This July, Heritage Seminary Press released Rick’s new book, Losing Your Luggage: Finding Freedom from Spiritual Baggage. The book guides the reader through three life-changing chapters in the Bible: Romans 6-8. In these chapters we discover how God empowers us to lose our spiritual baggage (the sins the weigh us down and hold us back).
You can purchase a copy of the book from Amazon here:
Here’s an excerpt from the book’s introduction.
Let me start you off with two true/false questions:
- When you become a Christian, you were forgiven your sins. True or false?
- When you become a Christian, you were freed from your sins. True or false?
If you are like most people, you found the first one easier to answer than the second. You were able to answer “true” to the first question. You know the good news of the gospel declares all who become Christians are forgiven of their sins! As Romans 8:1 declares, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
But you may have found the second question a bit harder to answer. You were not so sure you could honestly say becoming a Christian frees a person from sin. When you look at your own life and the lives of other Christians, you don’t see clear evidence of freedom from sin.
In fact, if you were candid, you’d have to admit to areas where you feel stuck in sin. Perhaps you struggle with an arrogant attitude that makes you come across as self-promoting. Or it could be a critical spirit and a tendency to find fault with everyone around you. It might be a jealous heart which resents the good things others receive. Or an explosive temper that erupts in ugly words. It could be a shadowy bondage to pornography. Or a deep-seated bigotry which looks down on people from some ethnic backgrounds. Maybe it’s just a pervasive selfishness that keeps you from truly loving others.
If you struggled to answer “True” to the second question, if you carry some sinful baggage, I’ve got good news. It’s possible to lose your luggage and find freedom from the sins that weigh you down and hold you back.
I say this because of the truth found in Romans 6-8. In these chapters we discover why we struggle to win over sin. We find out why we carry around so much sinful baggage. Best of all, we learn how to find freedom from the sins that enslave us.
Over thirty years ago, I had a seminary class where Dr. Bill Lawrence unpacked the truth of Romans 6-8 in a way I’d never seen before. It was liberating. It was life-giving. Over the past three decades, I’ve repeatedly come back to these chapters, digging deeper to understand and apply these crucial biblical concepts. I’ve also had the joy of teaching Romans 6-8 to others, helping them discover how to lose their sinful baggage and find greater freedom in Christ.
In Losing Your Luggage, I’ll walk you through these three amazing chapters so you can see for yourself what God has to say. I want the truth of Romans 6-8 to impact you the way it has impacted me and countless other Christians who struggle with sin. As it does, you’ll start to lose your sinful luggage and find a greater measure of freedom in Christ.
Getting the Most out of this Book
To gain maximum benefit from Losing Your Luggage, I’d ask you to complete the Personal Baggage Check included in the back of this book (Appendix 1). The Personal Baggage Check should only take you 10-15 minutes to complete. But I’m convinced it will be time well spent. Filling in the Baggage checklist will clarify what luggage you most need to lose. It will help keep things real and practical.
Here’s another travel tip. Read the chapters with your Bible open. What I write in this book only matters if it lines up closely with God’s Word. He’s the One who tells us how to lose our sinful baggage and find our way to freedom.
Are you ready to begin a journey towards greater freedom in Christ? Ready to lose some luggage?
Let’s get started!
Rick and Linda Reed 