I’m reposting some of my essays on freedom that I shared for a limited time back in 2019. Today it is all about the taste of freedom which we enjoy.
If you missed yesterday’s freedom essay on The Cries of Freedom, you will find it here.
The Taste of Freedom
Julia Bettencourt
Originally posted July 01, 2019
Sweet tasting grace!
As Americans, we have tasted freedom. We know what it is like to have all those freedoms written out in the Bill of Rights. Those freedoms are precious to us. We have been blessed with the sweet taste of freedom.
As I began mulling over all of this aspect of freedom, that verse in Romans 6:14 kept coming to my mind.
“For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” Romans 6:14
All About Grace
It had been a while since I read through that chapter of Romans 6. Wow! What a great reminder of how God freed us. And what a great reminder of how sweet and wonderful God’s grace is!
The Gift of Grace
One of the wonderful things I love about grace is that God gave it freely to us. We didn’t deserve it, but He loved us so much that He gave it to us anyway. What a beautiful, beautiful gift!
“Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:” Romans 3:24
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9
The Abundance of Grace
Another aspect that I cherish about grace is that it abundant. God never runs out of grace to give us!
“Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 5:20-21
I love that song by Don Moen, He Giveth More Grace. That chorus says the following.
His love has no limit, His grace has no measure,
His pow’r has no boundary known unto men;
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus,
He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.
The Direction of Grace
A beautiful thing about grace is that it helps point me in the right direction. When it comes to Christianity, the temptation of sin will always be a struggle. We are human, but because of grace, we can learn to live holy and not give into those temptations that are always going to be there.
“What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.” Romans 6:15-18
Did you see that last verse? We became “servants of righteousness”. That’s our area of service as those Christian soldiers. We aren’t to be serving sin any longer. We are to be seeking holiness and serving righteousness. Grace helps us do that.
The Joy of Grace
When we accept Christ as our personal Savior, we can taste freedom. Jesus died for our freedom from sin and fulfilled the law. We are no longer under the law, but under grace. To me that is so amazing!
I know so many Christians though that still try to live under the law or who make up their own law and are bound to legalism. I grew up around legalism and I have seen people get so caught up in it that they missed the real joy of living for Jesus. They just let life pass them by while they sat on the sidelines just judging other people and not really accomplishing anything for Christ. They forgot to enjoy and taste the Christian life. If find that so sad.
Legalism fights against the very grace that God gives us. All in all, legalism makes light of that great sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross for our freedom from sin. I encourage you to not live that way–taste that freedom!
On the other hand, some Christians want to live on the other extreme of just saying grace is a license to do whatever they want and live in whatever way they want. That isn’t right either.
Musings
Living holy for Christ is how we let our freedom ring as a Christian. It’s the way we show our love for Christ, who bled and died to free us from sin and from an empty eternity.
“But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.” 2 Peter 3:18
Living for Christ and growing to be more like Him is how we truly taste that freedom! It puts that joy of grace between our teeth.
If you haven’t taken the time to read through Romans 6 lately, I encourage you to do so. You’ll find so many insights in there to our spiritual freedom.
Thanks for stopping in. Feel free to leave me some of your thoughts on freedom on my Julia Bettencourt Ramblings Facebook Page. I love hearing from my visitors!
Have a lovely day!
Julia
