Christ Has Freed Us For Freedom

“The New Testament sees salvation in Christ as liberation and the Christian life as one of liberty – Christ has freed us for freedom…First, Christians have been set free from the law as a system of salvation. Being justified by faith in Christ, they are no longer under god’s law, but under his grace….they live in this world by being forgiven. Second, Christians have been set free from sin’s domination. They have been supernaturally regenerated and made alive to God through union with Christ in his death and risen life, and this means that the deepest desire of their heart now is to serve God by practicing righteousness. Being changed in heart…they ‘serve in the new way of the Spirit.’ Third, Christians have been set free from the superstition that treats matter and physical pleasure as intrinsically evil. Against this idea, Paul insists that Christians are free to enjoy as God’s good gifts all created things and the pleasures that they yield, provided only that we do not transgress the moral law in our enjoyment or hinder our own spiritual well-being or that of others.”
--JI Packer:
“Concise Theology”: selected passages from pgs. 172-174