[Idaho_Cowboy]

Many Christians feel as if they get saved and discover love and freedom from their sin. And then come the religious and tell them all the things they must do and pile on the guilt, break out the checklists. And the religion becomes a program to do more and try harder.

The Bible tells us we are free, really free; unconditionally free! When it really starts to click I feel like yelling “Free at last, free at last; God Almighty we are free at last.” Thank God it's about his grace, what he did for me.

John 8:32-36 “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”

I'm not sure about your 3rd point, other than to say that those symptoms can be a sign of not being solid in our faith. Lack of freedom seems to come when people lose sight of the relationship and start focusing elsewhere.

If you are really interested in Freedom I would suggest listening to Steve Brown's serious on Scandalous Freedom:
http://www.keylife.org/programs/scandalous-freedom

This article is also gives a great Biblical Explanation of Christian Freedom: http://www.keylife.org/articles/how-to-lose-your-freedom

[cloudmountain]

Thanks for the FREEDOM invitation. I'm a cradle Catholic and have loved my faith from day one. I attend daily Mass here at home and when I travel I ALWAYS find a "Sunday Mass" somewhere.
Even in Hong Kong, ALL OVER the middle east, including Saudi Arabia! Men-of-the-cloth aren't officially allowed into the KSA so they call them "special teachers."
Yes, we had priests, reverends and even a couple of vicars in the Kingdom. Jesus is EVERYWHERE.