May 20, 2025 • 10 mins
Are you really Free in Christ, or are you living behind a veil? Listen as we discover from God's Word what living free really means.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to Words of Truth, where we discover how the
Gospel of Jesus Christ illuminates every part of our lives
a Mark Barrett, and whether you're tuning in during your
morning drive, or on a walk, or settling into your
quiet time, I'm honored to spend these moments with you.
Today's episode is entitled Free in Christ, the Veil has
(00:24):
been taken away. We're looking at a stunning passage in
Second Corinthians chapter three, Versus seven to eighteen, where the
apostle Paul unpacks the breath, taking freedom and transformation available
to every believer in Jesus Christ. This passage is so
important for us to understand if we want to know
(00:47):
true freedom from sin through Jesus Christ. My fear is
that many people come to Christ, but because they don't
really understand what it means to be in free in Christ,
they simply continued to live in bondage. So let's begin
with the word. If you have your Bible nearby, and
(01:08):
I encourage you to follow along. In this passage, Paul
makes a powerful comparison between the Old Covenant, the one
given through Moses on Mount Sinai, and the New Covenant,
which comes through Jesus Christ. This is what he writes
in verses seven and eight. Now, if the ministry that
(01:29):
brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came
with glory, will not the ministry of the Spirit be
even more glorious. Now, Paul doesn't deny that the Old
Covenant had glory. Moses's face literally glowed after he met
with God in the tent of Meeting. But here's the thing.
(01:52):
That glory faded. Moses had to cover his face with
the veils so the Israelites wouldn't see his fading splendor.
That glory was temporary, external and ultimately it couldn't change
the human heart. But now through Jesus Christ, we have
(02:13):
a greater glory, a permanent glory, one that doesn't fade
because it's not based on law or effort, but it's
based on the Spirit of God dwelling in us. I
hope you got that last phrase. It's a greater glory,
Paul continues in verse fourteen. But their minds were hardened
(02:38):
for to this day when they read the Old Covenant,
the same veil remains, because only through Christ is it
taken away. Now let's pause there for a minute. This
veil Paul is talking about. It is more than a
piece of cloth. It's a spiritual barrier. It's a blindness.
It's a covering over the heart that keeps us from
(03:00):
seeing God clearly and keeps us from realizing our freedom
in Jesus Christ. At some point, we all live behind
a veil. It might be the veil of pride, thinking
that we don't need God. It might be the veil
of shame, believing God wouldn't want us. Or it might
(03:23):
be the veil of religion without relationship, trying to follow
rules while missing the person. But I want you to
listen to this beautiful truth in verse six. But when
one turns to the Lord, listen to this now. But
when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.
(03:44):
What does that mean? Well, that means at the moment
you stop running, stop striving, and you turn your face
toward Jesus, well the veil comes down. You can see clearly,
you can know God not as an idea, not as
a rule maker, but as your personal loving father. And
(04:05):
that brings us to a verse that many of us
have heard before, but many haven't fully grasped Verse seventeen.
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the spirit
of the Lord is, there's freedom. Now I want to
reflect on that for a minute. What does it mean
to be free? Well, you see, in Christ, we're free
(04:28):
from the penalty of sin because Jesus took the penalty
for us at the cross. And we're free from the
power of sin because the Spirit empowers us overcomes sin.
And we're free from the pressure to perform because we're
accepted as beloved children and not employees. And then, don't
(04:49):
miss this. That means we're free to come boldly into
the presence of God. And we're free to be transformed,
not conformed to the this world. We're free to live
a life that radiates Christ's love. Now this isn't surface
level freedom, it's a soul deep freedom. It means we
(05:12):
don't have to wear masks before God. We don't have
to pretend because we're fully known, fully loved, fully accepted
in Christ. Now let's look at the first final verse
in verse eighteen, and we all with who with unveiled
faces contemplate the Lord's glory are being transformed into his
(05:34):
image with ever increasing glory which comes from the Lord,
who is a spirit. Now here's the heart of the message.
When the veil is removed, we can behold God's glory.
Isn't that awesome? And in that beholding and guess what
we're changed. A lot of people today are getting botox
(05:58):
treatments to transform the looks into something else, and some
more than botox. The problem is that they have to
keep going back for more treatments because it wears off
over time. But what Paul is talking about isn't a
one time makeover. It's a lifelong transformation that never wears off,
(06:22):
and it's one degree of glory to another. It isn't
based on striving, but on seeing. The more we look
at Jesus, the more we become like him. Now, let's
just take a minute to think about this truth. I
want to ask you a few questions and give you
space to reflect. Number one, are you still living behind
(06:45):
a veil? Maybe it's a veil of fear or a
veil of guilt or religious performance. What's keeping you from
seeing Jesus clearly? Number two, have you turned to the
Lord with an unveiled face? Not religion, not good works,
but to Jesus. Number three, are you letting the spirit
(07:10):
of the Lord lead you into freedom. And I'm not
just talking about freedom from sin, but freedom to live joyfully, vulnerably, purposefully.
