Week 93: Freedom In Christ

In the last discussion, we mentioned about this lady was delivered from the long-term addiction of smoking cigarettes and marijuana. The beauty about it is that she quit trying to quit. Instead, she soaked herself with sermons after sermons of grace teachings and focus on the righteousness which was given to her as a gift at the cross. Every time she lit a cigarette, she confessed she is the righteousness of God in Christ. The smoking habit eventually drop-off from her life effortlessly. Hallelujah!


So, on what basis that her confession is effective to remove the bad habits in her life? On the basis of God's word, of course. Apostle Paul said "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation."

The word "salvation" is more than just the meaning of salvation from hell to heaven or from death to eternal life. It is the Greek word "sotiria." It carries the meaning of deliverance, preservation and salvation. The definition from Vine's dictionary is as follow:

a) material and temporal deliverance from danger
b) spiritual and eternal salvation granted by God

Here, it says temporal deliverance from danger. In other words, it has to do with things on this earth. There is no danger in heaven. We don't need temporal deliverance when we are granted eternal life from God. So, the gospel of Christ has the power to deliver us from the danger of this earth. Amen!

This is exactly what the lady did. She confess the word of God and she was delivered from the danger of smoking. Hallelujah! Let's go one step further and examine this truth in the bible.

This idea of confessing that we are the righteousness of God in Christ even when we are addicted to bad habits is based on His word alone. Let's us all therefore be established in God's word and proclaim His word as and when we need to be delivered from any dangerous circumstances, be it addicted to smoking, problem with pornography or bitterness/resentment residing in our hearts.

Romans 10:9-10 AMP

9 because if you acknowledge and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord [recognizing His power, authority, and majesty as God], and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart a person believes [in Christ as Savior] resulting in his justification [that is, being made righteous—being freed of the guilt of sin and made acceptable to God]; and with the mouth he acknowledges and confesses [his faith openly], resulting in and confirming [his] salvation. 

Amen! The passage clearly states that if we believe in our hearts that Jesus is our Lord and God raised Him from the dead, and we confess with our mouth of what we believe, the result is we are justified (made righteous; freed of guilt of sin and made acceptable to God) and our salvation confirmed. Hallelujah!

And when we confess that we are the righteousness of God in Christ, we are citing what Isaiah had already prophesied in the Old Testament :

Isaiah 45:22-24

22 “Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; For I am God, and there is no other.

23 “I have sworn [an oath] by Myself, The word is gone out of My mouth in righteousness. And shall not return, That to Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear [allegiance].

24 “It shall be said of Me, ‘Only in the Lord are righteousness and strength.’To Him people will come, And all who were angry at Him will be put to shame.

Friends, the devil can only make inroads into our minds when he gets us to focus on ourselves instead of focusing on Christ and His finished work. The devil's strategy is to point us to our obedience or the lack of it to determine our standing before God.

But just as our position as sinners is not based on what we do, but what the first Adam did, in the same way, we are forever righteous today not because of what we do, but because of what Christ, the last Adam, did on the cross.

A cat "meow" because it is a cat. If a cat "bark", it does not instantly change to a dog. Likewise, when we are in Christ, at times when we sin, but it does not change our status from righteous to sinners. Because it's not about us, it's about Him! Amen! We are in Christ and will always be. And we continue to focus our attention in Christ, we are empowered to overcome sin! No weapon formed against us shall prosper, for Christ who in us is greater than the devil who is in this world! Hallelujah!

So, any bondage, addictions or thoughts seem to condemn us, we don't run away from God. Instead, we should be running to God and say, “I am righteous whether I have good or bad habits/thoughts. My righteousness has nothing to do with my obedience. Jesus’ obedience at the cross made me righteous I am set free from all bad habits because Jesus came to give me life and more abundantly!” Then, go ahead and pray, knowing that we have access to God and His favor ALL the time, and that He hears the prayer of the righteous. (Proverbs 15:29). Hallelujah!

Lord Set Me Free 

Spirit lead me, guide me and walk beside me through this journey. Break every chain and every stronghold in my life, set me free. Free from bondage, free from sin, free from temptations, stress, fear and other people’s expectations of me. Let me prove them wrong, may them see a good work in me and glorify You.

Lord, knowing You are always near, I will break free of every negative thought, word or action directed at me, for I am victorious through Christ Jesus who is my strength, my fortress and my strong tower. Lord, raise me up to overcome everything  that tries to pull me away from You.

Father, replace my fear with strong faith, replace my worry with mighty hope, replace my despair with unspeakable joy, lead me to that inner peace that can only be found in You, my Lord and Saviour. Today those chains of negativity are broken and I am free,in Jesus’ Mighty name, Amen!


Grace and peace be with you.