil war, he was proclaimed free. Yet, where did many of the black men and black families go after they were free. They went right back to the old plantation and worked for their former masters. They were legally free, but their employment was the same. Little had changed. The former master was still alive and still tried to keep the slave on the plantation.

This is what Paul is arguing against in Romans 6. Since Christ set us free, we should serve Christ, not the former master, sin nature. Now the sin nature is not dead, it is still present in our flesh. Romans 7 talks about the presence of the sin nature in our flesh. But the power of that sin nature to demand our obedience has been destroyed at the cross. We are now free to leave the plantation and our former master, sin nature, and serve our new master, Christ, and righteousness. Our freedom is a legal, forensic freedom. We are free and have no obligation to serve our sin nature. We now have an obligation to serve our new master, Christ and righteousness.

As Romans Rom 6:18 says... "and being made free from sin, ye became servants of righteousness" we are free from the authority of sin (sin nature).... this freedom does not mean we do not have personal individual sins, but it means we no longer have that sin nature as our master.

In Romans 6, there is a huge difference between sins, and sin. Let us not serve sin by sinning. Let us serve Christ.

why then to we have personal sins?

The reason why is because the mind and flesh remembers...not your new spirit. So the mind must be renewed while you also crucify the flesh daily by hearing the word of God. This is a lifetime sanctification process to say connected to the Cross where the power is.