There I times I get angry and sin, there are times when I sin and I enjoy it and then I come back to the father expecting the heave hand of punishment wincing for a blow and instead he puts his arm around me. That's grace, that's what freedom means. That was Paul's experience in Romans 7.
Romans 7:15-18 “For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.”
When I sin I don't have to worry; I have accepted the free gift of salvation, and my sins have been paid for.
John 2:1-2 “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation [payment] for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”
I John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Romans 5:6-9 “ For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.”
v15-16 “But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification.”
Steve Brown said it this way “I mean you are really free. No disclaimer. No addendum. No qualifying points. You are free.
I didn’t say it. Jesus did: “‘If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. . . . Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed’” (John 8:31-32, 36). Freedom is a gift from the Son of God. If He says I’m free, that ought to settle it for me. And He does say it. So I dare anyone to say otherwise.” You can find the whole article here: http://www.keylife.org/articles/radical-freedom
I'm God's, if I wander off, He will come for me. The prodigal son may have left for the far country, but he didn't stop being a son. Toddlers mess things up time and time again; I have never heard of anyone suggesting that parents threaten to disown their toddlers to get them to behave. God doesn't disown his children, for he seals them with his Spirit. I may grieve that spirit in my sin, but he won't leave me (Ephesians 4:30). I'm a child of God and because of that I have freedom, real radical freedom.
II Corinthians 3:17 “Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”
Romans 8:21 “Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.”
Jesus came to save sinners of whom I am the chief. Amen. My motivation to follow him is far deeper than a fear of rejection. I am free to fail, free to love Him because he first loved me, free to take risks, and free to follow Him. There are many times God gives us instruction on what to do and of course not to sin; I am not discounting these passages, but I do not cower as a slave. I need not even stoop as a servant, though like the Prodigal I am I desire to serve. I serve out of love. God let me see a reflection of that service in the picture of my little girl grabbing a stool and coming to kitchen counter to help dry the dishes. There was no fear in her help, she needed to threat but offered it up out of love. Thank God for the type and the pictures of the family of God he gave us in the family.
Sometimes all I can say in my heart is draw me Lord (Song of Solomon 1:4); other times all I can say is there is no where else to go Lord (John 6:68).