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There are many accounts in the Bible that speak of Jesus' mission in the earth. One of them is John 10:10: "...I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows)" (Amp.).

What an awesome life! Yeah, and it is for you, me and everybody else who is willing and available to learn how to move from religion to spiritual reality.

What does it mean to have life in abundance? It certainly means a lot of things. There is, however, one test you can apply to yourself to know whether or not you are experiencing the spiritual reality of life in abundance. That test is what the Bible calls liberty.

Liberty is the essence of life in abundance. And it is for this reason that the Spirit of God is saying to us today to "stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage" (Gal. 5:1). This verse is so pregnant with revelation knowledge, and I pray God for it to give birth in us.

According to this verse, the way to keep free from the yoke of bondage is by taking a firm stand in the liberty that we have in Christ. Liberty then is an on-going experience of the reality of the power of Christ that works in us to subdue any thing that would seek to deprive us of freedom—being, doing and having all that God wants us to be, do and have in life.

God is calling us to stand fast in that power, lest the yoke of bondage again entangles— constrains, limits and hinders—us from reaching our full potential in God. If we allow, the yoke of bondage can again bring us under the crushing weight and pain of religion, fear, sin, condemnation, sickness, poverty, and failure.

Religion or Relationship?
Is religion really that much a weight and pain? Yes, and much more. Here is how Jesus described what those who teach religion instead of the Word of God actually do: "...they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; ...ye [they] compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye [they] make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves [themselves]" (Matthew 23: 3,15 AMP).

Notice from this verse that religion is not of God; it is man-made (with Satan as its architect). Originating religious teachings, according to this verse, is like binding heavy burdens that are grievous to bear; and spreading religious teachings is like taking those burdens and laying them on men's shoulders.

In short, religion makes slaves out of men. The sad thing about it is that this slavery is happening in many churches in the world. That is why we should seek to know more about the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free and, more importantly, stand fast in it and teach others to do likewise.

According to Jesus, the way we stand fast in the liberty that we have in Him is by continuing in His Word: "...If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (John 8:31-32). I want you to take special note of the connection between these verses (John 8:31-32) and Galatians 5:1).

Here in John 8:31-32, freedom is mentioned as a product of the truth while in Galatians 5:1 freedom is mentioned as a product of liberty. That therefore tells us that it is continuing in the truth about our liberty in Christ that is the key to a life of freedom. Let's proceed and look at some of the things that the truth we receive from continuing in the Word of God will free us from.

He Who The Son Sets Free...
Truth will free us from sin. Jesus said "whoever commits and practices sin is the slave of sin" (John 8:34, AMP). If sin is enslaving (and it is); that means that our liberty in Christ includes freedom from sin. Is that so? Yes. Jesus has destroyed the power of sin over man: "He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil." (1 John 3:18)

Truth will free us from fear. According to 1 John 4:18, "...fear has torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love." If fear is tormenting (and it is), it means that our liberty in Christ includes freedom from fear. Is that so? Yes. Jesus delivered us from fear: He "...took part of the same [flesh and blood]; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage." (Heb. 2:14-15).

Truth will deliver us from debt. The Scriptures say "...the borrower is servant to the lender" (Proverbs 22:7). If debt is enslaving (and it is), it means that our liberty in Christ includes freedom from debt. Is that so? Yes. Jesus came "...to preach the acceptable year of the Lord." (Luke 4:19) He came to preach the year of Jubilee—a time of supernatural debt cancellation as a result of the abounding salvation and free favours of God. (See Lev. 25-26)

Truth will free us from poverty. "...The destruction of the poor is their poverty." (Prov. 10: 15) If poverty destroys (and it does), it means that our liberty in Christ includes freedom from poverty. Is that so? Yes. Jesus "...became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich" (2 Cor. 8:9)

Truth will free us from sickness and disease. Sickness and disease is oppressive. That is why Jesus dealt with it the way He did when He walked this earth: He "...went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him" (Acts 10:38); and He is still doing so because He is "...the same yesterday, and today, and for ever." (Heb. 13:8)

If sickness and disease is oppressive (and it is), it means that our liberty in Christ includes freedom from sickness and disease. Is that so? Yes. Jesus "...took our infirmities and bare our sicknesses." (Matt. 8:17)

It is clear that we have every reason to continually abide in the Word because therein lies the truth about our liberty in Christ; and it is this truth that will keep us from being entangled again with the yoke of bondage. It is this truth that will take those whom we disciple from religion to spiritual reality. And it is this truth that the world is desperately looking for in us.

Copyright © Covenant Word Ministries
All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Author Biography

Joseph Enyimu
Web site: Covenant Word Ministries
 
Joseph Enyimu has been nurturing faith and casting vision in the lives of believers through his teaching and one-to-one discipleship ministry since 1995. His life and ministry is dedicated to imparting knowledge, skills and character for Kingdom-living to believers through teaching, guided experience and modeling respectively.
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