Freedom! Everyone calls for it. But freedom means different things to different people. To many, it means living without restraint--how I want and where I want.

What did it mean to Jesus? He said, "If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed" (John 8:36). When pressed by His enemies, He also said, "Everyone who sins is a slave to sin." (John 8:34). The freedom He promises is freedom from inner bondage, a release from sin to serve God. Christian freedom means freedom from guilt over a past life of sin. "Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1). It is also freedom from the practice of sin. "Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires" (Romans 6:12).

Christian freedom means a clear conscience and Christ-honoring conduct.

A changed life leads to a changed lifestyle. How we live is important.

What are some of the change issues in today's world?

Violence
A barrel-chested man stood up in a Sunday evening church service. "I am," he began slowly, "a wife beater." There was a hush. Grown children had turned him in. He'd been before the courts. Now he was in therapy. He confessed he was not "out of the woods" yet. In his distress he turned to Christ and the church for healing and help.

Violence is everywhere. It's beamed into our homes by TV; it breaks out in the sports arena, the classroom, on our streets. Helpless children are often its victims. We take it for granted, but we shouldn't. Christ calls us to be "rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice." (Ephesians 4:31).

Gambling
The subject of gambling came up in a Free Methodist membership class. Someone asked, "What's so wrong about Bingo?" Carl spoke up. "Before I was saved at 18," he explained, "my Grandma and I played Bingo at least three nights a week." He told of its hold on him, his dependence on luck, the greed it nourished inside him. Christ had set him free from the slavery that was gradually taking control.

The Free Methodist Church teaches that gambling has no place in the lives of its members.

Drug Dependence
A young man told his pastor what he knew about the enslavement of alcohol. He had started in early childhood with liquor he had found around the house. Yet before he was saved, he had begun to see that drinking was wrong. His dad would drink a whole paycheck away. When the young man came to Christ he found freedom.

In our society, one in four families is troubled by alcohol--as many as 65 million poeple. According to estimates, alcohol is involved in nearly 50 percent of all sex offences, and 10,000 murders occur each year in incidents involving alcohol. Free Methodists across many generations have believed that this addictive drug is not for Christians who want to live free and clean.

Other drugs are also a concern to Christians. Society itself is turning its back on tobacco, the killer. Illicit drugs are out. But what of the medicinal drugs we may need? We counsel as follows: "Because drug dependency of any kind inhibits fullness of life in Christ, we guard against the indiscriminate use of perscription and over-the-counter drugs."

Sexual Control
One of the first things Sandra wanted to do when she became a Christian was to get control of her sexual impulses. She admitted that one of her girlfriends had been smart and the other pretty. She didn't think she was either, so she decided she would be sexy. It cost her a year out of her life, a baby she couldn't keep and a certain sadness she couldn't overcome.

Free Methodist people stand by to minister to men and women similarly wounded or out of control. At the same time the church affirms sex, and Hebrews 12:4 teaches that sexual intercourse is God's gift to humanity only for the intimate union of a man and a woman within marriage.

Free and Clean
A lifestyle marked by freedom in Christ has effects that go beyond ourselves. It makes for personal and family stability and sets a good example for our children; it makes us better able to handle our resources; and it frees us to serve others. It never takes something away without giving something better in its place.

The Free Methodist Church gives clear guidelines for lifestyle and also offers help for those who struggle with change. Caring Christians in the church stand by to help new believers become free, whether from gambling, sexual wrongdoing, or a string of other damaging enticements.

Freedom in Christ is a glorious freedom! It is more than mere moral uprightness. It is a release to serve Jesus Christ freely--in the community of His people, and in the power of His Spirit.

He is Lord of all!