Jun
14
2012
Freedom in Christ
Guest Blogger: Jason Helopoulos
One of my favorite chapters in the Bible is Romans 6. I heard Romans 6 explained for the first time in a seminary classroom. The professor walked us through this chapter and as he did a true joy and peace began to occupy my heart and mind. It was one of those moments where I wanted the class to go on forever and also end as soon as possible. When the class did conclude I ran out the door, skipped my next class, and raced home to walk (or more accurately—”run”) my wife through Romans 6. She was gracious and listened as her young seminary student husband seized by zeal and enthusiasm rushed through a teaching of Romans 6. The lesson was probably lost in the moment, but I just had to share this new knowledge with someone.
The truth that was opened to me that day was that I am not only free from the guilt of sin, but also its reign and power. Paul uses “regal” language in Romans 6 (i.e. dominion, reign, under, etc.). In so doing he personifies sin as if it was a king sitting upon the throne. What struck me that day is that where sin once sat on the throne of my heart and life, grace now sits. In Christ, sin is no longer my sovereign. It is no longer my master. I am no longer a slave to sin having to obey its every enticement and command. I have been set free.
Our new found freedom in Christ is one of the most liberating doctrines of the Christian faith. And we need to have a full view and understanding of this freedom. In the Reformed community there has been quite an emphasis of late on the freedom we have in Christ from the guilt of sin. Thank God! That is essential in our Gospel preaching and teaching. But let us with equal force remind one another that we have been set free from the reign and power of sin as well. This is just as essential to our Gospel preaching and teaching.
In Christ I have been set free from the guilt of sin, but not that alone. I have also been set free from its reign and power. When we think about the Gospel, speak of proclaiming the Gospel, and encourage one another in the Gospel, we need to remember that the Gospel proclaims that we are set free from sin in Christ—free from its guilt, its reign, and its power. Let us teach, preach, and encourage one another in the full spectrum of our freedom from sin in Christ. What joy, peace, and godly living emerges from such knowledge.
10 Comments
Amen,Jesus now on the throne!.. But what does it(righteousness based on faith)say? “ THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For us, there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things and we exist through Him. Every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord Rom 10:8-10;1Cor 8:6b;Phil 2:11a
[...] Freedom in Christ - “In the Reformed community there has been quite an emphasis of late on the freedom we have in Christ from the guilt of sin. Thank God! That is essential in our Gospel preaching and teaching. But let us with equal force remind one another that we have been set free from the reign and power of sin as well. This is just as essential to our Gospel preaching and teaching.” /* [...]
The full gospel. Amen. Thanks, Jason. And thanks to those who encouraged my wife and I to read John Murray for his clear teaching on definitive sanctification.
The Gospel sets us free from what lay behind and empowers us to go forward. It dethrones sin and for the first time enables and empowers us to say, “Yes!” to God and, “No!” to sin.
Praise God and thank you for reminding us of this powerful and deeply meaningful truth.
onceforalldelivered.blogspot.com/
Jason,
This is what I spend the main part of my mentoring on. Christians in general do not have a grasp of this fact and truth. In addition, they do not really have a strong enough grasp on the truth that they only way they can live a victorious Christian life is through relying on the Holy Spirit. That is what I spend the other half focusing on.
So glad you posted this.
[...] Christ we are free from sin’s power. Grace is now reigns. Read about our victory over sin in Freedom in Christ from a guest post by Jason Helopoulos at Kevin DeYoung’s [...]
Jason,
I can’t agree more with your post.
However, to be honest, this is precisely the reason I don’t understand why so many Christians take the very next chapter (Romans 7) as descriptive of the life of a believer…since Romans 7 paints a picture of defeat and enslavement to sin.
Of course, IMO, it is clear the man in Romans 7 is the man who tries to attain righteousness through the law. (of course the law is powerless to set one free from sin…only Christ can do that)
But then again…maybe thats just me?
Thank God for the article, this message needs to be proclaimed everywhere, because as you mentioned, freedom from guilt has become the focus, and while its true, freedom from the reign of sin is very important for our walk with God and pleasing Him.
It also shows Christs ability to completely save, not just taking the penalty of our sin, but delivering us from our place of being dominated by sin.
Praise the Lord!
[...] as a ‘Guest Blogger’ by Kevin DeYoung (also of East Lansing) on The Gospel Coalition blog and is used with his [...]
“In Christ, sin is no longer my sovereign. It is no longer my master. I am no longer a slave to sin having to obey its every enticement and command. I have been set free.”
Complete disrespect of basic logic is one of the reasons im not religious.
The ability to choose to do or not do something, is the very definition of freedom. The ability to choose to say no to comitting sin IS freedom. BEING FORCED to say no, because someone or something else has told you that you will be punished for saying yes, is the very definition of slavery!!!!!!!!
I will never understand the thought process of you people, mainly because i just cannot see how you people fail to understand the basics of logic.