I Corinthians 9:19-23
Freedom. It is a concept that men throughout history have sweated, fought, bled, and died for. But true freedom is only found in Christ. “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Christ has set us free from what we once owed and has marked us PAID IN FULL. The things of the world only have the authority over us that we give them, and if Christ is living as Lord of our lives, then it has no authority over us, because whatever authority it had was granted to it by Christ Himself. God gave Satan authority over the things of the flesh, so if we are living in the flesh, he has authority in that area of our lives. But if we live by the Spirit, we are granted freedom from that binding authority and are free to live in the will of the Father.
Unlike Satan’s authority, the authority of the Father is not bondage, but freedom to be all that He created us to be. He is the One who created us, gave us what we have, and put in us gifts and the desire for purity and holiness that we as Christians should be living by. This means we are free from any obligation to men. We are not under their authority, but under God’s. In His freedom, Christ remained pure—so can we also. Jesus, the infinite Creator, became human that He might reach us. So we are also called to reach men by understanding them and giving of ourselves to them. We ought to do it because Christ loves them, and so ought we to love them. Randy Alcorn said that in heaven, everyone will be united by their differences—this, because each person individually reflects a part of who God is, and there the Lord will be the Lord of all. The change is not outward—it is not based on appearance or race or age. Rather, the change is one of the heart, and it is the hearts of men that God came to save.