Dying on a Hill

It was amazing that he even made it this far. He had been beaten and tortured, he was weak, battered, and bruised. But still he carried on because he had a mission to complete, he had to make it up the hill for the cause of freedom. Eventually he made it up that hill in a faraway country where he was now dying. He was dying to set the whole world free and he didn’t have long to live, his suffering would soon be over.

This man was not lifting a flag up high on a relatively unknown island in the pacific, he was on a hill at Golgotha, the place of a skull, and he was the one being lifted up high on a cross for all to see.

“It is finished” he exclaimed as he passed away. The sky darkened and the earth trembled. He died completing his mission, in fact he had to die to complete his mission. The enemy was defeated and what was meant to be a symbol of shame became a symbol of victory.

Nearby a curtain was torn…

Dying for Freedom?

Most people don’t think about Jesus Christ dying for freedom. Most Christians think about Jesus dying for the forgiveness of sins. Or to pay the penalty we deserve, and yes he did die for our sins, but he also died for our freedom.

Jesus freed us from the debt we owe for our sins, he paid the penalty so we could be set free. While most people think about freedom in a worldly manner, Jesus freed our souls by paying our debt and when we follow him we are no longer slaves to sin.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. ³⁵ The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. ³⁶ So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.¹

Paul puts it this way in the Book of Acts:

Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, ³⁹ and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses.²

With Freedom Comes Responsibility

You’ve heard it said around this time of year that freedom is not free and that is very true. And the freedom that Jesus has given us from worldly worries came with a price also. It came at the price of his life.

There is also a price we all pay to remain in Christ’s freedom; freedom comes with responsibility. Just as in a free country you still do not have total freedom, there are limits, so too is it with the freedom we have received through Jesus.

¹² “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything.³

And:

¹³ For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.⁴

And still:

¹⁶ Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.⁵

Our Responsibility

Yes, we have been set free by the truth of Jesus Christ⁶ but we are supposed to go and sin no more.⁷ We are supposed to change our ways. Yes, we are free, but that does not give us license to do whatever we want. We still have to live with the goal of following Christ’s commandments.⁸

That is our first responsibility but there is another.

Just as sometimes a free country must go to war to remain free, we are to be agents, or soldiers, of freedom also. By this I mean:

We have this good news and it is our duty and our obligation to share this good news with others so they can also enjoy the freedom of salvation found only in Jesus Christ.

¹⁴ How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?⁹

Jesus won the war that day. He defeated Satan and sin. Although the outcome of the war has been determined the battles wage on. We are still skirmishing for people’s souls and we must continue to spread the word about Jesus and his sacrifice until all of the battles are over and we are called home.

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1. John 8:34-36 ESV ↩︎
2. Acts 13:38-39 ESV ↩︎
3. 1 Corinthians 6:12 ESV ↩︎
4. Galatians 5:13 ESV ↩︎
5. 1 Peter 2:16 ↩︎
6. See John 8:32 ↩︎
7. See John 8:11 ↩︎
8. See John 15:4 ↩︎
9. Romans 10:14 ESV ↩︎