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| “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.” |
| —Romans 8:1-2 |
Stories are told about whole groups of African American slaves who gathered in bewilderment, not knowing what to do next, when they received the news that the man they called “Father Abraham”—Abraham Lincoln—had issued the Emancipation Proclamation that ended slavery in the United States near the end of the Civil War. Could anyone blame them? Many of them were born on the very plantations where they had worked all their lives. They had only known slavery. Freedom was something they sang about in their work songs, or dreamed about during the hot, humid nights of the summer.
Before the Holy Spirit revealed to us the great gift of His love that God has chosen to give us through His Son, Jesus, we, too, knew only slavery—slavery to sin and death. But then, God did indeed send His Holy Spirit to remove the scales from our spiritual eyes. We suddenly learned that, through His death on the cross, Jesus has issued our very own “Emancipation Proclamation.”
We were profoundly affected. We were at once filled with unspeakable joy and also left with a sense that our anchor point to sin and death had been severed. We were no longer trapped by our Enemy. We were free—truly and totally free. And, we didn’t know what to do with our new-found freedom.
The Apostle Paul wrote about this phenomenon, an experience he had lived through in his very own life. He gives marvelous good news, as recorded in Romans 8:1-2:
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.
“No longer condemned,” Paul declares. “Now let me teach you how to live with your new freedom.”
This is exactly what Paul does, as he then spends the remainder of this wonderful Book of Romans sharing with these new Christians gathered in the capital of the then-known world—and with us, as well—how to realize the full potential of this new-found freedom.
As a new day begins, let us realize that the reason our spiritual formation is a growing process is because we must learn how to live the new lives that Christ has given us. Let’s not become impatient.
Instead, let’s relish each new day as an opportunity for spiritual growth. We face the challenges of life with the sure knowledge that God loves us. He has a pathway for us. He will reveal that pathway step-by-step each day. It’s all a part of the wonder of the new freedom God has given us in Jesus.
