Beaches and Dolphins and True Freedom
JP Foster and Matt Williams
5 min read ⭑
Going to the beach in Southern California is one of our favorite things to do — so much so that I (John-Paul) proposed to my wife at the beach. (She said, “Yes!” by the way. It was a great day.) People go to the beach for various reasons — some to surf, some to build sandcastles, some to swim or snorkel, and some to have a great time with family or friends. If you’re lucky, you might see whales, sharks or dolphins.
Imagine being at the beach one day and seeing a dolphin washed ashore, lying on the sand. Would your first reaction be panic? Don’t dolphins need to be in water to live? Imagine, though, that when you approached the dolphin, the dolphin said to you (yeah, dolphins can talk in California!), “I don’t want to go back into the ocean. I’m tired of swimming. I want to be free from the constraints of the ocean. I want to live on dry land.” How crazy would this be? God created and designed dolphins to live and swim in the water. They can only thrive in the ocean.
In the same way dolphins cannot thrive on land, we were created to live and experience freedom the way God designed us to live.
Free might be the most misunderstood word in the world. Twisted definitions have negatively impacted us. When we hear the word free, we often think it means doing whatever we want. That is the world’s definition. The Bible says we are free only in Jesus, which does not mean doing whatever we want. Without a biblical understanding of freedom, we risk heading down a path of destruction. We will find ourselves trapped by greed, lust, pride, lying, unfaithfulness, anger and selfishness — the very opposite of the fruit of the Spirit, which is “love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5:22,23).
Who am I? I am free in Jesus. I can be transformed when I embrace that truth.
Free in Our Culture
If you ask non-Christians to describe what it means to be free, they might say, “You are free to do whatever you want.” Gerard Piqué, the famous Barcelona soccer player, once said, “The day I die, I will look back and hope that I have always done what I wanted.” We live in America, the “land of the free,” and we are free to do “whatever we want.” Have you considered whether this incorrect definition contributes to high crime rates, increasing divorce rates and inflammatory social media behavior? People justify harmful and hurtful actions under the guise of “freedom,” falsely thinking they can do whatever they want, not realizing that by acting in these ways, they may be heading toward destruction. For example, I am free to “drink all I want” can lead to alcoholism, free to “have sex with whomever I want” can lead to sexual addiction and emotional damage, and free to “make all the money I want and use it only for myself” can lead to greed.
These cultural influences have penetrated the church, and so it is vitally important to biblically define the word free. Maybe a lack of clarity around the biblical definition of free is part of the reason that selfishness, greed, divorce and lust are found at high levels even inside the church. We have been influenced by our society’s definition of free. We are living out our “freedom” while damaging ourselves, our churches and our witness to the Lord’s name.
To truly understand and live out our freedom in Christ, we must turn to the Bible’s definition of free.
What Do the Gospels Say About Being Free?
Free in Jesus. At the beginning of the Gospel of Luke, Jesus announced the focus of his ministry: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free” (Luke 4:18, quoting Isaiah 61:1). Jesus came on a rescue mission to bring true freedom to people in bondage to sin. However, his intentions were not entirely clear to his original audience. Many Jews in the first century hoped for political freedom for Israel. They longed for a political messiah to come and free them from the foreign oppressor, Rome. The freedom Jesus brought came in a very unexpected way.
Free from. Jesus lived true, biblical freedom and restored to humanity the true freedom that was lost in the Garden of Eden. Jesus “loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood” (Revelation 1:5). Those who respond to Jesus’ love, who know the truth (John 8:32) and live in his grace (Romans 3:24), are set free spiritually and physically.
Spiritually Free
Sin has a stranglehold on humans; it traps and enslaves. Through his death on the cross, Jesus freed believers from sin, Satan, demons and death (Luke 13:16; Acts 13:39; Romans 8:2). We receive this freedom when we respond in faith to the gospel. Jesus’ love and sacrifice on the cross transformed our ability to resist sin and Satan’s temptations and follow Jesus in biblical freedom.
“True biblical freedom empowers us to act the way God designed us to act.”
Physically Free
Jesus also set people free from physical ailments, such as a bleeding disorder and from being crippled (Mark 5:29; Luke 13:12). While all can be set free spiritually from sin, only some are set free physically here on earth.
Free to. We are not free to do whatever we want. We are not free to continue sinning because sin leads to bondage. Jesus set us free from sin and death, but he also freed us to live according to the way God designed us to live. The Spirit empowers us to experience true freedom and to live according to God’s design (2 Corinthians 3:17). In our freedom, we are called to serve others humbly in love, love our neighbors as ourselves and walk by the Spirit (Galatians 5:13–16). Paul used his freedom to become like a servant or slave: “Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible” (1 Corinthians 9:19). Paul became a servant to others so they could come to know Jesus.
True biblical freedom empowers us to act the way God designed us to act. Our Creator God designed dolphins to thrive in the ocean and designed human beings to thrive only when they follow Jesus and his commands. Jesus’ commands were called “the law that gives freedom” (James 2:12). Isn’t that ironic? Jesus’ law is not burdensome or oppressive. It doesn’t lead to bondage, but rather to freedom. Obedience to God’s way leads to a more fulfilling and abundant life. We Christians are free from sin and free to follow Jesus.
Heavenly hope. The struggle against sin is real. But don’t get discouraged. We will experience times of freedom here on earth as we walk with Jesus and overcome sinful habits, but we won’t experience full freedom or sinlessness until we reach heaven (Galatians 4:26). And so we are instructed to keep on fighting the good fight, standing firm and refusing to let ourselves be burdened by a yoke of slavery (Galatians 5:1). It will be a battle to live out our freedom, but it’s a battle in which we are empowered by the Spirit. Don’t give up. We have the assurance that the battle has already been won by Jesus. Only in Jesus do we find true freedom and abundant life.
Reflective Exercise to Embrace That You Are Free
Practice breathing exercises for three or four minutes each day.
Breathe in: “you have freed me”; breathe out: “I live for you.”
JP Foster serves as Senior Pastor at Faithful Central Bible Church, one of the largest and most influential congregations in Southern California. His leadership and Biblical exposition have impacted thousands both in the Los Angeles area and around the world, as he encourages people to build their lives on the foundation of God’s word. Dr. Foster has spent the past seven years teaching courses in Biblical Interpretation, Spiritual Formation, and Hermeneutics at Biola University, Talbot School of Theology.
Matt Williams is professor of New Testament professor and Director of the Accelerated Masters Programs at Biola, where he was awarded professor of the year in 2004. He has a broad ministry experience, including six years as a missionary professor to the Spanish Bible Institute and Seminary in Barcelona, Spain. He teaches and preaches at various churches and conferences throughout the U.S. and Spain.
Taken from Finding Freedom in Jesus by Dr. JP Foster and Dr. Matt Williams. Copyright © 2025. Used by permission of Zondervan.
