INTRODUCTION

Now that we’ve covered the scope and nature of the truth that Jesus said we need to know, we will begin to examine the content of His teaching, with a particular focus on what He taught about how to walk in freedom from sin. As a reminder, when we speak of Jesus’ teaching, we’re including the apostles’ teaching, as Jesus said He would speak to the apostles through the Spirit after His ascension.

The rest of this series will get into several details on this topic, but in this article, we will focus on the central topic and theme of Jesus’ teaching about how to experience freedom from sin.

THE GOSPEL IS THE WORD OF TRUTH

Remember from the previous articles that Jesus said if we continue in His Word, we will know the truth. This is obvious in the New Testament, but many miss the fact that the Apostle Paul actually referred to the Gospel he preached as “the Word of Truth”:

“In whom you also trusted, after that you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that you believed, you were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise,” Ephesians 1:13

The Word of Truth that will make you free if you know it is nothing other than the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The key to experiencing freedom from sin isn’t learning the 5 different things the Bible says to do when you’re tempted; nor is it discovering the 7 psychological principles hidden in the New Testament. Freedom doesn’t come from any list of steps, strategies, or scattered, disconnected insights. Freedom comes from understanding the Gospel.

In response to what I’ve just said, I can imagine some of you are thinking, “Wait a minute. I already know the Gospel, but I’m still not free.” Remember what we talked about in the Freedom = Potential article, though, which was Part 3 of this series. In that article, we discussed how in Romans 6, Paul teaches us that being free from sin means having the potential to yield our members to God in obedience to Him; it doesn’t mean it’s impossible for us to yield our members in obedience to indwelling sin. We also discussed how every single person who is in Christ possesses this potential to obey God, meaning every single person who is in Christ is free from sin (Rom 6:6-7). The way we all came to be in Christ was through hearing the Gospel, believing it, and putting our trust in what it says about who Jesus is and what He did for us on the cross. As such, the way we were first made free from sin was through knowing and putting our trust in the Word of Truth: the Gospel of our salvation.

AS YOU HAVE RECEIVED, SO WALK

Okay, so the Gospel makes us free in Christ initially, but how do we walk in that freedom after that? The answer is more simple than you might think. Listen to these words from Paul in his letter to the Church at Colosse:

“As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him” Colossians 2:6

As you have received, so walk.

We walk in Christ the same way we received Christ. We don’t receive Christ one way and then walk in Him a different way. We don’t receive freedom one way and then walk in freedom another way.

The same way we first received freedom from sin is how we walk in freedom from sin.

We receive Christ by hearing the Gospel of our salvation, believing it, and putting our trust in Christ and what the Gospel says about Him. So likewise, we walk in Christ and experience freedom in Him by believing and trusting in what the Gospel says about who He is and what He’s done.

The Colossians were trying to live out their Christianity through keeping ordinances based on the commandments and doctrines of men (Col 2:20-22), as though Christ and the Gospel were insufficient. They were seeking wisdom beyond Christ and beyond the Gospel. They were likely under the impression — the same way many are today — that the Gospel was just the beginning, with some deeper wisdom to be discovered thereafter about how to live for God.

Knowing the Colossians needed guidance about how to live for God, Epaphras traveled to Rome to seek guidance from Paul. The Book of Colossians in the New Testament is the letter Paul sent back with Epaphras to teach the Colossians how to walk in Christ.

Among other things — which we will discuss in more detail later in this series — Paul reminded the Colossians that all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are found in Christ:

“That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgment of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ; in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Colossians 2:2-3

He also taught them that everything they could ever need — which includes the ability to walk in freedom from indwelling sin — was to be found in Christ alone:

“Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And you are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power.” Colossians 2:8-10

This is all in the same context as Colossians 2:6 — the passage we just read about walking in Christ the same way we received Him. Paul is drawing the Colossians back to where they first began, not giving them some new wisdom beyond Christ and the message of His victory through the cross.

Paul was a disciple of Christ to the point where the Holy Spirit inspired Him to write, "Be you followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 11:1). He had continued in Jesus’ word, discovered the truth, and the truth had made him free. In his letter to the Colossians, he said this about the truth he had discovered:

“We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which you have to all the saints, for the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel; which has come unto you, as it is in all the world, and brings forth fruit, as it does also in you, since the day you heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth.” Colossians 1:3-6

Jesus said, “If you continue in my word, you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

According to Paul, the Gospel is that Word of Truth that brings forth the fruit of freedom from sin.

GOD GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE

What I’ve just written is so simple that it’s offensive to some. It offends the effort and intellect of man to tell him that the answer to his dilemma with sin is not something he does or some wisdom he discovers. Instead, it is God’s wisdom in Christ alone. Pride can keep us from discovering this simple truth, but if we’ll let our track record of failure versus success in the area of sin humble us, we will be in a place where we can see the truth.

“But he gives more grace. Wherefore he says, God resists the proud, but gives grace unto the humble.” James 4:6

We just read in Colossians 1:6 that when the Colossians first heard and believed the Gospel, that was when they knew “the grace of God in truth.” If we are to know that same bondage-breaking truth and grace, we must humble ourselves. We must stop looking for answers within ourselves and look outside ourselves to Christ. Freedom from sin comes from a Savior, not from saving ourselves. And this Savior doesn’t give freedom to those who work the hardest and deserve it the most. He gives freedom to ungodly sinners who didn’t earn it, didn’t work for it, and don’t deserve it, but have been humbled by the weight of their sin to the point where they learn to put all their hope in Him alone.

After I discovered this truth nine-and-a-half years ago, I kept saying to my wife in the car on the ride home from church, “I can’t believe it’s so simple.” I’d scoured Christian books and television looking for answers without ever understanding, but the simple answer was right there to be discovered the whole time. The answer is simply Christ. The answer is a Savior. The answer is the victory over sin that He won on the cross 2,000 years ago. He didn’t die on the cross for nothing. He died for us. He did it so people like you and me could experience freedom from sin — if we’re willing to humble ourselves and depend only on what He did for us.

CONCLUSION

At this point, you might be asking, “What is it about Christ and the Gospel I’m supposed to know?” We will certainly get to that, but before we do, it’s important that you come to the conclusion that the truth you’re looking for is surely the Gospel itself. As long as you keep looking for the truth in fragmented pieces of God’s Word — or worse yet in the wisdom of man — you will never come to know the truth Jesus was speaking of in John 8:32. What you need isn’t a tip here and a tip there, a list of steps and strategies, or some psychological insight. You need a more complete understanding of the Gospel and how it relates to walking in freedom from sin.

So before we go on to discovering that truth, I encourage you to make today a turning point in your search. Make a decision to stop chasing the latest Christian fad or looking for answers in the world’s way of doing things. Make a decision to stop looking to your own effort and intellect. Make a decision that you are going to depend on Christ alone and that you’re going to depend on His work alone. Even if you don’t get it right away, even if you fail, and no matter how many times you fail, decide that you will never again turn away from Christ and look to other things for deliverance. Make a decision to come back to where you first saw the light, knew the grace of God in truth, and it brought forth fruit in your life. Make a decision to come back to the cross. As the song says,

”At the cross, at the cross
Where I first saw the light,
And the burden of my heart rolled away,
It was there by faith I received my sight,
And now I am happy all the day!”

