“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.” — Galatians 5:13, NIV
Sin is a struggle, and no matter where we are in our Christian walks, we will always encounter temptations. However, when we have accepted Christ into our lives, we are set free from the bondage of sin. We are no longer control by our own desires and nature but rather are submitting to God’s will for us.
True freedom does not have to do with being able to do our own thing, but rather we find true freedom when we submit to Christ and his righteousness. God’s will is much better than ours could ever be (Isaiah 55:8-9).
Romans 6:18 says, “You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.” We have a higher purpose than our own desire to make choices or escape our struggles. We are called to live for Jesus and in righteousness.
Even though we have freedom in Jesus, we shouldn’t go around making bad decisions or choosing sin as Christ is now the master of our lives. Galatians 5:13 tells us to use our freedom to serve one another. We may have the option and opportunity to sin but that doesn’t mean we should take that route.
To compare with a simpler example, when we are little children, we have our parent/guardians to tell us what to do. They tell us to eat food, get adequate sleep, etc. After time has passed, we have to make those decisions for ourselves. Just because we have that freedom to chose not to take care of ourselves, doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t. It is the same way with our freedom from sin, we should do what we know is right even though it’s in our power to chose what’s wrong.