Post 36: Freedom in Christ
Image: Silhouette of a man looking out over a sunset skyline with flags showing the text "Jesus Christ" and "Amen". There is text above the man's head which reads "True Freedom is Found Only in Christ! - John 8:36". The phrase "bytesofsalvation.com, July 2026" is shown in the bottom right corner.
Summary: This post discusses how faith in Christ frees the believer from the condemnation of God and how anyone can obtain this freedom. I also talk about why only Jesus can offer this freedom, as well as a few of the ways this freedom can show up in the believer's life.
I came to believe on Jesus Christ's sacrificial shedding of His blood for the full and forever forgiveness of my sins over 2 years ago. Trusting in Christ alone to deliver me from the spiritual wage of my sin, God gave me His Spirit and I became an adopted child of the living God of heaven and earth.
Now, as God's child, I have been learning that true freedom comes only to the person who is forgiven of their sins and knows that they are made right with God by His grace alone, through their faith in Jesus, the Risen Savior!
In order for me to come to an understanding that true spiritual freedom exists in Jesus Christ alone, I had to first understand what Jesus saves us from and why He is the only way that man can be saved from the eternal spiritual penalty of our sin.
Part 1: The Condemnation of Hell for the unbeliever
What is this condemnation?
The Bible teaches that God, as the creator of all things, He is the righteous judge who has the right and authority to condemn the wicked. God's judgment of the wicked is seen all throughout the Bible, in both the Old and New Testaments. Scripture continually highlights the consequences of disobedience to God's law and the need for redemption from our sins which cannot be obtain by following the law. In the Old Testament, condemnation often arises from violating God's laws and commandments. Examples include the consequences of breaking the Mosaic Law (Deuteronomy 27:26) and the prophetic warnings against sin (Isaiah 5:20).
John 3:16- 19 says:
“16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him. 18 Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil."
These verses showed me that those who believe on Jesus will have eternal life but those who do not believe on Jesus are already condemned because they do not believe. These verses also showed me that God sent His son as a light into the world to save it but man rejects Him because we love the darkness and our deeds are evil.
The Bible describes a final judgment where the ungodly who refuse to believe and trust in Christ alone for the full payment of their sins will face eternal punishment. This condemnation of Hell is God's final judgment and consequence of rejecting His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Matthew 25:46 describes the concept of "eternal punishment" for the wicked (e.g the unbelievers), contrasted with "eternal life" for the righteous (e.g the believers). Other verses include Revelation 21:8, which describes the lake of fire for liars and other sinners, and Matthew 10:28, a teaching from Jesus about fearing God who can destroy both body and soul in hell. He calls it “the hell of fire” (Matt. 5:22), “eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matt. 25:41), and “unquenchable fire” (Mark 9:43).
Why are we condemned?
We are all born with an inherited, unbelieving, sinful nature, that is in opposition to God. This is because of the curse of sin passed down from the first man, Adam, to all born after him (Genesis 3). Because of this, all have sin from birth therefore we all have the sin problem that brings forth condemnation, and are separated from God.
According to Romans 3:23, "All have sinned and fallen short of God's Glory. God declares us guilty and wicked by our inherited sin nature, which is oriented towards sin and away from God. The condemnation because of our sin is linked to God's justice and righteousness, implying that those who oppose God's way of redemption through Christ alone will face this consequence.
John 3:36"Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him." This verse contrasts two di paths: believing in Christ alone for the forgiveness of sins results in eternal life, while rejecting that Jesus is the only way to salvation keeps the condemnation of God on you, leading to eternal separation from God.
Part 2: What is Freedom in Christ!
Freedom in Jesus Christ (e.g. Salvation) is spiritual liberation from the penalty of God's wrath towards sin, given as a free gift to all who trust in Christ's blood payment on the cross for their salvation. On the cross, Jesus stepped in our place to bear the penalty of the sins of humanity. Those who believe that Jesus did this for themselves specifically have the blood of Christ applied to them, wiping out that debt of sin which we ourselves cannot pay by any measure of our own effort.
Believers in Christ are also liberated from the power of sin, and like Christ, will be raised from death, defeating death and the grave forever! This spiritual liberation also allows believers to live according to God's will with the help of the Holy Spirit.
But what exactly do you need to believe to obtain this freedom?