Remember, we must continue in Jesus’ teaching, which we have just learned is the Gospel. We don’t just believe the Gospel once and then stop. We walk in freedom the same way we received it. Once we’ve learned to look to the Gospel for our initial salvation, we must then engage in the process of learning to look to the Gospel for all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge that God offers — including the ability to walk in freedom from sin.

INTRODUCTION

In the previous article, we began a consideration of Jesus’ words in John chapter 8:

“Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If you continue in my word, then are you my disciples indeed; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:31-32

Jesus instructs Jews who believe on Him that to be His true disciples, they must continue in His Word. The principle is simple. Disciples are pupils or students. Disciples of Jesus are students of Jesus’ teaching. Believing on Jesus is how we enter the Kingdom, but once we’ve done that, we’re called to become His disciples, which means we’re called to learn of Him:

“Come unto me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

So, a prerequisite to knowing the truth — and thereby experiencing the freedom that knowing the truth produces — is continuing in Jesus’ teaching.

In the previous article, we discussed the scope of Jesus’ teaching. Specifically, we covered the fact that He sent the Spirit to say things to the apostles that He didn’t say to them during His earthly ministry and the fact that the apostles wrote down that teaching for us in the New Testament. We also covered that while the Old Testament is truth, it is not the full expression of the truth. As such, we must read the Old Testament through the lens of Jesus’ revelation of the truth if we are to understand it properly.

In this article, we will begin to focus specifically on the phrase, “know the truth.”

WE MUST KNOW JESUS THROUGH HIS TEACHING

It is often taught that the idea of knowing the truth is more about knowing Jesus on an intimate and personal level than it is about understanding information taught by and about Jesus. The support for this teaching is usually based on two things:

1. The fact that Jesus said in John 14:6 that He Himself is the Truth; and

2. A popular teaching that the Greek word translated know in John 8:32 is only used in an intimate, personal sense of knowing someone.

There is no doubt that Jesus is the Truth, and if we are to know the Truth, we must know Him. It’s also a fact that our knowledge must be more than intellectual or superficial — we must come to know the Truth deeply, intimately, and personally. However, the idea of knowing the Truth should never be divorced from understanding Jesus’ teaching. We can’t know Jesus in an intimate and personal way if we don’t even study or understand His teaching. The idea of knowing the Truth isn’t just about chatting back and forth with Him in prayer and getting to know His likes and dislikes, as though His only role in our life is to be our buddy or counselor. He is much, much more than that.

We must come to know Jesus not only as Savior, but also as Master, Lord, Deliverer, Redeemer, Healer, Teacher, and so much more. He must become our Alpha, our Omega, our Beginning, and our End. We must behold Him as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. We must discover Him as our Substitute and Representative Man. I could go on. Knowing Jesus is like drinking from an endless well of Living Water — there is always more and every new discovery brings a deeper experience of eternal life. To truly know the Truth, Jesus must become our all-in-all.

To divorce the idea of knowing the Truth from the idea of knowing and understanding Jesus’ teaching is to attempt to know Jesus apart from one of His primary roles — that of Teacher. And lest we fail to know Him in His role as the Author of the Scriptures, we must avoid reducing His teaching role to teaching only through inner witness. We must also know His teaching through the Scriptures that He inspired the apostles to write.

KNOWING = UNDERSTANDING

The support for the idea that the word know in John 8:32 only refers to intimate knowledge of the person of Jesus comes from how the word know is used in the following verses:

“Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: And knew her not until she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name Jesus.” Matthew 1:24-25

“Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?” Luke 1:34

The claim is that because the word know is used in these passages to refer to sexual relations, it must be that any time the same underlying Greek word is used, it must refer to something more intimate and personal than mere intellectual knowledge.

Strong’s Concordance is a great tool to check whether such claims are true. When a pastor or teacher says, “this Greek word always means this,” we don’t have to take their word for it. We have tools to see if their claim holds up.

The way I use Strong’s Concordance is through the Olive Tree Bible App. Within the app, you can download a free KJV Bible that’s connected to Strong’s Concordance. Once you’ve downloaded it and opened it up, you can click on any English word in the KJV text and a window will pop with the entry for that word from Strong’s Concordance. One of the things you will see in the entry is the original Greek word that corresponds to the word you clicked on. You’ll also see the number of times that Greek word is used in the Bible, all the different English words it’s translated into throughout the Bible, and how many times it’s translated into that word.

The Greek word that’s translated as know in John 8:32 of the KJV is ginōskō. According to Strong’s, it’s found in the Bible 223 times. Of those 223 instances, it’s translated as “know” 196 times, “perceive” 9 times, “understand” 8 times, and other miscellaneous words 10 times. Here’s how that information looks in Strong’s:

AV (223) - know 196, perceive 9, understand 8, misc 10;

Already, just by observing that ginōskō is sometimes translated as perceive or understand, we have some indication that it doesn’t necessarily always refer to something akin to sexual intimacy. We can learn even more from Strong’s Concordance though. Either within the Olive Tree app or using a printed Strong’s Concordance, we can get a list of every instance of ginōskō in the NT and see how it is used in context. The following are just a few examples that are relevant to our discussion here, as they clearly refer to knowing something in the ordinary (non-relational) sense of the word:

“And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived (ginōskō) that he spoke of them.” Matthew 21:45

“He said unto them, How many do you have? Go and see. And when they knew (ginōskō), they said, Five, and two fishes.” Mark 6:38

“And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew (ginōskō) not of it.” Luke 2:43

“They understood (ginōskō) not that he spoke to them of the Father.” John 8:27

This is just one example from each of the Gospels, but I could list many more. The bottom line is that there isn’t anything special about the word ginōskō that gives us additional insight into John 8:32; ginōskō is just the ordinary Greek word for know. Sometimes it’s a euphemism for sexual relations, but other times it simply refers to being aware of something or understanding something. Like most words, what it means in each particular context must be determined not by special knowledge of the Greek language, but by paying attention to how the author is using the word.

In John 8:32, Jesus is clearly referring simply to knowing and understanding His teaching. While He does refer to Himself as the Truth in John 14:6, that isn’t His point in John 8:32. In John 8:32, He’s directly referring to His teaching as the Truth, and knowing what someone has taught is more about understanding the meaning of something than having an intimate knowledge of an individual person.

Of course, the Truth Jesus teaches isn’t merely abstract or academic — it is deeply personal and transformational. His teaching reveals the reality of who we are, who God is, and God’s plan of redemption. The Truth Jesus teaches both informs and transforms. We’re not merely learning facts when we study Jesus’ teaching; we’re encountering a message that reveals God and reshapes our lives.

CONCLUSION

While it may sound like I’m attempting to discount the importance of knowing Jesus on a relational level, that is not the point of what I’ve been saying. What I’m pushing back against is the very popular notion that knowing the Truth in John 8:32 is primarily about relational knowledge — to the exclusion of doctrinal understanding. This notion elevates personal communication with Jesus over relating to Jesus as a student of His teaching, and such an approach will not result in freedom.

To know Jesus, we must know what He taught about Himself and what He taught about the meaning of His work on the cross. Our knowledge of Him cannot be separated from our knowledge of His teaching. He is our friend, but He is also our Teacher, and it’s as His students that we can come to know the liberating Truth of the Gospel.

