Galatians 5:1
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
Jesus Christ forever changed the meaning of freedom.
The atonement for our sins at the cross of Christ is not simply the act of a sympathetic God opening the door to our jail cell; it is the violent act of an omnipotent God shredding the jailhouse to pieces and stripping the jailer of all his authority. No force in heaven or hell shall ever bind us again. Even death so full of waste and destruction may never call our name.
Unqualified freedom with no restrictions and no reservations is a difficult concept for the human mind. We are always subject to some restriction or limitation upon us. Wherever we look, whether it be to the sky or within ourselves we are immediately aware of the limitations of our influence and abilities.
Even the Eagle soaring in flight must eventually come to lite upon his nest. The Eagle has no predators in the sky but he may only range as far as his food supply will allow him. He cannot go wherever he wishes. Brutal winds and unfavorable atmospheric conditions will keep the Eagle bound to the protection of the cliffs.
It is for the boundless, sovereign freedom that God knows that we are set free. If it were only for the pitifully small range of freedom which we are capable of understanding, Christ would never have had to suffer and die for us. God was after a far greater goal than making our life happier or fuller. What God was after is what he accomplished. That we shall be as free as He.
This Scripture from Galatians ought to provoke us in the knowledge that the one sovereign God who can do all things at all times in any way he pleases has destroyed all the power of the enemy of our soul; so that if we find ourselves struggling again with the yoke of slavery to sin and death, it will be we who have brought that disgraceful condition back to life. And why, in God’s name would we ever do that?