And then, finally, where do you sense God's calling you
to transformation today? He doesn't ask us to change in
(07:34):
our own strength. He's inviting you to look at Him
to let his spirit do the work. You know, there
are a lot of people today who grow up in
a strict church setting. They've tried to be perfect, to
follow all the rules, and outwardly they might look holy,
(07:55):
but inwardly they feel empty and distant, afraid of failing God.
They're wearing a veil of performance. And sometimes it isn't
until they hit rock bottom when all the rules don't
fix their brokenness, that they finally cry out to Jesus.
(08:16):
And when they do, when they simply turn to the Lord, well,
the veil comes off and they experience grace. And then
they begin to pray from the heart, and the Bible
comes alive and they no longer serve God out of fear,
but out of love, and slowly but surely they begin
to change, not from the outside end, but from the
(08:40):
inside out. Friends, that's the power of unveiled living. Maybe
today you're ready to say Jesus, I want to see you.
I want the veil removed. Well, here's a simple prayer.
You can pray from your heart. Make it into your
own words. But here's what you can say, Lord Jesus,
(09:01):
I turn to you. Go ahead and say it right now.
I'm tired of hiding. That's right, I'm tired of pretending.
And then pray, remove the veil from my heart. Help
me to see you clearly, Fill me with your spirit,
lead me into your freedom, transform me to be more
(09:23):
like you, one step at a time. In Jesus' name. Amen.
And if you pray that prayer today, I rejoice with you,
and I encourage you to keep seeking Him. Get into
the Word of God, surround yourself with a gospel centered community,
and keep turning your face toward the glory of God.
(09:48):
And just remember this today, friends, You're not veiled anymore.
You're free, you're being changed, You're walking in glory. Thanks
for joining me today on words of truth. I hope
this helps. If this message spokes to your heart, I'd
(10:09):
love to hear from you. Feel free to share this
episode with someone who needs to know they are free
in Christ, and be sure to follow the show so
that you won't miss what's coming next. Until next time,
keep your face turned toward Jesus and let his light
shine through you.
Welcome to Words of Truth, where we discover how the
Gospel of Jesus Christ illuminates every part of our lives
a Mark Barrett, and whether you're tuning in during your
morning drive, or on a walk, or settling into your
quiet time, I'm honored to spend these moments with you.
Today's episode is entitled Free in Christ, the Veil has
(00:24):
been taken away. We're looking at a stunning passage in
Second Corinthians chapter three, Versus seven to eighteen, where the
apostle Paul unpacks the breath, taking freedom and transformation available
to every believer in Jesus Christ. This passage is so
important for us to understand if we want to know
(00:47):
true freedom from sin through Jesus Christ. My fear is
that many people come to Christ, but because they don't
really understand what it means to be in free in Christ,
they simply continued to live in bondage. So let's begin
with the word. If you have your Bible nearby, and
(01:08):
I encourage you to follow along. In this passage, Paul
makes a powerful comparison between the Old Covenant, the one
given through Moses on Mount Sinai, and the New Covenant,
which comes through Jesus Christ. This is what he writes
in verses seven and eight. Now, if the ministry that
(01:29):
brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came
with glory, will not the ministry of the Spirit be
even more glorious. Now, Paul doesn't deny that the Old
Covenant had glory. Moses's face literally glowed after he met
with God in the tent of Meeting. But here's the thing.
(01:52):
That glory faded. Moses had to cover his face with
the veils so the Israelites wouldn't see his fading splendor.
That glory was temporary, external and ultimately it couldn't change
the human heart. But now through Jesus Christ, we have
(02:13):
a greater glory, a permanent glory, one that doesn't fade
because it's not based on law or effort, but it's
based on the Spirit of God dwelling in us. I
hope you got that last phrase. It's a greater glory,
Paul continues in verse fourteen. But their minds were hardened
(02:38):
for to this day when they read the Old Covenant,
the same veil remains, because only through Christ is it
taken away. Now let's pause there for a minute. This
veil Paul is talking about. It is more than a
piece of cloth. It's a spiritual barrier. It's a blindness.
It's a covering over the heart that keeps us from
(03:00):
seeing God clearly and keeps us from realizing our freedom
in Jesus Christ. At some point, we all live behind
a veil. It might be the veil of pride, thinking
that we don't need God. It might be the veil
of shame, believing God wouldn't want us. Or it might
(03:23):
be the veil of religion without relationship, trying to follow
rules while missing the person. But I want you to
listen to this beautiful truth in verse six. But when
one turns to the Lord, listen to this now. But
when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.