In closing, consider what Paul says made the Romans free in the sixth chapter of his letter to them:

“But God be thanked, that you were the servants of sin, but you have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine (teaching) which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, you became the servants of righteousness.” Romans 6:17-18 (parentheses added)

To be made free from sin, we must continue in Jesus’ doctrine and come to understand it, giving us the ability to obey it. In the next article, we’ll begin to define His teaching and what it means to obey it.

INTRODUCTION

In the previous articles in this series, we spent some time defining what the Bible means when it talks about freedom from sin. We will come back to that later, but for now, let’s move on to how freedom from sin can actually be experienced in this life.

We’ll start by looking at a familiar, but seldom understood passage:

“Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If you continue in my word, then are you my disciples indeed; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:31-32

While most are familiar with this passage, my experience is that many have an incorrect understanding of what Jesus meant by these words. The misunderstanding usually regards an incorrect view of two phrases: 1) continue in my word; and 2) know the truth. In this article, we will focus on what it means to continue in Jesus’ Word. In the next article, we’ll consider what it means to know the truth.

THE ENTIRE NEW TESTAMENT IS JESUS’ WORD

Many seem to be under the impression that when Jesus said, “if you continue in my word,” He meant that the key to knowing the truth is to continue studying the words He spoke during His earthly ministry. The idea is that Jesus’ Word includes only the “red letters” — in other words, only the words He spoke while He was present on the Earth, which are written in red in many Bibles.

However, Jesus’ Word is not limited to the things He said during His earthly ministry. This is clear from the fact that He told the apostles that even though He had to go away, He still had many things to say to them — so He would send the Holy Spirit to guide them into all truth:

“Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you . . . . I have yet many things to say unto you, but you cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you.” John 16:7, 12-14

This passage is often quoted to encourage believers that the Holy Spirit will guide them into all truth — and that is absolutely true — but it’s extremely important to note that it was first said to the apostles. It was the biblical apostles who received from the Holy Spirit the rest of the things Jesus had to say and wrote them down for us in the New Testament.

Jesus’ Word — the Word we must continue in to know the truth and be made free — includes the apostles’ teaching. If we are to continue in Jesus’ Word, we must continue not only in Jesus’ teaching in the Gospels, but also His teaching through the apostles in Acts, the epistles, and Revelation. For those who aren’t familiar, this would be all the New Testament books from Acts through Revelation.

Notice what the Bible says the early church was continuing in:

“And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.” Acts 2:42

Doctrine is just another word for teaching. The early disciples were continuing steadfastly in the apostles’ teaching. Why? Because Jesus had said that if you continue in His Word, you will know the truth, and the apostles’ teaching was part of His Word.

THE OLD TESTAMENT IS JESUS’ WORD CONCEALED

Since I’ve made a case that Jesus’ Word includes not only the red letters, but also the entire teaching of New Testament, it’s reasonable to ask, “What about the Old Testament? Aren’t the words of the Old Testament His words as well? He is God the Son after all, and the Old Testament is the Word of God.”

This is where some nuance is necessary. It is absolutely true that because Jesus is God the Son, the entire Word of God — both Old and New Testaments — are His Word. However, as it regards our discussion here of what “word” will reveal the truth to us, John the apostle makes a striking statement in the first chapter of His Gospel account:

“For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” John 1:17

In this passage, John contrasts the giving of the Law of Moses with the giving of grace and truth. The implication is that the truth didn’t come through Moses and only came when Jesus Christ finally came and gave it. On the surface, this seems like a contradiction of the following passage:

“Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth.” Psalm 119:142

If God’s Law is the Truth, isn’t the Law what I need to know in order to be made free? Some popular teachers have said so. “If you want to be free from sexual immorality, learn and internalize what the Law says about sexual immorality,” is something I’ve heard before.

So, if Moses gave the Law, and the Law of God is the truth, why is truth said to have come by Jesus Christ — in contrast to the Law coming by Moses? Said another way, what is the truth: the law, or the teaching of Jesus Christ? The answer lies in the form of truth that came by Moses vs. the form of truth that came by Jesus Christ.

Notice what Paul says about the truth, law, and form in the following passage:

“Behold, you are called a Jew, and rest in the law, and make your boast of God, and know his will, and approve the things that are more excellent, being instructed out of the law; and are confident that you yourself are a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which have the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law.” Romans 2:17-20

By having the Law, the Jews possessed two things: 1) the form of knowledge in the Law; and 2) the form of truth in the Law. But what does it means to have the form of the truth in the Law? Here is the definition (from Olive Tree Enhanced Strong’s Dictionary) of the original Greek word that is translated form in verse 20:

STRONG’S NUMBER: g3446

g3446. μόρφωσις morphōsis; from 3445; formation, i.e. (by implication), appearance (semblance or (concretely) formula): — form.

AV (2) - form 2;

1. a forming, shaping

2. form

   1. the mere form, semblance

   2. the form befitting a thing or truly expressing the fact, the very form

Notice that the word can be used in two very different ways — either as the form truly expressing a thing, or merely as its outward shape or semblance. In this context, I believe Paul is saying the Law is the mere semblance or outward shape of the truth. In other words, it’s an accurate expression of the truth, but it lacks the complete essence and substance of the truth.

My reason for believing Paul likely meant the latter definition is that it is a consistent theme in the New Testament that the Law was never meant to be the ultimate truth to mankind. Instead, it always pointed forward to a greater truth — a truth that ministers life and produces liberty, whereas the Law brought only death and bondage. I don’t have the space here to cover each and every passage that teaches this, so let me just give a couple good examples, starting with two from Galatians:

“I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.” Galatians 2:21

“Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. But the scripture has concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.” Galatians 3:21-25

Notice a couple things from these passages. First, righteousness and life do not come by the Law. This is seen in the phrases, “if righteousness come by the law,” and “if there had been a law given which could have given life.” The clear implication is that righteousness and life could not have come by the Law, making it necessary that Christ had to come in order for us to have righteousness and life. This is echoed in Romans 8:3-4 as well:

“For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” Romans 8:3-4

What the Law could not do, God did by sending His Son to die on the cross in the likeness of sinful flesh. The Law couldn’t produce righteousness or life, so God sent Jesus to die on the cross — the true means by which God gives righteousness and life. Even the Law itself pointed forward to this righteousness that would be revealed through faith in Christ apart from the works of the Law:

“But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference.” Romans 3:21-22

Jesus also affirmed that the Old Testament pointed forward to Him:

“And he said unto them, These are the words which I spoke unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, and said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things.” Luke 24:44-48

Notice in the above passage, that Jesus had to open their understanding of the Scriptures regarding how they pointed to His death and resurrection — the greater truth that brings life. The Old Testament Scriptures don’t give life in and of themselves. They testify of the One who gives life:

“Search the scriptures; for in them you think you have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And you will not come to me, that you might have life.” John 5:39-40

Are you seeing the theme here? The Law and the Prophets (a.k.a. the Old Testament Scriptures) point forward to the truth, but they don’t fully reveal it. The full revelation of the truth is found only in the New Testament’s revelation of Christ.

