WHY SHOULD CHRISTIANS CARE ABOUT FREEDOM?

What in the world is going on? Getting straight to the point, the bottom line is that we are in the middle of an angelic conflict that, in large part, centers around MANKIND’S FREE WILL. When Lucifer/Satan rebelled and decided he wanted to be “like” God, the angelic war began (Ezekiel 28:15; Isaiah 14:13-14). One-third of the angels chose to follow in the rebellion (Revelation 12:4a). At the conclusion of this battle to usurp God’s throne (time frame is unknown to us) Satan and all the demons were sentenced to the lake of fire (Matthew 25:41). In his defense, Satan accused God of being unfair. He challenged that no creature would choose of his own free will to follow God—Examine Job’s testing—Job 1:6-12 (NLT):

One day the members of the heavenly court came to present themselves before the Lord, and the Accuser, Satan, came with them. “Where have you come from?” the Lord asked Satan. Satan answered the Lord, “I have been patrolling the earth, watching everything that’s going on.” Then the Lord asked Satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth. He is blameless—a man of complete integrity. He fears God and stays away from evil.” Satan replied to the Lord, “Yes, but Job has good reason to fear God. You have always put a wall of protection around him and his home and his property. You have made him prosper in everything he does. Look how rich he is! But reach out and take away everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face!” “All right, you may test him,” the Lord said to Satan…So Satan left the Lord’s presence.

So, to resolve this dilemma, mankind was created and one of the most important things God gave us was free will, to make our own individual decision regarding whether we will follow God’s plan for us, which builds us up, or to follow Satan’s plan, which tears us down. Our lives demonstrate to the angelic realm that God never compromises His character. He always balances His love with His righteousness and justice along with His other seven attributes. Every reason Satan gave in his appeal to avoid the inevitable eternal incarceration is countered by God’s consistent grace shown toward those who choose to trust Him and receive His grace and mercy. No creature can successfully live apart from the Creator; and every creature is responsible for his own wicked decisions.

Why should we stand up for freedom? What is God’s purpose for freedom? God gave us free will:

1. To make our own decision to accept or reject Christ’s saving work on the cross on our behalf so that we can spend eternity in heaven.

2. To grow in the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ through studying His Word, reaching maturity, and continuing spiritual growth to hold our ground.

3. To receive eternal blessings at The Judgment Seat of Christ if we reach spiritual maturity while living in the Devil’s world (II Corinthians 5:10).

What is Satan’s purpose for restricting our freedoms?

1. To prevent easy access to hearing the Gospel and understanding our choice.

2. To neutralize the spiritual growth of Believers and their witness as Ambassadors for Christ while here on earth.

3. To block prosperity so that the necessary resources and means for spreading the Gospel to all peoples is difficult.

4. To cause as many to reject Christ so that they stand on their own relative righteousness before The Great White Throne Judgment, which is NEVER up-to-par with God’s standard of absolute perfection. God cannot compromise His character and give you a pass. Without Christ’s righteousness, freely given to those who change their mind about who and what Christ is, you will be thrown into the lake of fire along with all who rebel against God’s perfect will (Revelation 20:10-15).

The saddest tragedy of all time is that everyone who ends up spending eternity in the lake of fire DID NOT need to go there. No one is irredeemable. Christ paid for everyone’s sins (past, present, and future) on the cross so that every soul ever born throughout all of mankind’s history could spend eternity in heaven with Him (John 3:18, 36).

SEEK. FIND. BELIEVE.

Believers—what choices are you making today? Stand firm, for everyone around you as well as elect and fallen angels are watching, observing, and learning from your walk (I Corinthians 4:9; I Peter 1:12).