Unchained

Unchained by Noel Jesse Heikkinen Published by David C. Cook
I remember my reaction years ago reading a book on grace and saying to myself, “I wish it were true”. That may well sum up the thoughts many people have about grace and forgiveness going all the way back to the early church. In fact if Galatians is one of the earliest books of the New Testament to be written it could be said that even those who were hearing the gospel for the first time found it hard to believe it was true and it has been a problem from the founding of the church.
So many Christians wonder if there must be something more, right? Noel Heikkinen reminds us, “Not a century goes by …without some group trying to add something to the faith and declaring they have found the answer to…a more faithful Christianity”. (Location 364 Kindle) I grew up with “I don’t smoke drink or chew and I don’t date the girls who do.”
The rules have changed since the first century so each century, or decade, probably needs its own book to challenge the rules of the day. For this decade the book is Unchained.
This book may not become the classic book about freedom in Christ not because of the writing but rather because some of the rules Noel takes on will be replaced by other rules that need to be challenged. In my 6 decades I have seen a lot of rules change and I have also come to realize the rules often change with geography. By that I mean that the rules of the South differ from the rules of the North and the rules in France or Quebec differ from the rules of the USA. Unfortunately books of this kind will probably be needed every few years to address the new rules.
What should be the enduring message of this book is the explanation of Scripture that declares our freedom in Christ. For example the verse that keeps coming up in this book is “For freedom Christ has set us free”. This verse speaks across centuries and across culture and geography.
I also appreciate the author’s explanation of a difficult passage in 1 John 3, “No one who abides in him keeps on sinning….” The author gives a brief overview of seven common interpretations, some of which do nothing but add more guilt to the struggling Christian. Other interpretations plainly do not fit with the whole counsel of God (Option 1 and Option 2 for example). Then he lands and stands on what he lists as Option 7. (Kindle location 1577)
I found this interpretation, adapted from the work of Ray Stedman, to be very helpful though I had not quite seen it put this way before. Spoiler alert: A Christian will not forever continue in a pattern of unrepentant sin. The writer takes some time to flesh this thought out. Maybe this alone makes buying the book worth the money and time.
Also helpful were the steps from being from being guilty and not feeling guilty to not being guilty and not feeling guilty. In this he reminds us that the Christian life is a journey. Salvation from sin may take an instant but salvation from the fear of sin and feeling sinful takes time.
Noel moves to a conclusion with the story of Shin Donghyuk who was born and grew up in prison in North Korea and who only knew life behind walls. He believed that this was life for everybody until he met a man from outside the walls who told him he could eat broiled chicken everyday outside the walls. That was his motivation to escape. It turned out that his freedom meant death for his new friend. But Shin took the opportunity and escaped the prison.
Noel Heikkinen reminds us that Jesus laid down his life for us and we need to grasp that freedom and live ae free. This is a good message and one that needs to be heard over and over. Noel speaks that message powerfully.
I received a copy of this book from netgalley.com with the understanding I would read it and write a review.

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.

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

I read Unchained by Noel Jesse Heikkinen in exchange for honest review from Litfuse. The book is Christian-based. The book's subtitle if If Jesus has set us free, why don't we feel free?. Guilt. I am a Christian and I have felt guilt over many things, even years after I asked for forgiveness over and over again.

The author discussed how Christians walk around with heavy chains on, worrying about how many mistakes God is adding up. For me, one of my heavy chains is my sexual past. The author said "there is no joy in sin and I felt trapped." I have felt that way many times after having one sexual encounter after another. I was sexually free, but not truly free with God. Freedom should tell the world you are Christian was one of the most powerful lines in the book.

Another topic, which hit me hard was about prayer schedules and reading the bible. The author discussed how people have good intentions to read the bible and pray every day, but then things get in the way. The idea of reading and praying becomes more important than following Jesus. It is like when I took a bible course on purity years ago. Some days, I forgot to log in, so I tried to double up and triple up the next day. Completing the course became more important than trying to improve my spiritual life. When I did complete the course, I was more happy I finally finished though I barely learned anything.

The author said the problem with man-made rules is the rules place yokes, which require more than the bible commands. The man-made rules changes how we think God feels about us and when we fail, "we don't feel free."

I also liked the section on the law (biblical law, aka the old testament). The author discusses how people place different levels of importance on different laws. Is it a better sin if we steal some paper from work versus robbing a bank? How important is keeping the Sabbath? When was the last time we truly kept the Sabbath?

The section on the law was my favorite section in the book.

Unchained is truly a breath of fresh air in the book world. I think there are more highlights in my copy of this book than there is plain text! Witty, bacon-infused (couldn't resist!), relatable, and most importantly, focused on Christ, it challenges the reader to live truly freely in this world.

We define freedom in so many different ways, but only one matters in the end: freedom in Christ. Paul writes to the Galatians, "For freedom Christ has set us free" (5:1a). If you have ever wondered what that looks like in this day and age, 2,000 years later, pick up a copy of Unchained. You won't regret it. What have you got to lose? Only the "freedom" this world teases and tempts us with, but only leaves us more enslaved than before. Galatians 5:1 continues: "Stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery." (ESV)

I'm excited to walk forward in true freedom, with Christ by my side. Kudos and thanks to Heikkinen for presenting and exegeting Scripture in a thoughtful, honest, and inviting way through Unchained.