Consider the following excerpt from 2 Corinthians 3, which is one of the clearest explanations of what I’ve been trying to say:

“Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech: and not as Moses, which put a veil over his face, that the children of Israel could not steadfastly look to the end of that which is abolished: but their minds were blinded: for until this day remains the same veil untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which veil is done away in Christ. But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the veil is upon their heart. Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away. Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” 2 Corinthians 3:12-18

Unless we read the Old Testament through the lens of the New Testament revelation of Christ, it’s like reading it through a veil — the truth it ultimately points to cannot be clearly seen. But when our hearts turn from the veiled truth of the Law and turn to the plain truth of Christ in the New Testament, the veil is taken away, and we can behold with an open face the glory of the Lord — the One who is the express image of the invisible God (Heb 1:1-3) and the Word made flesh (Jn 1:14) — and we can experience the liberty that comes from being changed into His image by the Spirit of the Lord.

“If the Son therefore shall make you free, you shall be free indeed.” John 8:36

“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.” Romans 8:2

SUMMARY

Even though this has been a long article, we barely even scratched the surface of this subject. What I’ve been talking to you about is the Eternal Word — God’s Truth from eternity past to eternity future. It was revealed to humanity progressively throughout history and written in the pages of Scripture, and now we must continue in it, that we might know it, and by knowing it, be liberated by it.

Our task isn’t to find one special insight that will bring about everlasting freedom and remove all our sinful inclinations. Our task is to begin a lifetime of studying the Scriptures, not to win debates or to find the one key, but to plunge the depths of God’s eternal wisdom and character, that we may know Him, partake of His nature, and be conformed into His image. And as we study, we must remember that until we see Jesus Christ and Him crucified as the liberating message of the Scriptures in their unveiled form, we haven’t discovered the truth at all.

Many believers struggle with ongoing sin and wonder how Scripture can claim we’re already free. This episode dives deep into Romans 6 to unpack the biblical truth that freedom from sin is a present reality, not just a future hope.

We’ll answer questions like:

• What does it mean that “he who has died is freed from sin”?

• How can I still sin if I’ve been made free?

• What kind of freedom do I really have in Christ?

• Why is this freedom about potential, not guarantee?

Through Scripture and clear analogies, we’ll uncover what it means to walk in this freedom daily—and why understanding it is key to overcoming sin and living a holy life.

👉 Whether you’re battling temptation, questioning your identity in Christ, or just seeking solid Bible teaching—this series is for you.

🔔 Subscribe to follow the rest of the How to Walk in Freedom series.

📖 Read the full article on Substack: Freedom = Potential

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INTRODUCTION

In the first two articles, we began discussing what the word freedom means in a biblical context. We discussed that it means freedom from sin and freedom to serve others in the service of Jesus Christ. We also discussed that it means freedom from the self-life rather than just freedom from addiction and vice.

In this article, we will continue our discussion on the meaning of freedom, focusing our attention on the nature of the freedom that we currently possess in Christ.

WE ARE ALREADY FREE

We will cover this more in depth when we get into Romans 6 later in the series, but the Bible teaches that every single person who is born again is already free from the power of indwelling sin.

“Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin.” Romans 6:6-7

He that is dead is freed from sin, and if you are in Christ, you have been crucified with Him, and you are therefore dead with Him.

“For you are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” Colossians 3:3

“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20

Not only that, but we are also buried with Christ and raised with Him unto newness of life.

“Buried with him in baptism, wherein also you are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who has raised him from the dead.” Colossians 2:12

“Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” Romans 6:4

This experience of being crucified, buried, and raised with Christ isn’t a post-salvation experience. It’s a description of the born-again experience — something that happens when we are first saved and receive the Holy Spirit. It’s a description of what the Bible calls regeneration (see Titus 3:5).

This being the case, it is an objective fact that every single person who has experienced regeneration is dead with Christ and is therefore free from sin.

HOW CAN WE BE FREE FROM SIN?

Many would object to what I just said about every born-again believer being free from sin. Some might attempt to object on the basis of Scripture, but most would object purely on the basis of their own experience and perception. “No one is free from sin,” they might say. “Even after we get saved, we still sin.”

I agree wholeheartedly with the second statement — that we still sin even after we get saved — but I completely disagree with the first statement — that no one is free from sin. The disagreement lies in the fact that the person who says no one is free from sin is using the words sin and freedom in a different way than Paul used them in Romans 6:7 when he declared that everyone who is dead with Christ is free from sin.

We are free from sin, not free from sinning.

In Romans 6-7, Paul isn’t using the word sin as a verb describing sinful actions. Instead, he’s speaking of sin personified. In Romans 6-7, sin is spoken of as having the potential to reign, enslave, and hold captive:

“That as sin has reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 5:21

“Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in the lusts thereof.” Romans 6:12

“For when you were the servants of sin, you were free from righteousness.” Romans 6:20

“But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.” Romans 7:23

We will come back to this repeatedly throughout this series, but for our purposes here — understanding how it’s possible that we’re free from sin even though we still sin — the point I’m making is simply that Paul isn’t saying “he that is dead is freed from sinning.” Instead, he’s saying, “he that is dead is freed from the law of sin that once held them captive and reigned over them like a king.”

Notice what he says in the following passage:

“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.” Romans 8:2

So, now that we’ve begun to define Paul’s use of the word sin in Romans 6, let’s talk about how he’s using the word freedom.

We are free to obey God.

When Paul speaks of being free from the law of sin, he’s not saying he no longer has the potential to yield his members to sin and carry out its commands. That’s abundantly clear from the fact that 5 verses after he declares that we’re free from sin, he tells us not to let sin reign in our mortal bodies anymore:

“Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in the lusts thereof.” Romans 6:12

If we have to be told not to obey sin, it follows that it’s possible for us to obey sin.

If we’re also told that we’re free from sin, it follows that it’s possible for people who are free from sin to obey sin.

If it were impossible for people who have been freed from sin to let sin reign in our mortal bodies, Paul wouldn’t warn us not to let sin reign in our mortal bodies. Instead, he’d inform us that we don’t need to worry ever again about the possibility of letting sin reign in our mortal bodies.

So, freedom from sin is not freedom from the potential to let sin reign in our mortal bodies.

Instead, freedom from sin is the potential to obey God, letting Him reign in the members of our body and obeying Him, rather than obeying sin.

When we were still servants of sin — before we were made free from sin — we lacked the potential to obey God:

“For when you were the servants of sin, you were free from righteousness. What fruit had you then in those things whereof you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, you have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.” Romans 6:20-22

Notice the flow of Paul’s argument.

First he states, “When you were the servants of sin, you were free from righteousness.” Why does he make that statement about being free from righteousness? Because, in this context, righteousness is a master that produces a different kind of fruit — holiness. A person who’s a servant of sin cannot bring forth this kind of fruit. That person is free from righteousness and therefore, like a branch detached from the vine, cannot bring the kind of fruit the vine produces.

It is sin, rather than righteousness, that reigns in this person’s mortal body. This is made clear in the next sentence when Paul asks, “What fruit did you have in the things you are now ashamed of?” His point is that when they were servants of sin, their fruit was unrighteous and unholy.

“But,” he says, “now that you’ve been made free from sin and have become a servant of God, you are no longer free from righteousness — now your fruit is unto holiness.”

In simpler terms, the point is this:

The result of being made free from sin is the potential to bring forth a new kind of fruit — the fruit of righteousness, which is holiness.

When we were enslaved to sin, we could only bring forth unrighteous fruit. But now that we are free from sin, we can stop letting sin reign in our mortal bodies and bring forth fruit unto God (see also Romans 7:4).

