On August 28, 1963, the reverend Dr. Martin Luther King delivered his now famous civil rights speech, I Have A Dream, from the steps of the Lincoln memorial in Washington, D.C. Looking forward to the day when racial equality would reign supreme in our land he perceived the joy of that time and exuberantly cried out, “Free at last. Free at last. Thank God Almighty I’m free at last.” Since that speech much good has been accomplished to realize his dream. Yet much work remains. Writing to Christians in Rome the apostle Paul spoke to the reality of slavery and freedom too, yet not in the physical sense, but in the spiritual sense. He emphatically declared, “Sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace” (Romans 6:14). In Christ the chains of slavery to sin were shattered. Spiritually speaking the wrist and ankle shackles were removed. In what sense were they removed? By the law of faith they were removed. Faith in what? Faith in Christ and His death on the cross in your place, and in His subsequent resurrection. Paul declares that by faith you are no longer under law. What law? The law of sin which reigned supreme in your daily experience, prompting and enslaving you to reject God, to think and do things opposed to the moral law of God, as well as neglecting to think and do things pleasing to God. In that prior state of unbelief it was your nature to live in a way opposed to the things of God. By nature you were an object of God’s wrath (Ephesians 2:3). It was impossible for you to please God in anything for “without faith it is impossible to please Him” (Hebrews 11:6). Not only did you not care to be pleasing to God, you were powerless to be pleasing to Him. Herein lies the good news. Since rejecting your unbelief and coming to Christ by faith you have been given a new nature; given, not earned. This is the law of grace Paul speaks of. To be under law is to be under the slavery of the old nature of unbelief, opposed to God, leading to a life of sin and eventual spiritual death for eternity. To be under the law of grace is to be under the influence of the indwelling Holy Spirit within you, who has created in you a new nature, one desiring God and seeking to be pleasing to Him, the result being spiritual life leading to eternal life. And this transformation is not of your doing, it is the gift of God. It is by grace (God’s unmerited favor). In another place Paul speaks of this amazing reality, “For by grace you have been saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God” Ephesians 2:8). Dr. Martin Luther King spoke of a day when cultural freedom and equality would be the experience for all people of this country. The apostle Paul speaks of the reality of a spiritual freedom and empowerment for all believers in the Lord Jesus Christ to live victoriously by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. The chains and shackles have been removed. Yes they were invisible to the eye, but their fruit was visible, being recognized by a life of unbelief and sin. But now the law of sin no longer has dominion over you, you have been purchased (redeemed) by the blood of Christ, and empowered to live righteously. You are now a free man or woman. Therefore, live in that freedom. Just as a tree takes in the grace of God for its daily life (sun, rain, soil, carbon dioxide are all God’s free gifts to the tree), we too daily take in God’s grace for spiritual life (by His Word, prayer, fellowship with other believers, worship, obedience to His teaching and promptings). Herein is the law of the grace of God, “Live by the Spirit, and you will not satisfy the desires of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16). The closer you draw near to God the closer He will draw near to you (James 4:10). And the closer He draws near to you His power for victorious living over sin will be your daily experience. “Free at last. Free at last. Thank God Almighty I’m free at last!”
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