by Jacob Ninan
Not everyone has heard the real Gospel of Jesus Christ. Some have heard that Jesus will forgive our sin, and others have heard things such as Jesus heals, Jesus gives health and wealth, Jesus will take care of all your problems, etc. Even those who have heard that Jesus died for our sins and that He is willing to forgive our sins may not have heard the full gospel. There is much more to the Gospel than forgiveness.
Think of what Jesus said when He first started His public ministry. One Sabbath day He went to the synagogue as usual, and there He was given a scroll with the Book of Isaiah to read. He read the portion that said, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovery of sight to the blind, To set free those who are oppressed, To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord." Then He sat down and declared that this passage was fulfilled before their eyes that day (Lk.4:16-21). So, one of the things He had come to do was to give us freedom from bondage.
Forgiveness of sins is only the first step in our salvation. It is foolish to be content with that and not get to taste the rest of salvation which Jesus has prepared for us. Forgiveness will give us freedom from guilt, but then we also need to be free from the power of sin that compelled us to sin, the bondage that many of us have got into as a result of painful experiences in life as we grew up, the bondage of sinful habits that have become addictions, and the oppression from demonic spirits in our life. Jesus came to set us free, and when the Son sets us free, we can be free in every way. He came to give us an abundant life, and not one where we still continue in bondage.
It is not that we can be totally free in an instant or through any special experiences. God may occasionally do miracles for some people, probably as a witness to what He can do, but for most others, it is a long process where we have to recognise where we have gone wrong, learn to look at people and things differently, deny ourselves and follow Jesus.
But the greatest blessing that God wants to give is not even that He wants to free us from bondage of different types, but that we can partake of His divine nature (2Pet.1:3,4). Even in this passage, some people jump to the conclusion that what God has promised is His provision for all things that we need for this life! Really? No! God wants us to partake of His character, to become more like Jesus, to bear more of the fruit of the Holy Spirit. These are His greatest promises! How then can we sit content with mere forgiveness of sins? The name Jesus itself means 'Jehovah saves', and He has come to save us from our sins and not merely to forgive us while we go on sinning (Matt.1:21).
Actually God wants us to stop sinning! In a progressive manner, more and more as time goes on. There is forgiveness if we stumble and fall, but God's plan is that we should increasingly stop sinning (1Jn.2:1). Let us look at a few broad headings under which we can come to freedom.
Guilt
Jesus took our punishment in our place, and now we have a way to go to Him and receive our forgiveness. Some take this forgiveness very lightly and do not even repent, and then they may not actually receive forgiveness, but there are others who live constantly under condemnation, saying that even God would not be able to forgive them. But God has given us some examples from the church in Corinth where gross sinners received from Jesus washing from their sins and justification in the sight of God (1Cor.6:9-11). We can receive freedom from guilt when we humble ourselves in the sight of God, confess our sins and receive forgiveness as a gift of unmerited favour from God.The power of sin
We experience the power of sin in the way the lusts in our flesh tempt us. Especially if we have indulged some of these lusts in the past, they would have become very powerful. But that is not an excuse we have to hide behind, because God's plan for us is that sin should not rule over us or be our master (Rom.6:14). Our entire life has to change, starting from the way we think, the value we place on people and things, how we behave, our attitudes, motives, goals, desires, etc. To become like Jesus should not be just a slogan we keep but a real goal for our practical life. We are warned not to take it for granted that we are in Christ, but we need to learn to walk on this earth in the same way that Jesus walked (1Jn.2:6).Bound to the past
We have all been moulded to some extent by the experiences we have gone through in our growing years. A loving, supportive family and fun-filled school days would have given us a stable background from which to develop healthy relationships and strategies for life. But many of us, if not all of us, would have had some painful experiences, considering the world we live in, and we may be still suffering from consequences. Some may have faced neglect, abuse, rejection, and as a result, become people who withdraw themselves from others or challenging situations, those who act aggressively to warn others to take note of them or those have given up on themselves and who waste away their lives without any real purpose or goal. It is by getting to know God personally and developing a genuine fellowship with Him that we can fill this vacuum in our heart. But when we do that, God can slowly deliver us from this bondage and renew our mind, attitudes and behaviour. Some people may need help from counsellors to deal with the inner wounds that have been causing them pain all this time.Habits, addictions
When we do something again and again, it becomes a habit, and when a bad habit becomes so strong that we can no longer control its indulgence, it becomes an addiction. Addictions can be of different kinds, but all of them have an inward compulsion that people are not able to resist. What happens is that our brain learns a pattern from our behaviour, and afterwards when it notices the first step of that pattern it assumes that we have decided to follow that pattern. So then brain gives the whole focus to this behaviour, and even sidelines other parts of our brain which are not needed for this behaviour. That is why we can lose our ability for critical thinking and making decisions, once we are launched into this addictive behaviour. So we can understand that it would be practically impossible to stop, once we have started on this pattern, and the only time to stop it is at the sign of the first trigger itself. That is what we have to do if we want to get out of that addiction. But most times, people cannot do it without external help, and one of the things an addict needs to do is to admit his own helplessness and seek help from God and people. Sometimes, a stay at a rehabilitation centre becomes necessary. God sometimes delivers a person miraculously, probably as a sign for everyone, but for most people, it is a long process of recognising their mistakes and learning to submit to God.Demonic oppression
Children of God cannot be possessed by demons, because they belong to God who has purchased them from the hand of Satan with the blood of Jesus. But it is possible for us to become careless and provide an access to them in small parts of our life. If our life is pictured as a large house with many rooms, this would be like giving Satan one or two rooms there. God warns us that we might end up giving a foothold/place/opportunity to the devil in our life if we continued in any sin without repentance and setting things right with God (Eph.4:26,27). Of course, demons, once they get a small access, are going to push to occupy more and more space! If any part of our life is out of our control, and no effort on our part is able to succeed in regaining control, that is one place to suspect demonisation. Demons can also get access if we participate in in occult activities, such as the ouija board, tarot cards, astrology, seances, etc. Did you know that behind idols there are demons impersonating God? Therefore, it is possible that idol worshippers may also have given access to evil spirits. But however demonisation may have taken place, Jesus can set us free, when we go to Him, confess our sins, receive forgiveness and renounce all connection with demons. Of course, we need to be careful afterwards that we don't let them back in, as Jesus has warned us.One mistake that many Christians make is to assume that Jesus will save them and He will do everything for them. The other extreme is to get into a struggle trying, in effect, to save themselves. But the truth is that God will work inside us, giving us the desire to do His will and also the ability to do it. But then it will be up to us to actually do His will (Php.2:12,13). If we fail in our part, God will not be able to complete His part. It is our responsibility to respond to God wholeheartedly. Read the word of God to get to know Him and His ways, and listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit who will teach, guide, correct and strengthen us.