In short, the freedom we possess as believers is freedom in the form of new potential, not freedom in the form of guarantee.

HOW IS IT FREEDOM IF IT’S ONLY POTENTIAL?

Consider these two analogies.

First, imagine you’re a prisoner locked in a cell. Also imagine you’re blind. Now imagine that, without you hearing it (somehow), someone unlocks the cell and leaves the door wide open. You are now truly, 100% free. However, because you’re still seated in the cell, your freedom exists only in the form of possessing the potential to get up and walk out of the cell. Whether you experience the freedom depends on whether you take advantage of the potential you now possess. It’s possible for you to remain in the cell, but that doesn’t mean you’re not free — because it’s also possible for you to walk out of the cell.

Now consider another analogy. Imagine you’re literally a slave with a cruel master. Now imagine another master — a kind one — purchases you from your original master and tells you that, so long as you stay close to him, he will not let your old master force you to do anything. You are now truly free from the old master and possess the potential to obey your new master without being forced to do anything by your old master. However, you aren’t free from the potential to obey your old master. If you fail to stay close to your new master, it’s possible for your old master to force you to obey him. So, the freedom you possess is real, and powerful, but you possess it in the form of potential to obey your new master, not the impossibility of obeying the old master.

Freedom from sin is like these analogies in the sense that, being free, we have the potential to obey God — which we didn’t have when we were slaves of sin — but it’s not impossible for us to obey sin.

There are also some similarities between freedom from sin and these analogies in terms of what causes the freedom to be potential rather than guaranteed:

In the prison cell analogy, you need knowledge, belief, and direction to actually walk out of the cell. Because you’re blind, you need to know the door has been opened, you need to believe the door is open, and you need instructions about which direction to walk in. Likewise, for us to actually experience the freedom we have in Christ, we need to know we’re free from sin, we need to believe we’re free from sin, and we need instructions about how we should walk as servants of Christ.

In the slave master analogy, your ability to actually experience freedom is dependent on whether or not you follow the new master’s instructions to rely on his assistance with the old slave master. Likewise, our freedom from sin is dependent on whether we depend on God’s provision — the indwelling Holy Spirit — for assistance with our old slave master — the indwelling presence of sin in the flesh.

WE HAVE TO BE CAREFUL WITH ANALOGIES

While these analogies illustrate some important concepts, we have to be careful not to suppose everything is one-for-one between these analogies and real life.

For example, in the prison analogy, the picture painted is that walking through the door one time is all that will be needed to experience a lifetime of freedom. Freedom from sin isn’t exactly like that, though. It’s more like walking through a maze of cells our entire life and eventually making it all the way out of the prison at the end.

In the slave master analogy, the only task given to experience freedom is to “stay close” to the new master. However, staying physically close to Jesus isn’t even possible in this life. We do need to learn to depend on Jesus at all times, but we shouldn’t oversimplify how that’s actually accomplished. It’s a learning process. If it weren’t, we would walk in perfection from Day 1.

We also shouldn’t suppose that the instructions given in these analogies for experiencing freedom are exhaustive. While we do need to know, believe, follow, and depend, there are some other essential tasks for us as well — such as reading. The act of reading the Bible won’t mystically cause doses of freedom to be infused into our being, but it will be impossible for us to know, believe, follow, and depend if we aren’t reading the instructions that tell us what to know, what to believe, how to follow, and on Whom to depend. We’ll get into how all of that looks later in the series, but for now, the point is just to take the analogies for the points they make without supposing they’re a one-for-one equivalence.

SUMMARY

In summary, every born-again believer is free from the dominion and reign of our old slave master — sin. However, being free from our old slave master doesn’t mean we lack the potential to obey him. Instead, it means we possess a new potential that we didn’t possess when we were enslaved — the potential to obey our new master. Whether or not we make the most of that potential depends on whether we follow the instructions in the Bible about how to make the most of it, which we will continue to discuss in this series.

To watch a video of this article being ready by me on a YouTube video, click here.

In the previous article, we began discussing what it actually means to have freedom in Christ. In short, we defined it as freedom from self and sin in order to serve others in the service of Jesus Christ. As well, we honed in on the fact that freedom from sin means loving our neighbor as ourselves — as commanded by Jesus and the Law.

In this article, we will discuss how freedom from sin relates to addiction.

THE ISSUE IS BIGGER THAN ADDICTION

Sometimes, especially for those of us who’ve struggled with addiction, we tend to think of freedom from sin mainly in terms of being free from harmful addictions, such as pornography addiction, drug addiction, gambling addiction, etc. However, we need to understand that those addictions are merely symptoms of the true bondage we’re experiencing — bondage to a self-serving way of living.

As an example, if I watch pornography, I’m placing my fleshly desires above my wife’s needs. I’m using what was intended for her to serve only myself. Even if I’m not married yet, I’m still doing damage to my future wife and devaluing her needs by warping my own sexual desires, which will affect how I view her when that time comes. Moreover, if I watch pornography, I’m showing no care for all those who are harmed by the porn industry. Instead, I’m placing myself first. That is not Christianity. That is not Christ-like. That is the fruit of the sin-dominated, self-serving flesh of fallen mankind.

We could go through each major addiction, but let’s just briefly talk about one more — smoking addiction. “How is smoking self-serving?”, you might ask. Well, if I use my finances to buy cigarettes, who am I serving with my finances? The answer isn’t God. Nor is it others. It’s self. As well, if I expose others to second-hand smoke, I am not loving my neighbor as myself. Smoking does no good for anyone else and sometimes does harm. Smoking accomplishes nothing but gratifying the desires of the flesh. It is a fleshly, self-serving habit that fails to offer to Christ what is rightfully His:

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” Romans 12:1

“What? know you not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which you have of God, and you are not your own? For you are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

If any of you are smokers, you might feel like I’m picking on you, but all of these same principles could be applied to any number of issues, including the things I struggle with.

In addition to questions of how we use our bodies or spend our money, there’s also the issue of whether our time is spent in service of self or service of others. Every minute, hour, day, and week we spend gratifying our own fleshly desires is time when we are doing nothing to serve others in the service of Christ.

None of this is to say it’s always inherently wrong to spend some time relaxing or to occasionally buy something we don’t really need — although the truth is that most of us probably spend way too much time and money on self-centered activities. With addiction, these things aren’t usually just small expenses or occasional activities. Substance abuse is extremely expensive. Those who watch pornography are usually wasting hours and hours of time that could be spent serving others. But aside from all that, the things I’m talking about are inherently harmful to self and others. Love does no harm to others:

“Love works no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.” Romans 13:10

CONDEMNATION IS NOT THE GOAL HERE

Before we continue, let me be very clear, I’m not writing any of this to condemn you. My aim is for you to be free from these outgrowths of the self-seeking life and free from the condemnation that comes with them. As well, I’m well aware that I have not vanquished self-seeking from my own life. I need to experience growth as much as anyone else! I’m just here to share some of the things I’ve learned on my own journey.

Now that we’ve cleared that up, back to our discussion.

FREEDOM FROM ADDICTION ISN’T ENOUGH

It is quite possible that I could be free from all the major addictions people think of — sexual immorality, drugs, alcohol, gambling, etc. — and still be living in complete bondage to sin. The reason should already be clear from what I’ve said so far, but let me say it again clearly:

Bondage to sin is bondage to the self-seeking, self-serving life.

