[1]GLORIETA, N.M. (BP)–Christians experience true freedom in Christ only through a disciplined, lifetime commitment to renouncing whatever holds them in bondage, Elizabeth Luter said.
Luter, wife of Fred Luter, pastor of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church, New Orleans, led a conference, Breaking Free: Making Liberty in Christ a Reality, during Black Church Leadership Week, July 2-6, at LifeWay Glorieta Conference Center, Glorieta, N.M.
She cited pride, fear and a failure to seek forgiveness as common sources of bondage among Christians.
“I didn’t think I was guilty of false pride because I wasn’t boastful with it,” Luter said, noting that God showed her where she had problems and guided her in addressing them.
While people sometimes say fear makes a person humble, Luter disagreed. “Fear paralyzes us and keeps us from experiencing the fullness of God.”
Asking God to forgive sin and then trusting him to do what he said he will do — forgive and forget — represents another stronghold on the lives of some Christians, Luter said.
[2]“Daily we have to denounce things that trap us. For years I believed in God, but I didn’t believe him,” she said.
Luter distinguished between sin, wrongs people commit that are not habitual, and iniquity, hidden things that control a person and may go back generations in the family.
“We confess sin, but iniquity has to be broken,” she said. As examples, she mentioned alcohol, gambling, pornography, involvement in cults, astrology and others.
Luter said her life changed significantly in 1994 when nationally known women’s ministry speaker Beth Moore spoke at Franklin Avenue and videotaped segments for her discipleship course on breaking free.
“That (course) immediately broke some chains for me,” she said, but more came later as she started on a journey toward greater freedom in Christ.
At that time, Luter said God also called her to a ministry of intercessory prayer. She embarked on a more disciplined pattern of Bible study and, three years later, quit her job as a pharmacist to concentrate more on ministry.
“I am freer in my spirit this year than I’ve ever been,” Luter said, acknowledging the journey toward freedom in Christ includes bumps along the way.
“There are still places in our lives that are empty, shallow and bound. Until we ask God to come in and fill those places, we are only one minute away from sin,” Luter said.
A Christian never arrives on the freedom journey, she said, noting that more progress always remains.
“Almost yearly now I’m learning things that take me to a new level on the ladder. You surrender and surrender and God takes you to a new place, but then he wants to take you to another,” Luter said.
She praised churches that are creating an atmosphere where people feel free to acknowledge their sin and pain and ask for help.
“You don’t have to be an evangelist to help people,” she said. “Just reach over and hold the hand of someone who is hurting. Take the focus off yourself and begin to help others.”
Approximately 1,400 people attended Black Church Leadership Week. The conference was sponsored by five Southern Baptist Convention entities — LifeWay Christian Resources, International Mission Board, North American Mission Board, Annuity Board and Woman’s Missionary Union.
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(BP) photo posted in the BP Photo Library at http://www.bpnews.net. Photo title: ELIZABETH LUTER.