All of us are sinners (Romans 3:10; 3:23; Isaiah 64:6; Jeremiah 17:9; James 2:10)
The penalty of our sin is death (Romans 6:23; Ezekiel 18:20)
We must be perfect to enter heaven (Revelation 21:27; Habakkuk 1:13; Psalm 5:4)
We can do nothing of ourselves to obtain this perfection (Ephesians 2:8-9; Galatians 2:16; Romans 4:5)
God provided Jesus Christ as a sin-bearer and imputes Christ's righteousness to the one who believes in Him (II Corinthians 5:21; Philippians 3:9; Isaiah 53:6; I Peter 3:18)
We need only to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Savior for salvation (John 3:16; Romans 10:9-11; John 1:12; Acts 16:31)
We can be certain of his salvation now, and that his salvation cannot be lost because eternal life is eternal (John 6:37-39; 10:28; I Peter 1:5; Hebrews 10:10-14; I John 5:13)
We must repent or turn away from our unbelief/rejection of Christ as the only method of salvation, to believe in what the bible says about who Jesus is, and what Jesus has done on the cross for the salvation of all humanity (Mark 1:15, Mark 16:16, John 8:24, Romans 4:24)! We live in unbelief when we place our faith and trust in our own human works or worldly systems and religions to save us. We also live in unbelief when we reject the truth in that we have sin for which we cannot pay and thus need a savior.
Psalm 34:22 says "The Lord redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned". This redemption was purchased by the death of Jesus Christ on the cross and His ressurection! Jesus paid the “wage of sin” on behalf of all of humanity, so we could be reconciled to God through his death, and through our reconciliation, receive eternal life (Romans 6:23, 2 Corinthians 5:18-19). Only those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for their salvation will escape the condemnation that is coming to all the earth because of sin (Romans 8:1)!
Jesus is the only savior
There are several bible verses that discuss salvation being exclusively through Jesus Christ, but three of my favorite verses are John 14:6, Acts 4:12, and 1 Timothy 2:5, shown below.
John 14:6: "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
Acts 4:12: "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved."
1 Timothy 2:5: "For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus.
These are three of the clearest verses in the bible that show that salvation comes only through Christ alone and no one else.
Armed with the knowledge of How Jesus's salvation frees us from the eternal penalty of our sin, verses like John 8:36 can be seen in a new light. This verse says, "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed". I love this verse because it emphasizes the profound and lasting freedom that comes through Jesus Christ.
In Christ, we have freedom from:
God's condemnation and wrath against the unbelieving world: Romans 8:1-2 tells us: "1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death". This passage means that those who believe in Christ Jesus for salvation are no longer subject to God's final and eternal punishment for their sins because they trust by Christ's blood payment on the cross their sins have been fully paid and therefore they no longer have to pay the wage of sin.
Slavery and bondage of sin: Through the reconciliation and love found in God's grace alone, believers are liberated from the bondage of sin, experiencing true spiritual freedom. Christ's sacrificial death and subsequent ressurection breaks the chains of sin and spiritual death, freeing believers from the bondage and penalty of their sinful nature. Believers are encouraged to stand firm in their freedom and not be ensnared by old patterns of sin (Galatians 5:1).
The Law's condemnation: Believers are freed from the oppressive system of the law and are now under grace, not condemnation (Romans 7:4). This does not mean that we no longer have to follow God's law. Rather, believers will not be judged according to the law but will instead be judged under God's grace. The law came to show mankind where we fall short but those who reject Christ in favor of following the law or relying on their works will not be saved (Romans 3:20, Galatians 2:16, Hebrews 10:1-4).
Death itself: The resurrection of Jesus offers the promise of eternal life, removing the fear of death for those who believe and triumph over death itself. Jesus promises that those who believe in Him will be resurrected unto eternal life (John 11:25-26), while those who reject His salvation will one day be resurrected unto damnation (John 5:28-29).
In Christ, we have freedom to live in:
Obedience to God: Without salvation, mankind's nature is against God and therefore we cannot obey God outside of Christ (Ephesians 2:3). Since believers have been reconciled to God through Christ's death (Ephesians 2:15-16), we are given the holy spirit (Ephesians 1:13), and by that spirt, we are now able to overcome sinful desires and obey God (Galatians 5:16, James 1:25). As the believer "walks" or lives by the spirit of God that is inside of them, we are able to live in true freedom and approach God with confidence (Ephesians 3:12, 2 Corinthians 3:17).
Service to Others: True freedom is used not for selfish desires but to serve one another in love. Galatians 5:13 tells us "You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love." I believe this means that although Christians have freedom in Christ, we should use that freedom to demonstrate our faith through focusing on serving others rather than ourselves. The principle is not about personal preference but about love for neighbors, prioritizing what will "edify," or build up, the community and bring glory to God.
Joy and Peace: This freedom leads to a life of joy, peace, regardless of your life cirucumstance. It also leads to a deeper relationship with God. Knowing that believers are made right with God through Christ, this should give us lasting joy and peace that cannot be shaken by anything we might experience in this world, because such joy and peace is not of this world, but of God (Psalm 16:11, Philippians 4:7).
Conclusion:
To those truly born again in Christ Jesus, we are set free, and so we ought to walk by the spirit and not by the flesh, that we may freely and lovingly serve the God of our Salvation, and live in the in the freedom Jesus purchased for us all on the cross! AMEN!