Even if my life is free from vice, if I spend all my time and money doing nothing but serving myself and living a life of leisure, entertainment, recreation, and material pursuit, I am living a life in bondage to sin. And contrary to popular belief, living such a lifestyle will not yield the fruit of joy. It might produce temporary happiness, but lurking in the shadows will be the emptiness that comes from failing to do what I was designed to do — love God and love others, not just in word, but in deed and in truth:

“My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.” 1 John 3:18

WE CAN’T SERVE TWO MASTERS

When a temptation to watch pornography or to smoke a cigarette comes along, and I’m already living my life in service of self, I’m already in a position of defeat. A temptation towards vice in those circumstances is just a temptation to do what I have already been doing — serving sin. For example, when I’m vegging out on excessive television-watching or video-game-playing and my flesh tempts me to light up a cigarette or search for pornography on the Internet, the master I have already been serving is just telling me to do something else. When that happens, the battle was already over before it began.

Walking in freedom isn’t just about being free from doing some self-serving things while continuing to do others — with no desire to do otherwise. If that’s our mindset, it’s like we’re trying to win some of the battles while having already conceded the war. It’s like we’re willingly continuing to serve our old slave master but trying to temporarily change masters when the old slave master tells us to do something we don’t want to do. It just won’t work. No one can serve two masters:

“No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” Matthew 6:24

The above statement from Jesus is in reference to mammon (a KJV word for riches) but the principle applies to our discussion as well. If sin is our master, we will ultimately do what sin tells us to do. We can’t willingly serve sin 98% of the time and then somehow change masters temporarily the other 2% of the time when we don’t like what our master is telling us to do.

So, instead of focusing only on one or two battles, we need to pay attention to the war, and instead of only trying to rid ourselves of one or two symptoms of the self-seeking life, we need to acknowledge that we have bigger problems. We need to repent of our self-seeking, self-serving ways and begin the process of learning to depend on Jesus to re-orient our entire mode of living. The more we learn to walk in love in every area of our lives, the more these temptations toward addictive, self-seeking behaviors will lose their luster.

THE PHYSICAL SIDE OF ADDICTION IS REAL

Before moving on, I want to clarify that I’m not saying addiction is only about selfishness or wrong priorities. There’s also a real physical component to it in many cases — chemical dependence, withdrawal, and changes in the body that make quitting extremely difficult. I’m not overlooking that or suggesting that simply recognizing the self-seeking nature of these addictions will make those physical aspects disappear. Even after we’ve repented of the self-life, we still need to learn to depend on the power of the Holy Spirit to overcome the physical aspects of addiction. What I’m trying to convey is simply that the self-life is the deeper, bigger issue that must be dealt with first before we can even begin to address chemical dependency issues.

WE CAN’T DO IT WITHOUT JESUS

To be clear, nothing in this article is to say we can live the crucified life — the life of serving others in the service of Christ — in our own strength or without the power of the Gospel. Merely having a desire to put off the self-seeking life and walk in the love of Christ isn’t enough to actually accomplish it. We are but branches who can do nothing apart from the True Vine — Jesus Christ (see John 15:4-5). Even when our spirit becomes willing, the flesh is still weak:

“For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwells no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.” Romans 7:18

SUMMARY

The main point of this article is not that the key to overcoming addiction is to first overcome the self-life. The main point of this article is that the main goal is to overcome the self-life — and overcoming addiction is just one of the spoils of winning that war.

I hope you see the difference there. Let me say it again more succinctly to drive it home:

The main goal of learning to walk in freedom is not overcoming addiction.

The main goal of learning to walk in freedom is overcoming the self-life.

Overcoming addiction is a secondary issue in comparison to the primary pursuit of learning to live for others rather than self.

I’m also not saying that to overcome addiction, all you have to do is stop being so self-seeking all the time. Our propensity towards self-seeking isn’t something we can just whisk away or muster up the willpower to overcome. It’s a deep-seated spiritual issue that can only be addressed by the cross. Without learning to rely on the finished work of the cross as the defeat of our old master, we won’t find the ability — or the freedom — to serve any other master.

In the previous article, we began discussing what it actually means to have freedom in Christ. In short, we defined it as freedom from self and sin in order to serve others in the service of Jesus Christ. As well, we honed in on the fact that freedom from sin means loving our neighbor as ourselves — as commanded by Jesus and the Law.

In this article, we will discuss how freedom from sin relates to addiction.

THE ISSUE IS BIGGER THAN ADDICTION

Sometimes, especially for those of us who’ve struggled with addiction, we tend to think of freedom from sin mainly in terms of being free from harmful addictions, such as pornography addiction, drug addiction, gambling addiction, etc. However, we need to understand that those addictions are merely symptoms of the true bondage we’re experiencing — bondage to a self-serving way of living.

As an example, if I watch pornography, I’m placing my fleshly desires above my wife’s needs. I’m using what was intended for her to serve only myself. Even if I’m not married yet, I’m still doing damage to my future wife and devaluing her needs by warping my own sexual desires, which will affect how I view her when that time comes. Moreover, if I watch pornography, I’m showing no care for all those who are harmed by the porn industry. Instead, I’m placing myself first. That is not Christianity. That is not Christ-like. That is the fruit of the sin-dominated, self-serving flesh of fallen mankind.

We could go through each major addiction, but let’s just briefly talk about one more — smoking addiction. “How is smoking self-serving?”, you might ask. Well, if I use my finances to buy cigarettes, who am I serving with my finances? The answer isn’t God. Nor is it others. It’s self. As well, if I expose others to second-hand smoke, I am not loving my neighbor as myself. Smoking does no good for anyone else and sometimes does harm. Smoking accomplishes nothing but gratifying the desires of the flesh. It is a fleshly, self-serving habit that fails to offer to Christ what is rightfully His:

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” Romans 12:1

“What? know you not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which you have of God, and you are not your own? For you are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

If any of you are smokers, you might feel like I’m picking on you, but all of these same principles could be applied to any number of issues, including the things I struggle with.

In addition to questions of how we use our bodies or spend our money, there’s also the issue of whether our time is spent in service of self or service of others. Every minute, hour, day, and week we spend gratifying our own fleshly desires is time when we are doing nothing to serve others in the service of Christ.

None of this is to say it’s always inherently wrong to spend some time relaxing or to occasionally buy something we don’t really need — although the truth is that most of us probably spend way too much time and money on self-centered activities. With addiction, these things aren’t usually just small expenses or occasional activities. Substance abuse is extremely expensive. Those who watch pornography are usually wasting hours and hours of time that could be spent serving others. But aside from all that, the things I’m talking about are inherently harmful to self and others. Love does no harm to others:

“Love works no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.” Romans 13:10

CONDEMNATION IS NOT THE GOAL HERE

Before we continue, let me be very clear, I’m not writing any of this to condemn you. My aim is for you to be free from these outgrowths of the self-seeking life and free from the condemnation that comes with them. As well, I’m well aware that I have not vanquished self-seeking from my own life. I need to experience growth as much as anyone else! I’m just here to share some of the things I’ve learned on my own journey.

Now that we’ve cleared that up, back to our discussion.

