Strength 2026
Strength to Stay Free
Sunday, June 14, 2026
Salvation is a free gift, but sanctification and deliverance will cost you.
Jesus gave us the gift of salvation.
Ephesians 2:8-9 (ESV) 8For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Romans 5:15 (ESV) 15But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.
God gave us, through His Son Jesus, the gift of salvation. It is our choice whether we accept that gift because it is freely given. He says, “I gave you My Son, and you have the free will to choose whether you want to accept My love or not.”
The enemy offers a false sense of free will too, though. The difference between God’s free will and the devil’s is this: the enemy will systematically make it seem as if we have no real choices left.
Discussion Point #1: Why do you think God allows us the freedom to choose whether or not we accept Him?
We have established that salvation is a gift, but sanctification and deliverance will cost you.
Being delivered from something means you do not continue going back to the very thing God freed you from.
When we open the door to sin, it can lead to other strongholds and destructive behaviors taking root in our lives.
For example, lust can lead to perversion, addiction, anger, broken relationships, and other sinful patterns. Anger can lead to bitterness, resentment, hatred, unforgiveness, and offense.
Sin rarely stays isolated—it grows when it is continually entertained.
Matthew 5:21-22 (AMP) 21“You have heard that it was said to the men of old, ‘You shall not murder,’ and ‘Whoever murders shall be guilty before the court.’ [Ex 20:13; Deut 5:17; 16:18] 22But I say to you that everyone who continues to be angry with his brother or harbors malice against him shall be guilty before the court; and whoever speaks [contemptuously and insultingly] to his brother, ‘Raca (You empty-headed idiot)!’ shall be guilty before the supreme court (Sanhedrin); and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of the fiery hell."
Matthew 12:43-45 (AMP) 43“Now when the unclean spirit has gone out of a man, it roams through waterless (dry, arid) places in search of rest, but it does not find it. 44Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it arrives, it finds the place unoccupied, swept, and put in order. 45Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and make their home there. And the last condition of that man becomes worse than the first. So will it also be with this wicked generation.”
Once God has freed you from something, there can be no continued entertainment of what once held you.
In the verses from Matthew 12, we see Jesus saying that after an unclean spirit is driven out, it will ultimately try to return. This time it will bring more spirits with it, which is why we cannot allow it back in. If you resist the devil, he has to flee!
Discussion Point #2: Why do you think people sometimes return to the very things God already delivered them from?
Sometimes people find themselves stuck in the same cycles over and over again—asking God for help, but then returning to the same behaviors months, weeks, days, or even hours later.
Whether it is sexual sin, anger, unforgiveness, pornography, or disobedience in other areas, repeating the same patterns will continue to keep us in bondage.
But when we stop the cycle through obedience and dying to ourselves, there is freedom.
Discussion Point #3: Why do you think obedience and surrender are necessary parts of walking in freedom?
John 8:34-36 (AMP) 34Jesus answered, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, everyone who practices sin habitually is a slave of sin. 35Now the slave does not remain in a household forever; the son [of the master] does remain forever. 36So if the Son makes you free, then you are unquestionably free."
2 Corinthians 3:17 (AMP) 34Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty [emancipation from bondage, true freedom]. [Is 61:1, 2]
Jesus lives in us when we accept the gift of salvation. When we reside in Him, He resides in us.
Because of that, we can cast down those thoughts, ask Jesus to help us when we are tempted, and walk in true freedom.
Amen!