Speaker: Darlene Sala | Series: Encouraging Words

When you see a Bible, perhaps you think of it as a book full of rules and regulations–a book that tells you to stop doing what you want and insists you start doing what you have no desire to do. Be honest—is that what the Bible seems like to you?

If so, I have good news for you. That’s not how it is at all.  Yes, there are rules in the Bible. They were put there so that we would know what God’s standards are.  But God knew we could never keep all His laws. All of us have a natural tendency to want our own way instead of God’s way. As the Bible itself says, “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way” (Isaiah 53:6).

So God sent His Son to earth to die on the cross for us to pay for our sins.  He offers us forgiveness for all that we have done wrong—yes, all of it. When we ask His forgiveness and place our faith in Him, He, in turn, puts the Holy Spirit in our hearts to help us obey and live for Him. That’s real freedom!  No more guilty feelings. No more fear that God is out to “get you” anytime you goof up.

If you have placed your faith in Jesus Christ to forgive your sins, no longer do you have to fear God as someone who is out to get you. Instead you have freedom to come to a God who loves you deeply and will forgive you when you ask Him. No longer do you have to fear death, because He defeated death when He arose from the grave, and He is now preparing a place for you in heaven so that you can spend all eternity with Him.

Don’t live another day as a slave to sin and guilt. Find the true freedom that comes from knowing you are totally forgiven. Jesus, the Son of God, said, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36).