Freedom Now: Living in the Law of Life in Christ
The message of the gospel is not a delayed promise but a present reality. The law of sin and death once held us in an unbreakable grip, as certain as gravity—wherever there was sin, death followed. Humanity has long operated under the illusion that one could indulge in sin without reaping its inevitable consequences. But the law is absolute: sin and death are inseparable.
Paul, however, did not preach a gradual release from this bondage, nor did he proclaim partial deliverance. He declared full and immediate freedom in Christ. The moment we believed, we were transferred from the dominion of darkness into the kingdom of the Son (Colossians 1:13). The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus set us free—not in increments, not in some distant future, but now (Romans 8:2).
A man lost at sea, tossed by relentless waves, fights desperately to stay afloat. His strength is failing. Then, suddenly, a rescue helicopter hovers above. A lifeline is lowered, not as a promise for later, but as an immediate, present deliverance. He doesn’t need to struggle for survival anymore—he simply needs to take hold of what has already been given. To keep flailing in the water as though the rescue were uncertain would be absurd.
Likewise, many believers live as though freedom from sin’s dominion is an aspirational goal rather than a completed fact. But the gospel is clear: in Christ, we are no longer slaves to sin (Romans 6:6-7). Our deliverance is not pending approval; it has been sealed by the blood of Christ. The power of sin no longer dictates our lives—unless we allow it to by failing to walk in the reality of our new life.
This is the message that thrilled the world when Paul proclaimed it, and it continues to set hearts ablaze. The law of the Spirit of life has already liberated us. We do not struggle to obtain freedom—we walk in the freedom that is already ours.
Prayer of Confidence and Thanksgiving
Father, we rejoice in the truth that we have been set free from the law of sin and death. We do not plead for what You have already given but stand firm in the liberty that is ours in Christ. Thank You that we are no longer bound by the power of sin, for the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made us free. Today, we walk in this truth, fully alive in the law of life, experiencing the joy, peace, and righteousness that are already ours in Your Son. Amen.
📖 Excerpt from In Christ by E. Stanley Jones
📸 Photo credit: Unsplash