Amazing Freedom: Freed To Be Free

By Dr Sammy Gitaari

This book is about a journey rather than a destination. I did not set out to write a theological textbook, but a letter to my friend, James. James is a Christian who is uncertain of his beliefs. He is genuinely seeking to know the Lord and have a solid faith on firm ground, but James feels stuck because of his religious background. Just as Dr Luke sought to enlighten Theophilus in Luke 1:1-4, I too desire to help James open his eyes of understanding to comprehend that religion teaches, do, do, do, but the gospel is done, done, done!

 

Amazing Freedom will challenge you to evaluate your beliefs and confirm whether you are walking as one free in Christ or bound by doctrines, philosophies, and habits that are denying you the privilege, that is already yours, of experiencing freedom in Christ.

• Language: English
• Publisher: PUBLISHING INSTITUTE OF AFRICA
• Release date: Apr 14, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393203162

Book preview

Introduction

This book is about a journey rather than a destination. I did not set out to write a theological textbook, but a letter to my friend, James. James is a Christian who is uncertain of his beliefs. He is genuinely seeking to know the Lord and have a solid faith on firm ground, but James feels stuck because of his religious background. Just as Dr Luke sought to enlighten Theophilus in Luke 1:1-4, I too had the desire to help James open his eyes of understanding to comprehend that religion teaches, do, do, do, but the gospel is done, done, done! Since setting off to write to James, I have learnt so much and wish to invite you to join me as I share my journey of faith and learning, passing on what I have received to those committed to my care.

I had read the Bible through a couple of times, for my personal edification, and preached freelance for several years, before becoming a pastor of a local church in 1985. My first congregation to pastor was small but tough to deal with. I was overwhelmed by the doctrinal and organisational confusion in my members. They held all sorts of traditions, mostly very legalistic. Their positions were so hard-line that the congregation did not consider my wife and me to be spiritual enough. According to them, spiritual people dressed and carried themselves in a certain way, and we did not exemplify that.

However, as we laboured among this congregation, God honoured us with an increased harvest of souls. Unfortunately, as soon as someone received salvation, my ‘teachers’ immediately introduced them to the church traditions and laws. Soon, this new believer became a victim of church dogma instead of being free to experience the liberty found in Jesus Christ. I struggled with what to do and how to produce a people mature in faith rather than conformed to religious traditions.

A study of the Book of Romans brought clarity for me. It opened my eyes to the great truths of grace, righteousness, justification, and godly living. I was no longer confused about my faith, for I discovered the truth of righteousness by faith rather than by law. As I continued my study of the Bible, I found that reading Galatians completed the message presented in the letter to the Romans (Romans presents the gospel while Galatians defends it).

This discovery in 1985 made an impact on my life and ministry. I began to teach these truths to the youth in the church recently saved and who looked to me for spiritual nourishment and example. I was surprised at the freedom and growth they experienced in their Christian walk and in other areas too. Before long, however, the proponents of the ‘other’ gospel confronted me. They sincerely believed I was in error. To their credit, they agreed to spend time with me examining the Word. In our first meeting, I asked them to present their case. ‘The Bible says if anyone brings you another gospel, other than the one you received first let him be cursed,’ they quipped. Rather than get offended, I chose to agree with them, even though they were referring to me, regarding bringing another ‘gospel’. I asked if they knew where the verse they quoted came from. They had no idea except that it was somewhere in the Bible. I helped them find it and together we read Galatians 1:8-9, which says, But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!

The dilemma was to determine which gospel Paul preached and the other one. In a few hours, we went through the whole Book of Galatians and finally came back to our dilemma, which gospel was ‘the first’ and which one ‘the other’. It was now easy for them to identify and acknowledge the truth of the Scriptures. Studying Galatians gave those who gathered a greater hunger for reading the Word of God. For several months, we ploughed through the books of Romans and Galatians. In the end, I could truly say that my church had discovered and believed the gospel and that they indeed enjoyed the ‘rest’ promised to them by their Saviour in Matthew 11:28 and Hebrews