FREEDOM FROM ADDICTION ISN’T ENOUGH

It is quite possible that I could be free from all the major addictions people think of — sexual immorality, drugs, alcohol, gambling, etc. — and still be living in complete bondage to sin. The reason should already be clear from what I’ve said so far, but let me say it again clearly:

Bondage to sin is bondage to the self-seeking, self-serving life.

Even if my life is free from vice, if I spend all my time and money doing nothing but serving myself and living a life of leisure, entertainment, recreation, and material pursuit, I am living a life in bondage to sin. And contrary to popular belief, living such a lifestyle will not yield the fruit of joy. It might produce temporary happiness, but lurking in the shadows will be the emptiness that comes from failing to do what I was designed to do — love God and love others, not just in word, but in deed and in truth:

“My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.” 1 John 3:18

WE CAN’T SERVE TWO MASTERS

When a temptation to watch pornography or to smoke a cigarette comes along, and I’m already living my life in service of self, I’m already in a position of defeat. A temptation towards vice in those circumstances is just a temptation to do what I have already been doing — serving sin. For example, when I’m vegging out on excessive television-watching or video-game-playing and my flesh tempts me to light up a cigarette or search for pornography on the Internet, the master I have already been serving is just telling me to do something else. When that happens, the battle was already over before it began.

Walking in freedom isn’t just about being free from doing some self-serving things while continuing to do others — with no desire to do otherwise. If that’s our mindset, it’s like we’re trying to win some of the battles while having already conceded the war. It’s like we’re willingly continuing to serve our old slave master but trying to temporarily change masters when the old slave master tells us to do something we don’t want to do. It just won’t work. No one can serve two masters:

“No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” Matthew 6:24

The above statement from Jesus is in reference to mammon (a KJV word for riches) but the principle applies to our discussion as well. If sin is our master, we will ultimately do what sin tells us to do. We can’t willingly serve sin 98% of the time and then somehow change masters temporarily the other 2% of the time when we don’t like what our master is telling us to do.

So, instead of focusing only on one or two battles, we need to pay attention to the war, and instead of only trying to rid ourselves of one or two symptoms of the self-seeking life, we need to acknowledge that we have bigger problems. We need to repent of our self-seeking, self-serving ways and begin the process of learning to depend on Jesus to re-orient our entire mode of living. The more we learn to walk in love in every area of our lives, the more these temptations toward addictive, self-seeking behaviors will lose their luster.

THE PHYSICAL SIDE OF ADDICTION IS REAL

Before moving on, I want to clarify that I’m not saying addiction is only about selfishness or wrong priorities. There’s also a real physical component to it in many cases — chemical dependence, withdrawal, and changes in the body that make quitting extremely difficult. I’m not overlooking that or suggesting that simply recognizing the self-seeking nature of these addictions will make those physical aspects disappear. Even after we’ve repented of the self-life, we still need to learn to depend on the power of the Holy Spirit to overcome the physical aspects of addiction. What I’m trying to convey is simply that the self-life is the deeper, bigger issue that must be dealt with first before we can even begin to address chemical dependency issues.

WE CAN’T DO IT WITHOUT JESUS

To be clear, nothing in this article is to say we can live the crucified life — the life of serving others in the service of Christ — in our own strength or without the power of the Gospel. Merely having a desire to put off the self-seeking life and walk in the love of Christ isn’t enough to actually accomplish it. We are but branches who can do nothing apart from the True Vine — Jesus Christ (see John 15:4-5). Even when our spirit becomes willing, the flesh is still weak:

“For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwells no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.” Romans 7:18

SUMMARY

The main point of this article is not that the key to overcoming addiction is to first overcome the self-life. The main point of this article is that the main goal is to overcome the self-life — and overcoming addiction is just one of the spoils of winning that war.

I hope you see the difference there. Let me say it again more succinctly to drive it home:

The main goal of learning to walk in freedom is not overcoming addiction.

The main goal of learning to walk in freedom is overcoming the self-life.

Overcoming addiction is a secondary issue in comparison to the primary pursuit of learning to live for others rather than self.

I’m also not saying that to overcome addiction, all you have to do is stop being so self-seeking all the time. Our propensity towards self-seeking isn’t something we can just whisk away or muster up the willpower to overcome. It’s a deep-seated spiritual issue that can only be addressed by the cross. Without learning to rely on the finished work of the cross as the defeat of our old master, we won’t find the ability — or the freedom — to serve any other master.

This article is part 1 of the “How to Walk in Freedom” series. The full series can be found here.

If you would rather watch a video of this article being read on YouTube, click here.

THERE MUST BE A MASTER

This is the first article in a new series from Matt’s Notes called How to Walk in Freedom. In this series, we will be discussing how to walk in freedom from sin and condemnation.

Before we get into the how of walking in freedom, first we need to talk about what we even mean when we use the word freedom in a biblical context. In the next few articles, we will dive into God’s Word and see what it says about freedom in Christ.

Many people seem to be under the misconception that being free in Christ means complete autonomy — having no master at all. In other words, because I’m free, I can do whatever I want. While that is often what we mean when we use the word freedom in modern speech, that is not what the Bible means when it speaks of freedom.

In the Bible, there is no such thing as having no master. Instead, the Bible presents only two options. We are either servants of sin or servants of righteousness:

“Know you not, that to whom you yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants you are to whom you obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But God be thanked, that you were the servants of sin, but you have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, you became the servants of righteousness.” Romans 6:16–18

The freedom that we have in Christ — which is the kind freedom this series will discuss — is not the absence of a master. Instead, it is freedom from sin, which is freedom to serve Jesus Christ.

In Romans 8:2, the apostle Paul made the following declaration of freedom regarding himself:

“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” Romans 8:2

The same apostle Paul who declared himself to be free in the passage above also declared himself to be a servant of Jesus Christ.

“Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ . . .” Romans 1:1a

So, in defining freedom in Christ, principle #1 is that the freedom we are seeking is not freedom to serve sin, or freedom from any master whatsoever, but freedom to serve Jesus Christ, with Him alone as our Master.

Insofar as we are not serving Christ, we are walking in bondage.

SERVING SIN = SERVING SELF

We will discuss this more later in the series, but every person who is still alive in the flesh has a law of sin in their fleshly members that produces in them a desire to think, act, and speak contrary to the Law of God (see Romans 7).

When we encounter the Law of God and learn that it says, “thou shalt not covet,” the indwelling law of sin produces in us all manner of covetousness (Romans 7:7–8).

When indwelling sin produces these ungodly lusts in our flesh, and we fulfill them, we are serving indwelling sin. We are making sin our master.

What is the nature and essence of serving sin, though?

We’ve already discussed that serving sin is acting contrary to God’s Law, but let’s go deeper. The Bible repeatedly tells us that love for our neighbor is the fulfillment of God’s Law:

“Owe no man anything, but to love one another: for he that loves another hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Love works no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.” Romans 13:8–10

“For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” Galatians 5:14

“If you fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, you do well:” James 2:8

If love for our neighbor is the essence and fulfillment of God’s Law, then the essence of serving sin must be failing to love our neighbor as ourselves.

To put in another way, the essence of serving sin is serving self.

When self is our master, we are serving sin. This is why freedom isn’t about being free from all masters. Someone will always be the master. Either self will be the master, or someone else will be the master. To be free from all other masters is to be our own master — which is to be a servant of sin.

