Highlight: Finding true freedom

We all have a desire for the freedom to do and say what we think is right. Often we think that signing up to be a Christian means the end of  that freedom. However, what if following Christ with your whole heart was the beginning of true freedom not the end of it? Pastor Colin Smith explains why we in Christ we have freedom.

“One thing that people don’t realize is that the First Commandment, ‘to have no other gods before Me,’ is actually tied to the very foundation of freedom. This is why we reject tyranny, because no one has the right to impose upon a person, apart from God.”

“It’s foundational to all of our freedom. People don’t realize that, but actually God’s commands and God, being the sovereign Lord of our lives, is the foundation to living a life of freedom.”

Only in God do we experience true freedom the way He created us for.  When we let someone or something take the place of God we become a slave to that thing.

“Here’s an imposing person or an intimidating person who’s trying to exercise control over your life, but the answer to that is to say no one controls me. I have one sovereign Lord. That’s the liberty of the First Commandment.”

Pastor Colin points out that the Ten Commandments were given to redeemed people, for good reason.

“When the Lord is your Redeemer, you hear His commands as blessings. The enemies of God always hear them as threats, they think, what right does God have to impose these rules on me, but redeemed people don’t react like that, we see that this is the blessing that our God who calls us into; a covenant relationship with himself that He brings us into by the power of His Holy Spirit.”


Pastor Colin Smith is a United States evangelical pastor and author. Smith is currently the Senior Pastor of The Orchard Evangelical Free Church in Illinois, where he has been since 1996. The Orchard Evangelical Free Church has three campus locations: Arlington Heights, Barrington, and Itasca.

Key Scripture: Matthew 5:4

Featured Songs: This I Believe – Hillsong Worship; No Wonder – River Valley; Everything Comes Alive – We Are Messengers

Finding freedom in the 10 commandments