For many of us, faith began with fear. Fear of punishment, fear of judgment, fear of being cast into Gehenna. Religion often used fear as a motivator: obey so you won’t be condemned, serve so you won’t be punished. But fear is a heavy chain. It can make us outwardly obedient while inwardly restless, always wondering if we’ve done enough.
The gospel breaks those chains. At the cross, Jesus bore the weight of our judgment once and for all. The verdict is in: there is now no condemnation for those who are in Him. We are free—not because we are flawless, but because Christ is faithful. This freedom shifts our posture entirely. We no longer serve God to escape hell; we serve because we’ve already been embraced by heaven.
True love never thrives in fear. A servant who only fears his master’s whip will never know the joy of belonging. But a child who knows he is fully loved will delight in his Father’s will. That is our new reality in Christ. We serve from love, not for love. We give not to avoid punishment but because we have received everything in Him.
This is the freedom the Spirit brings: not a spirit of fear, but of sonship, assurance, and joy. And in that freedom, we find that service is no longer a burden but a response of love to the One who loved us first.
Father, thank You that fear no longer rules our hearts. Through the cross, You have freed us from judgment and brought us into Your love. Teach us to serve You not out of fear but out of joy and gratitude. Let our lives be an overflow of the freedom and assurance we have in Christ. Amen.
