Free to make a choice

So, let's try this out, as this will be my first post.

Christian belief normally doesn't seem to bring more choices. On the contrary: "you can't do this or that, because it's sinful" is normally one of the main Messages People see.

But why do we then say that it sets us free? Why do we cling to the idea that those limitations mean in fact more freedom than anything else?

The bible says that accepting Jesus' sacrifice frees us from the slavery of sin.

Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. -John 8:34 & 36

Sin does not mean "all the things you do wrong", but the word itself is best translated as "missing the goal". So in the christian belief, God has created everything, including us. His plan was for us to be happy, but instead of asking him - the guy who knows everything - we try to achieve that ourselves.
That leads to us being affected by all the stuff we do, to the point where we're effectively became addicted to all that.
Which means we can't just stop it.

Examples of that could be:

• trying to gain as much money as we can, so we can buy happiness
• living in the Moment, to enjoy the "short pleasures´", like alcohol, sex, adrenaline, etc.
• playing Videogames to get your mind off your own life

None of that is wrong. Money is not evil; alcohol, sex and extreme sports are no sin, and videogames are not made in hell. BUT what we do with them leads to us depending on them, which in turn separates us from God. Because every time we use those things (and others) to find happiness, we abuse it.

As an example: pepper is great as addition to a meal, but ever tried sating your hunger off pepper alone?

This is what the bible calls "being a slave to sin". The good news: It affects every single human. The even better news: God found a way to free us.

When we give our life to Jesus, the slave dies. and we are born a second time, this time free.

In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. -Romans 6:11

So the freedom we get is the freedom of making a choice. Only the free can decide whether they want to live like a slave or not. We still can (but knowing in our conscience it's not the best idea), but we don't have to. That is the freedom that God offers in this life. Then there is the freedom that becomes important after death, but that is a topic for another post.