This Verse Reminded Russell Brand Where True Freedom Comes From

Published: August 5, 2024

This Verse Reminded Russell Brand Where True Freedom Comes From

By Movieguide® Contributor

A special verse from the book of Isaiah brought recently converted Christian Russell Brand closer to Christ after he felt disconnected.

“There are times when I’ve told you that I felt far from Christ,” Brand said in a TikTok video Wednesday. “This is a verse that brought me back into connection with our Lord.”

Brand shared Isaiah 43:1, which says, “…Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine.”

“My feelings of faith have altered lately because I’ve had the sense that through fear, I might take back my self-will — that I might, through fear, think that I have to be in control of the situation,” he said.

Brand explained that when people are fearful or in a situation where they’ve felt threatened, it makes sense that they would want to “take back control.” But God is in charge of all things, which allows for a “new freedom” of not having to be in control.

“I don’t belong to myself anymore, and that is true freedom,” Brand said.

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Movieguide® reported Brand’s interpretation of 1 Corinthians 6:19 last month:

“What? Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God, and that you are not your own?”

“What I like about that is the interrogative — ‘did you not know?’” he continued. “When I saw it rendered, it was like this — ‘did you not know that your body is a temple?’ It was, like, a really gentle thing. It comes in Paul talking to the Corinthians. ‘Did you not know that body is a temple? What are you doing? Your body is a temple!’ Because they’re living in a really sexual, licentious culture. It’s amazing to me, especially when you equate it with…an Old Testament prescription.”

Earlier in 2024, Brand said he was reading Rick Warren’s “The Purpose-Driven Life,” adding that he desires a close relationship with God. He’s also a fan of C.S. Lewis and has read several of his books.

He previously told Neil Oliver, “[I’m in the] business of serving Jesus Christ. In surrendering to Christ, there is something extraordinary about saying there is this man, another man, entirely God, entirely man. But through some necessary, extraordinary, metaphysical act just beyond the edge of rational understanding, the Creator of this simulation came into the simulation and told us, ‘Hello, I am God. I’ve come here. Here are some virtues and values.’”