{"id":4120,"date":"2025-07-01T09:26:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-01T09:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/?p=4120"},"modified":"2026-04-14T06:19:54","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T06:19:54","slug":"what-is-the-path-to-true-freedom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/what-is-the-path-to-true-freedom\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is the Path to True Freedom?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

According to Merriam-Webster<\/a> freedom<\/em> is \u201cthe absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action\u201d and \u201cunrestricted use.\u201d Many people take the idea of \u201cunrestricted use\u201d to extremes, believing they can do whatever they want to do if they feel it\u2019s in their best interest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This mindset has led to a rampant rise in robbery, assault, and other crimes that result in innocent people suffering because the perpetrators believe they\u2019re free to do as they please. Some also exercise their so-called freedom to harm themselves, which has increased the homeless population of addicts who don\u2019t want the rehab resources available to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the idea of \u201cunrestricted use\u201d of freedom without accountability is a fantasy. Governments worldwide have traffic laws, tax laws, and other civil laws designed to restrict people\u2019s actions that may harm themselves or others. In other words, freedom has never been about the total absence of constraint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The culture in which the apostle Paul lived was not much different than 21st<\/sup>-century culture in terms of human behavior. Galatians 5 lists these sins: sexual immorality, impurity, debauchery, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, and orgies (vv. 19\u201321 NIV). But none of these unrestricted behaviors led to freedom then or now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paul says, \u201cYou, my brothers and sisters were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh\u201d (Galatians 5:13). What kind of freedom is Paul talking about? (1) Freedom from the dominion of sin and corrupt desires and (2) freedom to become the people God designed us to be, set apart for His service and glory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LGBT activists zealously promote the idea of freedom to be who you truly are\u2014the opposite sex or any one of 72 gender identities<\/a>. This kind of fantasy living, however, doesn\u2019t lead to freedom; it leads to bondage\u2014slavery to a deception that can never bring a person lasting happiness or significance. Consider what transman Scott Newgent<\/a> said about his indulgence in the so-called freedom to be the opposite sex:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During my own transition, I had seven surgeries. I also had a massive pulmonary embolism, a helicopter life-flight ride, an emergency ambulance ride, a stress-induced heart attack, sepsis, a 17-month recurring infection due to using the wrong skin during a \u201cfailed\u201d phalloplasty, 16 rounds of antibiotics, three weeks of daily IV antibiotics, the loss of all my hair, (only partially successful) arm reconstructive surgery, permanent lung and heart damage, a cut bladder, insomnia-induced hallucinations\u2014oh and frequent loss of consciousness due to pain from the hair on the inside of my urethra. All this led to a form of PTSD that made me a prisoner in my apartment for a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t fall for Satan\u2019s lies about the pseudo-freedom he offers. It always ends in bondage to him and to sin. Jesus said, \u201cIf the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed\u201d (John 8:36). If we want true, lasting freedom, He\u2019s the only one who can provide it. Don\u2019t settle for anything less than the freedom to be the person He designed you to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Question: <\/strong>How can I live free from bondage?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Answer:<\/strong> Recognize sinful and\/or harmful patterns holding you back from experiencing freedom. Write down and reflect on how they impact your relationships, peace and purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be honest with yourself. Identify attitudes, addictions, or cycles that repeatedly trap you. Renew your mind with truth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let go and let God. Surrender the things you cannot fix or control. Trust that God is working even when you don\u2019t see it.<\/p>\n

<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

According to Merriam-Webster freedom is \u201cthe absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action\u201d and \u201cunrestricted use.\u201d Many people take the idea of \u201cunrestricted use\u201d to extremes, believing they can do whatever they want to do if they feel it\u2019s in their best interest. This mindset has led to a rampant rise in … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4120","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Denise","author_link":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/author\/denise\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"According to Merriam-Webster freedom is \u201cthe absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action\u201d and \u201cunrestricted use.\u201d Many people take the idea of \u201cunrestricted use\u201d to extremes, believing they can do whatever they want to do if they feel it\u2019s in their best interest. This mindset has led to a rampant rise in…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4120","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4120"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4120\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4126,"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4120\/revisions\/4126"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4120"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}