Where Freedom is Found.

I don’t know about you, but I tend to twist around the truth of the gospel. I often fall into the mindset that what I do determines who I am, rather than the truth: who I am dictates what I do. Paul makes no mistake in the meticulous order of his words in the book of Colossians 3, always proclaiming truth before responsibility:

“For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”

“Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immortality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.”

“…you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.”

“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holey and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience…”

We have died. We have been raised with Christ. We are God’s chosen ones, and we are proclaimed righteous. What beauty and rest we could embrace if we would only live in light of this truth, instead of constantly expending ourselves to be something we already are. If we know how we are to respond to the gospel, yet fail to soak in the truth of the gospel, allowing it to penetrate our hearts – we will fall short every single time we try to live out our calling. The truth is, God cares profoundly about what motivates our obedience. Obeying to be “worthy before God” (which, if you have been raised with Christ, you have already obtained) and obeying because you are overwhelmed by what Christ has accomplished in your life are two very different things. Any obedience that is not grounded in the gospel is unsustainable. I love how Tullian Tchividjian puts it:

“Paul always soaks gospel obligations in gospel declarations
 because he cares deeply about what motivates our obedience
and what will cause our obedience to last.”

Paul provides an essential reminder in Galatians 3: “Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?”  The truth is, it’s our nature to be independent and self-sufficient. Our culture relentlessly drives this mindset into our thinking. Which is why we have to wage war and take up our weapons that have divine power to “demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God” (2 Cor. 10:5). Otherwise, we will never live in the freedom of the gospel. We will constantly be trying, but always failing. Yes – we will have good intentions, but Christ didn’t die for us to have good intentions. He died for us to live in response to what He has already accomplished; setting us free from our human efforts that will never be enough. We have to come to the realization that only one thing can satisfy the wrath of God: the cross. And I have news for you, it is finished. That we would live under this glorious declaration.

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.” (Galatians 5:1)

Walk in it.