Unchained by Noel Jesse Heikkinen

Galatians 5:1 says Christians have been set free by Christ. But what does that mean and why don't we feel free?

Every once and a while a book comes along that I think does an excellent job of exploring a difficult topic in the Christian faith. Such is this book on the subject of freedom.

Heikkinen writes, “...freedom ought to be one of the defining marks of a follower of Jesus.” He helps us understand what freedom is. We might think it means being able to do whatever we want. He clarifies that misunderstanding, explaining what we are free from and the new law we are now under.

I really appreciated his exploration of the scary nature of freedom, that we don't know what to do with it. We don't have control over it. We can't monitor our Christian walk so we create structure and rules. He helps us understand true guilt, how we are set free from it and shame. We learn what obedience to Jesus is, concentrating on the “dos” and not the “don'ts.”

I really like this book. Heikkinen helped me understand the freedom we have in Christ, what it means and does not mean. I highly recommend it to Christians who want to understand and experience the freedom we have in Christ. There are discussion questions at the end of each chapter so this book would be great for classroom or small group use.

Food for thought: sin – anytime we are unlike God in any way.

My rating: 5/5 stars.

Noel Jesse Heikkinen is one of the pastors at Riverview Church in Lansing, Michigan, his hometown. He also serves as the US Midwest Director for Acts 29 and as the Chairman of the Board of Directors for Reliant Mission. He and his wife met at the University of Michigan and have four children. You can find out more at http://www.noeljesse.com/.

David C Cook, 272 pages.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.