(03:44):
What does that mean? Well, that means at the moment
you stop running, stop striving, and you turn your face
toward Jesus, well the veil comes down. You can see clearly,
you can know God not as an idea, not as
a rule maker, but as your personal loving father. And
(04:05):
that brings us to a verse that many of us
have heard before, but many haven't fully grasped Verse seventeen.
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the spirit
of the Lord is, there's freedom. Now I want to
reflect on that for a minute. What does it mean
to be free? Well, you see, in Christ, we're free
(04:28):
from the penalty of sin because Jesus took the penalty
for us at the cross. And we're free from the
power of sin because the Spirit empowers us overcomes sin.
And we're free from the pressure to perform because we're
accepted as beloved children and not employees. And then, don't
(04:49):
miss this. That means we're free to come boldly into
the presence of God. And we're free to be transformed,
not conformed to the this world. We're free to live
a life that radiates Christ's love. Now this isn't surface
level freedom, it's a soul deep freedom. It means we
(05:12):
don't have to wear masks before God. We don't have
to pretend because we're fully known, fully loved, fully accepted
in Christ. Now let's look at the first final verse
in verse eighteen, and we all with who with unveiled
faces contemplate the Lord's glory are being transformed into his
(05:34):
image with ever increasing glory which comes from the Lord,
who is a spirit. Now here's the heart of the message.
When the veil is removed, we can behold God's glory.
Isn't that awesome? And in that beholding and guess what
we're changed. A lot of people today are getting botox
(05:58):
treatments to transform the looks into something else, and some
more than botox. The problem is that they have to
keep going back for more treatments because it wears off
over time. But what Paul is talking about isn't a
one time makeover. It's a lifelong transformation that never wears off,
(06:22):
and it's one degree of glory to another. It isn't
based on striving, but on seeing. The more we look
at Jesus, the more we become like him. Now, let's
just take a minute to think about this truth. I
want to ask you a few questions and give you
space to reflect. Number one, are you still living behind
(06:45):
a veil? Maybe it's a veil of fear or a
veil of guilt or religious performance. What's keeping you from
seeing Jesus clearly? Number two, have you turned to the
Lord with an unveiled face? Not religion, not good works,
but to Jesus. Number three, are you letting the spirit
(07:10):
of the Lord lead you into freedom. And I'm not
just talking about freedom from sin, but freedom to live joyfully, vulnerably, purposefully.
And then, finally, where do you sense God's calling you
to transformation today? He doesn't ask us to change in
(07:34):
our own strength. He's inviting you to look at Him
to let his spirit do the work. You know, there
are a lot of people today who grow up in
a strict church setting. They've tried to be perfect, to
follow all the rules, and outwardly they might look holy,
(07:55):
but inwardly they feel empty and distant, afraid of failing God.
They're wearing a veil of performance. And sometimes it isn't
until they hit rock bottom when all the rules don't
fix their brokenness, that they finally cry out to Jesus.
(08:16):
And when they do, when they simply turn to the Lord, well,
the veil comes off and they experience grace. And then
they begin to pray from the heart, and the Bible
comes alive and they no longer serve God out of fear,
but out of love, and slowly but surely they begin
to change, not from the outside end, but from the
(08:40):
inside out. Friends, that's the power of unveiled living. Maybe
today you're ready to say Jesus, I want to see you.
I want the veil removed. Well, here's a simple prayer.
You can pray from your heart. Make it into your
own words. But here's what you can say, Lord Jesus,
(09:01):
I turn to you. Go ahead and say it right now.
I'm tired of hiding. That's right, I'm tired of pretending.
And then pray, remove the veil from my heart. Help
me to see you clearly, Fill me with your spirit,
lead me into your freedom, transform me to be more
(09:23):
like you, one step at a time. In Jesus' name. Amen.
And if you pray that prayer today, I rejoice with you,
and I encourage you to keep seeking Him. Get into
the Word of God, surround yourself with a gospel centered community,
and keep turning your face toward the glory of God.
(09:48):
And just remember this today, friends, You're not veiled anymore.
You're free, you're being changed, You're walking in glory. Thanks
for joining me today on words of truth. I hope
this helps. If this message spokes to your heart, I'd
(10:09):
love to hear from you. Feel free to share this
episode with someone who needs to know they are free
in Christ, and be sure to follow the show so
that you won't miss what's coming next. Until next time,
keep your face turned toward Jesus and let his light
shine through you.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce
Football’s funniest family duo — Jason Kelce of the Philadelphia Eagles and Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs — team up to provide next-level access to life in the league as it unfolds. The two brothers and Super Bowl champions drop weekly insights about the weekly slate of games and share their INSIDE perspectives on trending NFL news and sports headlines. They also endlessly rag on each other as brothers do, chat the latest in pop culture and welcome some very popular and well-known friends to chat with them. Check out new episodes every Wednesday. Follow New Heights on the Wondery App, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to new episodes early and ad-free, and get exclusive content on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And join our new membership for a unique fan experience by going to the New Heights YouTube channel now!