When Jesus raised Lazarus from the tomb, He turned to those standing nearby and said, "Unbind him, set him free, and let him go." (John 11:44b)
Think about that for a moment. Dead four days. Decaying. Foul-smelling. Putrid.
Just like our lives get when we are bound up in the death and decay of lies we’ve believed, sins we’ve committed, and evils we have suffered. But that’s not the final answer
Just as Jesus brought Lazarus back to life in the physical realm, He gives each of us a brand new, born-again life when we place our faith and trust in Him and surrender our lives to Him (see 2 Corinthians 5:17-19; Ephesians 2:1-7).
And, just as the living were to get to work helping Lazarus get unbound from the remnants and relics of his death and burial so that he could live out his life in freedom, so, too, are we who have found freedom and new life in Christ to help unbind and set free those who are still in bondage to the death and decay of their former lives.
Unbound is a Biblical Counseling and Discipleship tool to help people discover and live-out true freedom in Christ. No matter the struggle, from simple to complex, God's Word provides the only dependable guidance and help. 12-Steps not working? Try the Biblical answer that has helped thousands. We live our lives based on what we believe to be most true. And what we saturate our minds and hearts with is what we believe.
By learning to saturate our hearts and minds with the truth of God's Word and its significance for our lives, we can change the trajectory of our lives from bondage to freedom and from hopelessness to joy .
Layer after layer of residue and the aftereffects of the rot and corruption in our lives get peeled away while more and more truth and life take their place.
This is where we find the freedom in Christ that He died to give us (Galatians 5:1-2); this is where we change the deadness of our old life for the new life in Christ (John 8:31-32); this is where we are made truly free, once and for all (John 8:36).
We take this to heart and at face value, also believing that, as we saturate our minds with the truth, the lies we've built our lives on are replaced and our hearts and lives are transformed (Romans 12:2).
Unbound is one of the Truth in Love Biblical Counseling Center’s programs used effectively for many years to provide solid Biblical counsel and discipleship to those in bondage to unresolved and unhealed brokenness in their lives.
Unbound is the result of decades of Biblical counseling experience from a variety of people, coupled with an expansion of two programs: the first was a program once known as S.A.F.E. (Setting Addicts Free Eternally). That program has been repackaged as “The Transformation Principle,” and is currently published by Thomas Nelson Publishers. The second was Truth in Love’s, A Journey to Freedom. The material we use today includes that curriculum.
Over the years, while using the materials in many different settings under many different circumstances and addressing more and more diverse patterns of besetting sin and brokenness, several adjustments were made to that basic program by the Truth in Love Biblical Counseling team. The results are A Journey to Freedom, a tool we have seen God use powerfully and effectively to transform lives from the inside, out, for thousands of people.
If you look at the article "Feeling Worthless" under the Resources tab, you will be introduced to Lesson 1 from the curriculum. Understanding and taking hold of one's true identity as God has defined it is the first step to walking in the freedom for which Christ has set us free.
Think about that for a moment. Dead four days. Decaying. Foul-smelling. Putrid.
Just like our lives get when we are bound up in the death and decay of lies we’ve believed, sins we’ve committed, and evils we have suffered. But that’s not the final answer
Just as Jesus brought Lazarus back to life in the physical realm, He gives each of us a brand new, born-again life when we place our faith and trust in Him and surrender our lives to Him (see 2 Corinthians 5:17-19; Ephesians 2:1-7).
And, just as the living were to get to work helping Lazarus get unbound from the remnants and relics of his death and burial so that he could live out his life in freedom, so, too, are we who have found freedom and new life in Christ to help unbind and set free those who are still in bondage to the death and decay of their former lives.
Unbound is a Biblical Counseling and Discipleship tool to help people discover and live-out true freedom in Christ. No matter the struggle, from simple to complex, God's Word provides the only dependable guidance and help. 12-Steps not working? Try the Biblical answer that has helped thousands. We live our lives based on what we believe to be most true. And what we saturate our minds and hearts with is what we believe.
By learning to saturate our hearts and minds with the truth of God's Word and its significance for our lives, we can change the trajectory of our lives from bondage to freedom and from hopelessness to joy .
Layer after layer of residue and the aftereffects of the rot and corruption in our lives get peeled away while more and more truth and life take their place.
This is where we find the freedom in Christ that He died to give us (Galatians 5:1-2); this is where we change the deadness of our old life for the new life in Christ (John 8:31-32); this is where we are made truly free, once and for all (John 8:36).
We take this to heart and at face value, also believing that, as we saturate our minds with the truth, the lies we've built our lives on are replaced and our hearts and lives are transformed (Romans 12:2).
Unbound is one of the Truth in Love Biblical Counseling Center’s programs used effectively for many years to provide solid Biblical counsel and discipleship to those in bondage to unresolved and unhealed brokenness in their lives.
Unbound is the result of decades of Biblical counseling experience from a variety of people, coupled with an expansion of two programs: the first was a program once known as S.A.F.E. (Setting Addicts Free Eternally). That program has been repackaged as “The Transformation Principle,” and is currently published by Thomas Nelson Publishers. The second was Truth in Love’s, A Journey to Freedom. The material we use today includes that curriculum.
Over the years, while using the materials in many different settings under many different circumstances and addressing more and more diverse patterns of besetting sin and brokenness, several adjustments were made to that basic program by the Truth in Love Biblical Counseling team. The results are A Journey to Freedom, a tool we have seen God use powerfully and effectively to transform lives from the inside, out, for thousands of people.
If you look at the article "Feeling Worthless" under the Resources tab, you will be introduced to Lesson 1 from the curriculum. Understanding and taking hold of one's true identity as God has defined it is the first step to walking in the freedom for which Christ has set us free.
A little of the history...
The S.A.F.E Program began when Pastor Troy Smith felt called to minister in Portland, Oregon, and discovered that nothing being used, inside or outside the church, really worked to help those in bondage to addiction. He had been working with people of all walks of life who were overcome by drug, alcohol, and other besetting sins. He had come face to face with the reality that, although a person had entered into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, too often that same person was still being controlled by destructive habits, unruly emotions, and idolatrous behaviors.
Those things were still destroying these people’s lives even though they had surrendered their lives to Christ. They prayed; they read their Bibles; they went to church; they had been baptized; but try as they might, they could not break free and stay free from the bondage they had been in for so long.
After an exceptionally significant defeat through the death of a woman who seemed to be making remarkable progress; Pastor Troy resolved that the 12-Step Model really did not work, and only God could supply him with a program that did. After a time of concentrated prayer, God helped him pull together the basic principles and practices that formed the heart of the S.A.F.E. Program, and others that have flowed from it.
The flow of the lessons is so natural, most people are surprised at how well everything fits together. This is one of the sure signs that this is God's program, not any man's.
Unbound is one of the programs that developed from that initial framework God showed Pastor Troy so many years ago.