Not Contractually Bound

by Jennifer Greene-Sullivan

Yesterday, I visited my friends, former colleagues, and students at Wheeler County Elementary and High School. I enjoyed every moment. The smiles, the hallway conversations, the familiar rhythms of a place where I spent so many years — it all felt warm and sweet. One of my colleagues said she hoped I would come back and visit more often, and I responded with a smile, “I would love to visit more as long as I am not contractually bound to come.” She laughed, but I was completely sincere.

Visiting is a pleasure. Being contractually bound feels like confinement.

As I drove home, I realized how deeply that statement reflects the spiritual transformation the Lord has worked in me over the last year and a half. My release from public education was not rebellion. It was obedience. The Lord, in His kindness, whispered to my heart, “Lay your burden down,” and I did. “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

That rest was not laziness. It was liberation.

For the first time in decades, I am not bound to a system. My commitment is now first to my family, our business, and the calling the Lord has placed on my life. “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1). Freedom in Christ is not theoretical. It is tangible. It reshapes the way we live, work, and respond to pressure.

Yet as I reflect on this newfound freedom, I see how many believers still live as though they are contractually bound — not to a school system, but to systems of man and even to spiritual oppression. Scripture tells us plainly that we are new creations in Christ. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). And yet many live as if nothing has changed.

We have authority in Christ.

Jesus did not save us merely to survive. He gave us authority over the enemy. “I have given you authority… over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you” (Luke 10:19). Our battles may look physical, but Scripture reminds us that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:12). The warfare is spiritual whether we acknowledge it or not.

Recently, I have heard a few believers dismiss spiritual warfare and biblical instruction with phrases like, “We don’t believe in all that stuff.” Yet, the same Jesus who spoke of love and mercy also said, “These signs will accompany those who believe… they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover” (Mark 16:17–18). James instructs us to anoint the sick with oil and pray over them (James 5:14–15). This is not extremism. It is Scripture.

Freedom in Christ is not partial.

We are not liberated from sin only to remain bound by fear, doubt, or unbelief. The same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead lives in us (Romans 8:11). That truth either changes how we approach life, or it does not. We cannot claim resurrection power while denying the spiritual reality of the battle.

Yesterday, while I walked the halls of a place I once loved deeply, I knew I would leave without the weight I used to carry. That is grace. That is release. That is what happens when obedience replaces obligation. The same liberation exists for every believer who realizes they are no longer contractually bound to systems that Jesus has already overcome.

Whom the Son sets free is free indeed (John 8:36).

Reflection

Where are you still living as though you are bound? Is it fear? Obligation? Cultural expectations? A spiritual battle you refuse to acknowledge?

Freedom in Christ does not mean we abandon responsibility. It means we live from a place of authority instead of anxiety. The Lord did not rescue you so that you could remain confined. He rescued you so that you could walk in newness of life.

Ultimately, here is a sobering truth: we cannot pick and choose which Scriptures we believe and still claim full surrender. Selective obedience is still disobedience. When we dismiss certain parts of God’s Word as uncomfortable, unrealistic, or “not for today,” we subtly place ourselves above the authority of Scripture. James reminds us that the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind (James 1:6). That instability is not freedom.

When our weapons of warfare are clearly defined in Scripture, and we refuse to use them, we do not weaken the enemy — we weaken our own obedience. When we continue to make decisions without waiting for the Lord’s answer, we mirror the patterns of the world rather than the posture of a surrendered believer. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5). Trust requires waiting. Trust requires humility.

Unbelief is not always loud rebellion. Sometimes it is quiet resistance.

When we argue with God about what is real, and what is unreal, especially when His Word has already spoken, we are not exercising discernment — we are resisting grace. Jesus paid for our freedom. He died not only to forgive sin but to restore authority. If we refuse to believe what He has given us, we live beneath the inheritance He purchased. “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10).

Living in unbelief does not diminish Jesus, but it does limit what we experience of His freedom. The question is not whether the authority exists. The question is whether we will walk in it.

Don’t forget: Jesus did not die to leave us hesitating. He restored us to relationship, authority, and abundant life. “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). When we fully receive what He has given — including the reality of spiritual warfare and the tools He provides — we begin to experience that freedom more deeply.

This is not about striving harder. It is about surrendering more fully.

The invitation is simple: believe Him at His Word. All of it. Trust that what He commands, He empowers. Walk forward not as someone bound to systems of man or intimidated by unseen battles, but as a son or daughter who knows their authority flows from Christ alone.

Closing Prayer

Father, thank You for the freedom You have given us through Jesus. Teach us to recognize the places where we still live as though we are bound. Strengthen our faith to walk in the authority You have already granted us. Help us not to dismiss what Your Word clearly teaches but to embrace it with humility and courage. Let us live as new creations who are no longer confined but called, equipped, and sent. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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