Freedom in Surrender

by: Jessica Heikoop

Surrender. Slave. Servant. These certainly aren’t the first words most people think of when speaking of freedom. But as John Gill has said, “Love makes Christ’s service perfect freedom.” The wonderful truth is that as we surrender to Christ and live our lives in service to him, we experience the freedom for which we were made and to which we were called. This freedom comes because when we are no longer our own but are wholly his, we are rid of the yoke of slavery to sin and to this world. Freedom from sin is freedom indeed. It is freedom to be all we were meant to be.

Paul does offer us a warning, however, not to use our freedom “as an opportunity for the flesh” (v. 13). When we are in Christ, we are free from sin (its punishment and its mastery over us). We are not yet free of sin because we can never be sinless while living in this fallen world.

Satan knows that we still sin and will watch for any opportunity to entice us to sin again. This is why Paul cautions us not to misuse our Christian liberty by indulging ourselves in this world, thinking we’re safe from the temptations of Satan.

We are to rejoice in our freedom from the punishment and slavery of sin, but we are to still be wise and never abuse our freedom by living in sin.