Even though he was free from all men, the apostle Paul taught that his service to Jesus Christ compelled him to be a servant to all men.

“For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more.” 1 Corinthians 9:19

To serve Christ means following His command to love our neighbor as ourselves. As such, to serve Christ means making ourselves a servant unto all. The cross that we bear as servants of Jesus Christ is that our lives are not be used to fulfill our own fleshly desires; instead, our lives are to be a living sacrifice unto God in the service of others.

SUMMARY

In sum, freedom in Christ is freedom from serving sin and freedom to serve Christ.

Said another way, freedom in Christ is freedom from serving ourselves and freedom to serve one another in the service of Christ.

“For, brethren, you have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” Galatians 5:13–14

THERE MUST BE A MASTER

This is the first article in a new series from Matt’s Notes called How to Walk in Freedom. In this series, we will be discussing how to walk in freedom from sin and condemnation.

Before we get into the how of walking in freedom, first we need to talk about what we even mean when we use the word freedom in a biblical context. In the next few articles, we will dive into God’s Word and see what it says about freedom in Christ.

Many people seem to be under the misconception that being free in Christ means complete autonomy — having no master at all. In other words, because I’m free, I can do whatever I want. While that is often what we mean when we use the word freedom in modern speech, that is not what the Bible means when it speaks of freedom.

In the Bible, there is no such thing as having no master. Instead, the Bible presents only two options. We are either servants of sin or servants of righteousness:

“Know you not, that to whom you yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants you are to whom you obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But God be thanked, that you were the servants of sin, but you have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, you became the servants of righteousness.” Romans 6:16–18

The freedom that we have in Christ — which is the kind freedom this series will discuss — is not the absence of a master. Instead, it is freedom from sin, which is freedom to serve Jesus Christ.

In Romans 8:2, the apostle Paul made the following declaration of freedom regarding himself:

“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” Romans 8:2

The same apostle Paul who declared himself to be free in the passage above also declared himself to be a servant of Jesus Christ.

“Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ . . .” Romans 1:1a

So, in defining freedom in Christ, principle #1 is that the freedom we are seeking is not freedom to serve sin, or freedom from any master whatsoever, but freedom to serve Jesus Christ, with Him alone as our Master.

Insofar as we are not serving Christ, we are walking in bondage.

SERVING SIN = SERVING SELF

We will discuss this more later in the series, but every person who is still alive in the flesh has a law of sin in their fleshly members that produces in them a desire to think, act, and speak contrary to the Law of God (see Romans 7).

When we encounter the Law of God and learn that it says, “thou shalt not covet,” the indwelling law of sin produces in us all manner of covetousness (Romans 7:7–8).

When indwelling sin produces these ungodly lusts in our flesh, and we fulfill them, we are serving indwelling sin. We are making sin our master.

What is the nature and essence of serving sin, though?

We’ve already discussed that serving sin is acting contrary to God’s Law, but let’s go deeper. The Bible repeatedly tells us that love for our neighbor is the fulfillment of God’s Law:

“Owe no man anything, but to love one another: for he that loves another hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Love works no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.” Romans 13:8–10

“For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” Galatians 5:14

“If you fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, you do well:” James 2:8

If love for our neighbor is the essence and fulfillment of God’s Law, then the essence of serving sin must be failing to love our neighbor as ourselves.

To put in another way, the essence of serving sin is serving self.

When self is our master, we are serving sin. This is why freedom isn’t about being free from all masters. Someone will always be the master. Either self will be the master, or someone else will be the master. To be free from all other masters is to be our own master — which is to be a servant of sin.

Even though he was free from all men, the apostle Paul taught that his service to Jesus Christ compelled him to be a servant to all men.

“For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more.” 1 Corinthians 9:19

To serve Christ means following His command to love our neighbor as ourselves. As such, to serve Christ means making ourselves a servant unto all. The cross that we bear as servants of Jesus Christ is that our lives are not be used to fulfill our own fleshly desires; instead, our lives are to be a living sacrifice unto God in the service of others.

SUMMARY

In sum, freedom in Christ is freedom from serving sin and freedom to serve Christ.

Said another way, freedom in Christ is freedom from serving ourselves and freedom to serve one another in the service of Christ.

“For, brethren, you have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” Galatians 5:13–14

In the flesh domain, sin reigns like a king, producing all manner of unrighteousness and ungodliness.

In the Spirit domain, God liberates, producing righteousness and true holiness.

How do we walk in the Spirit domain? Through God’s grace. By grace, God sent His Son in the flesh to nail flesh to the cross and rise again as the first-fruits of Spirit-born humanity.

In Him, by Him, and through Him, we can exit the flesh domain where sin reigns and walk in the Spirit, where the law of the Spirit of Life liberates from the law of sin and death, working in us that which is well-pleasing in the sight of God.

Trust in and depend on the free gift. All of what I just described is God’s free gift to us. It’s given freely to the humble. We just need to humble ourselves by turning from self-righteousness, self-reliance, and self-dependence, and relying on what God has provided through the cross. That’s the faith through which grace is received.

Faith says, “I can’t do it, I can’t earn it, and I don’t deserve it. I’m relying on what you’ve done in Christ, Lord. I’m trusting in you to enable this step, then the next one after that, then the next one after that, and I believe you’ll do it because Jesus already finished the work on Calvary. He was put death in the flesh. He was quickened by the Spirit. He ascended on High to sit exalted at the right hand of the Father. He received and shed forth the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Lord, and He said,

‘Whosoever will, may come and take the Water of Life freely.’”

By grace through faith, walk in and depend on the free gift of God, and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

This is part 3 of a 3 part series on how to experience freedom from the sin nature. In this video, I cover what the Bible teaches about how to walk in the Spirit. If you would like to skip the social media algorithms and receive biblical insight and commentary (articles, videos, podcast episodes) right in your email inbox, please consider signing up for my email list at www.mattsnotes.faith.

This is part 2 of a 3 part series on how to experience freedom from the sin nature. In this video, I teach on Romans 6 and emphasize that grace is a double, able to deliver not only from the penalty of sin, but also from the power of the sin nature. If you would like to skip the social media algorithms and receive biblical insight and commentary (articles, videos, podcast episodes) right in your email inbox, please consider signing up for my email list at www.mattsnotes.faith.

This is part 1 of a three part series on how to experience freedom from the sin nature. In this video, I focus on understanding the problem, which includes understanding the weakness of the flesh, which is a slave to the law of sin and death according to Romans 7. I also give some treatment to Philippians 3 and Romans 8:3-4. If you would like to skip the social mecdia algorithms and receive biblical insight and commentary (articles, videos, podcast episodes) right in your email inbox, please consider signing up for my email list at www.mattsnotes.faith. You can also connect with me at the following links:

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If you would like to skip the social media algorithms and receive biblical insight and commentary (articles, videos, podcast episodes) right in your email inbox, please consider signing up for my email list at www.mattsnotes.faith.

If you would like to skip the social media algorithms and receive biblical insight and commentary (articles, videos, podcast episodes) right in your email inbox, please consider signing up for my email list at www.mattsnotes.faith.

If you would like to skip the social media algorithms and receive biblical insight and commentary (articles, videos, podcast episodes) right in your email inbox, please consider signing up for my email list at www.mattsnotes.faith.