Speaker: Sia Muang Pi — If The Son Sets You Free, You Are Free Indeed
Many young people today are bound and live a life of bondage without even realizing it. They are controlled by fear, shame, guilt, people’s opinions, and their emotions.
Our feelings change based on results. Think about England’s soccer team. When they won the quarterfinals, people were saying, “England is going to win it all.” But after they lost in the semifinals, people suddenly said they were terrible. The players themselves didn’t suddenly lose their talent or become different people. The result changed, so people’s perception changed. That’s often how our emotions work.
When things are going well, we feel confident. When life gets hard, we feel defeated. When people praise us, we feel like we’re on top of the world. When people criticize us, we begin questioning ourselves. “What did I do wrong?” We often allow our emotions to determine our identity.
The same thing can happen in our Christian walk. We think, “I prayed today. I read my Bible today. I worshiped today, so God must be pleased with me.” But when we make mistakes, we suddenly feel like God is far away. The truth is, your good days do not make God love you more, and your bad days do not make Him love you less. Your standing with God is based on the finished work of Jesus on the cross, not on how you performed today.
Jesus said in John 8:36, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” Notice He didn’t say, “If you feel free.” Freedom isn’t based on your feelings. It’s based on Jesus.
If your life is based on how your parents see you, how your leaders see you, or what your friends think about you, you’ll never truly walk in freedom. Living life is one thing, but living a life of freedom is much better. Without freedom, you’re simply existing. With freedom, you’re truly living.
1. Your freedom is not based on your performance.
Your freedom is based on the finished work of Jesus.
It’s not based on your grades, how well you serve, how good of a Christian you think you are, or even how well you honor your parents. Those things are important, but they are not the source of your freedom. Jesus is.
Social media teaches us to perform. We post the best moments of our lives because we want acceptance and approval. If we’re not careful, we can bring that same mindset into our relationship with God. We start believing we have to perform for Him too.
Performance-based Christianity creates a superstitious Christianity. We begin thinking God loves us more because we prayed longer or read more chapters today.
Prayer, worship, obedience, and reading Scripture are all important. But we don’t do those things so God will love us. We do them because He already loves us and has already accepted us through Jesus Christ.
2. Freedom doesn’t mean you never fail. It means failure no longer owns you.
The reason we can live in freedom is because of what Jesus did 2,000 years ago. Our freedom isn’t based on how spiritual we feel today. It’s based on what Jesus already finished on the cross.
2 Corinthians 5:21 reminds us of the great exchange. Jesus took our sin, our shame, our guilt, our condemnation, and the punishment we deserved. Even the things no one else knows about, He carried them. In return, He gave us His righteousness. His identity became our identity because of His grace.
Sometimes we feel far from God, but feelings don’t always tell the truth. God’s love hasn’t moved. Our emotions may change, but Jesus doesn’t.
Romans 5:1 reminds us that we have peace with God because we have been justified by faith.
Think about being verified on social media. Someone can receive the verified badge, then the next day get fewer likes and feel discouraged. Even though their feelings changed, they’re still verified because someone with greater authority confirmed who they are.
The same is true for every believer. The moment you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, God verified you. He declared you righteous. He declared you forgiven. He called you His son or His daughter. Your identity is no longer based on your feelings or your performance. It’s based on what God has already spoken over you.
Freedom doesn’t mean temptation will never come. It doesn’t mean you’ll never struggle again. It doesn’t even mean you’ll never fail again.
It means sin no longer has authority over you.
Romans 6:14 says that sin shall no longer be your master because you are not under law but under grace.
Sin may still try to influence you, but it no longer owns you. Because if the Son has set you free, you are free indeed.