Last night, I was listening to a preacher and he made some statements that really saddened me. He said that 90% of Christians are believing Satan’s lies and living in various levels of spiritual bondage. Only ten percent of all Christians are actually living and walking in the freedom that Christ has given them. I know he was telling the truth because I have until recently been part of the ninety percent. Several years ago, I took a class called Freedom in Christ. It completely changed my life!
I now realize that I spent my whole life not living in the freedom Christ gave me the moment I accepted Him as my Savior. Jesus said in John 10:10, “I am come that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).” I know that I have not been enjoying life like Jesus was describing. I have been lied to and deceived by Satan. For far too long, I lived in fear and defeat. Fr most of my life, I allowed Satan to convince me to live in spiritual bondage.
As I have spent the last several years learning who I am in Christ, I am slowly regaining my freedom. I have realized I do not have to believe Satan’s lies anymore. By the way, that is all Satan knows how to do. He is a liar! John 8:44 says, “He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a falsehood, he speaks what is natural to him, for he is a liar [himself] and the father of lies and of all that is false.” All the things that Satan likes to whisper in our ears are lies.
Odds are that most of the people reading this will be part of the ninety percent still living in some form of spiritual bondage. Maybe you are wondering how this spiritual bondage could be manifesting itself in your life. It could be in the form of some kind of addiction, which by the way doesn’t just include drugs or alcohol. It could be in the form of fear, anxiety, depression, anger, etc. Perhaps you struggle with low self-esteem and insecurity. Or, you could be living under the belief that you have to earn people’s love and affection or that you will never measure up. Those are just a few of the lies we believe and things we struggle with as a result of believing Satan’s lies.
Right now, you may be recognizing that you are in fact part of the ninety percent and asking how to change this. How do you gain your freedom? You replace the lies with the truth! All the lies that you have believed must be replaced with the truths found in the Word of God! The Bible is full of wonderful promises that we can claim. Any lie that we believe must be exchanged for the truth. If for example, you struggle with feelings of inferiority, you must search the Scriptures for the verses that tell you how much you mean to God and how very important you are to Him. Then, every time Satan tries to get you to doubt this, you go to God’s Word and counter his lies with the truth.
When Satan tried to tempt Jesus, Jesus used the Scriptures against him. Every time Satan tried to tempt Him, Jesus said, “It is written…” (Matthew 4:1-11) If this is how Jesus fought Satan, then we should do the same! We need to aggressively search for every Scripture that applies to whatever we are struggling with and cling to them with all of our strength. “And you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free” John 8:32. We need to know the truth, claim the truth, and speak the truth! My Freedom in Christ teacher gave me some wonderful bookmarks with truths backed by Scriptures on them. I try to read them every day and often read them out loud so that I am seeing and hearing the truth.
This has really helped me to grow and understand who I am in Christ! It is my desire to share what I am (still) learning with anyone who is tired of living in bondage and wants to be free. My dear friend, if you will just take the time to daily replace the lies with the truth, you will be on your path to freedom. Over time you will begin to see your life change. Amazing things happen when you begin to BELIEVE what God says about you instead of the lies that the world and Satan want you to believe. “So if the Son liberates you [makes you free men], then you are really and unquestionably free” John 8:36.
I pray that you will grab hold of this offer and never let it go! Christ wants you to be free! He didn’t just come to save you from hell; He came to set you free. You don’t have to live a life characterized by defeat. There is a better way! Choose to believe what God says about you! You are amazing! You are loved! You are accepted and forgiven! These are just a few of the wonderful truths that you must learn to believe. I am praying that today will be the start of a new life for you. May today be the first step on the path to freedom. Go and claim your freedom!
One last thing my friend, I actually wrote this story a few years ago after taking Freedom in Christ for the first time. I share it with you today because I want you to know of the freedom I have found and because I want you to experience that’s same freedom. God has done so much since I first took that class… I now help facilitate it at my church! God is so good! There is nothing He cannot do. My friend, I hope you will decide that you want to start believing truth in your life. Trust me; it will change your life!
Katrina Douglas
