There are many blessings involved in being in Christ.  Blessings that we should thank God for all the time.  Some of these great blessings build upon each other.  We have seen this week that in Christ we have been redeemed.  Last night we considered the ongoing benefit of the cleansing blood that we have access to in Christ.  These two blessings result in being spiritually free, something that Paul wrote about in the book of Romans.

Romans 6:17–18 (ESV)
¹⁷ But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed,
¹⁸ and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.

There is no greater freedom to attain than freedom from sin.  Why?  Because of the terrible effects of it.  The end of sin is separation from God and all His glorious blessings.

Isaiah 59:1–2 (ESV)
¹ Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; ² but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.

To be separated from God is to be spiritually dead, a state that we were all in before we were redeemed by the blood of Christ (Ephesians 2:1).  If we were to die in such a state of being, we would experience what the Bible calls the second death (Revelation 20:14).  This involves being cast into the lake of fire reserved for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41), and is the fate of everyone who dies without having his name in the book of life.  In Christ, however, we do not have to worry about the second death.  We know, by the grace of God, we will be spared from experiencing that form of God’s wrath.

Romans 5:9 (ESV)
⁹ Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.

It is not only the ultimate expression of the wrath of God that we escape, we also avoid the immediate effect of sin.  Things such as fellowship with God and a praying relationship with Him are hindered by unrepented sin.  The passage cited above from Isaiah informs us that the result of separation from God is that He will not hear our prayers.  This is the consistent teaching of scripture.  God does not hear sinners (John 9:31; Psalm 66:18; Proverbs 28:9).   We should be thankful that in Christ we do not have to worry about the loss of these things and any other spiritual blessings.  As Christians, we are free to enjoy all these gracious gifts from God.

Finally, and we touched on this already this week, we are free from law, that is, a law that does not include the blood of Christ. Pure law demands sinless living, and since we all sin from time to time, being under such a law would put us back in bondage.  Thankfully, the law that we are amenable to now, that is, the law of the Spirit of life, sets us free from the dominion of sin (Romans 8:2).

The freedom that we have as Christians is unique.  It cannot be found anywhere else except in Christ.  Let us be thankful for it, and do everything we can to hold on to it (Romans 6:7-15).

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.