When speaking of our freedom from sin, some have said, “Worrying is a sin. Foolish thoughts are a sin. Telling white lies is a sin. Are you free from those?”
The answer is a simple and unashamed, yes. But what they are really asking is whether I ever stumble into those things. And the honest answer is also a simple, yes. Sometimes I worry. Sometimes foolish thoughts flicker through my mind. Sometimes a careless word escapes. I can’t even recall the last time a white lie crossed my lips, but I know the weakness of the flesh. And yet—I am free.
Freedom isn’t measured by the absence of struggle. Freedom is measured by the finished work of Christ. Who the Son sets free is free indeed—entirely, completely. Not halfway. Not “mostly.” Not eventually. Free indeed (John 8:36).
The word “indeed” here comes from the Greek word ontos, which means truly, really, genuinely. It speaks of something actual and present, not symbolic or postponed. Ontos draws a clear line between pretend and reality—between a hope we imagine and a freedom that is solid and living. Jesus did not promise a future freedom after death; He declared a real freedom here and now. You are free in reality, not just in theory. You are free in truth, not in wishful thinking.
My freedom doesn’t rest on the fragile weight of my behavior. It rests on the unshakable triumph of the cross (see What the Cross Did). When He said, “It is finished,” He meant it. My stumbling does not undo His victory. My weakness does not diminish His strength.
Some will ask, “So are you saying you don’t sin?” But this has never been about me. I’m not basing any of this on whether or not I stumble. I’m standing on what Jesus did—and I will stand on what He did, regardless of what my behavior looks like, until my behavior matches what He has declared to be true. Because if He said it ought to look a certain way, then He believes it can look that way.
I’m not striving to make it so, as though freedom is a project I must complete. I’m not teaching that we must labor to act holy. If He commands us to walk in holiness, it means holiness is already our true nature (see What the New Creation Is). If I act contrary to that, it reveals that my mind needs renewal. It means I must be transformed by the renewing of my mind—repenting until I walk in the fullness of who I already am (Romans 12:2). This is the renewal spoken of in Colossians, where we are told to put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its Creator (Colossians 3:9-10). The way to walk like it is to see that you already are. As a man thinks in his heart, so is he (Proverbs 23:7).
If you are using Scripture to justify bondage, you have missed its heart.
This is where many stumble. They look at their behavior and assume it defines them. They build their theology around their failures instead of around Christ’s triumph. They point to Romans 7 to excuse their captivity (for a fuller teaching, see The Romans 7 Man), forgetting that in Romans 6, Paul declared we have died to sin (see The Old Self Is Dead). They wield Scripture—the very Word proclaiming our deliverance from sin—as a tool to defend ongoing, lifetime captivity to it. They reason, “Because I still stumble, freedom must not really mean freedom,” and then accuse anyone who dares to believe Christ’s words of being a liar. It is a tragic thing to use the sword of the Spirit to build a case against your own freedom. It is a disgrace to take the words of life and use them to defend bondage to the thing that leads to death–more than that, led to the death of Christ. If you are using Scripture to justify bondage, you have missed its heart.
Freedom is a finished fact, sealed by the blood of Christ. We don’t change the Gospel to validate our sinful experiences; we believe the Gospel until our sinful experiences change.
Hebrews declares that we have been made holy by the offering of Jesus Christ, once for all (Hebrews 10:10). It proclaims that by a single sacrifice, He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified (Hebrews 10:14). And Paul testifies that we have become the righteousness of God in Christ—for He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21). All of these truths stand unshaken—rooted not in our striving, but in His finished work.
What do all these declarations have in common—and every other scripture that speaks to who we are now in Christ? Every one of them is immediately tied to something Jesus is or something Jesus did. Hebrews 10:10 says you are already holy—why? By His will and by His sacrifice. Hebrews 10:14 says you are already perfect—for all time—why? By His sacrifice. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says you have become the righteousness of God—why? Because He made Him who knew no sin to become sin for you.
It is always about Him. Always about what He finished. I am not judging my identity by my behavior. If I behave like a sinner, it does not mean I am a sinner. It means there is a place where I am still not seeing who I truly am.
When I behave contrary to that reality, it’s not because the truth has faltered. It’s because my mind needs renewal (Romans 12:2). I don’t resolve to “behave better.” I return to the Word that declares who I already am. I repent—I change my mind—until my life reflects what Christ has already accomplished.
As a man thinks in his heart, so is he (Proverbs 23:7). Behavior is the fruit. Thought is the root. If I want new fruit, I have to deal with the root.
