“Thank you, Father, for Freedom. Freedom from the snares and bondage of sin, sorrow, Satan; Freedom to liberty and life, a relationship with Your Son. Let Freedom Ring! We celebrate the Freedom we have as Americans; we celebrate the Freedom we have as believers; we celebrate the Freedom we have as the church. Yes, Let Freedom Ring!
Amen!”
“So, Jesus said to the Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, you really are My disciples. You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” “We are descendants of Abraham,” they answered Him, “and we have never been enslaved to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will become free’?” Jesus responded, “I assure you: Everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. A slave does not remain in the household forever, but a son does remain forever. Therefore, if the Son sets you free, you really will be free.” John 8:31-36 (HCSB)
The Apostle John records for us the words of Jesus in this chapter. We have before us His forgiveness of a very sinful woman and the reminder we are all sinful people; Jesus reveals He is the light of the world and all who walk with Him walk in the light, while the deeds of those who continue in sin are of darkness; He discusses His soon to come departure to return to the Father after He has completed the task for which He was sent; the Son talks about true freedom; and He proclaims His superiority to father Abraham. The text we pull from speaks of true freedom as we are Sons of God who have come to Him for salvation.
On July 3, 2019 I shared this text and the following points in our Wednesday night devotion. Here, in this blog I would like to expand these thoughts seeking God to speak to us about the freedom we have as a believer and as a citizen of this nation.
Make clear the words of the scripture from the Gospel of John. Those who had believed Him He called “My disciples.” They are followers of Christ. They will know the truth and it is the truth that will set you free. The Truth is Jesus Christ. He comes not to make a slave but an Adopted Son (or daughter) and servant, because a “slave does not remain in the household forever, but a son does remain forever.” Therefore, “if the Son sets you free, you really will be free.”
“And you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you previously walked according to the ways of this world, according to the ruler who exercises authority over the lower heavens, the spirit now working in the disobedient. We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love that He had for us, made us alive with the Messiah even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace! Together with Christ Jesus He also raised us up and seated us in the heavens, so that in the coming ages He might display the immeasurable riches of His grace through ⌊His⌋ kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift— not from works, so that no one can boast. For we are His creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them. So then, remember that at one time you were Gentiles in the flesh—called “the uncircumcised” by those called “the circumcised,” ⌊which is done⌋ in the flesh by human hands.
At that time you were without the Messiah, excluded from the citizenship of Israel, and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.” Ephesians 2:1-12 (HCSB)
The Quest
People have been searching for freedom for thousands of years.
Freedom is the theme of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. The quest is there and in the first three chapters of the narrative which begins with a perfect, pure, pristine freedom we find rebellion and we see the affects in the physical and spiritual life of the first parents.
Since the beginning of time we have seen the original fall has tainted and stained every generation which comes and goes.
Rebellion-In the Garden of Eden the decision was made to withhold only one thing from the newly created humans, of which God said:
Eve was tempted and ate; Adam was offered the fruit and he too ate of it and the rebellion began. Rebellion caused the man and the woman to experience living death through the pain of childbirth and toiling in the soil with the heat of the day burning and parching the ground; there are many pains and suffering to come. While rebelling against God by taking the fruit these two did not die physically but experienced death in the spiritual by a breaking of the perfect communion and relationship enjoyed in the Garden. This rebellion of the first parents brought about the contention between their two sons, with one killing the other; the Tower of Babel and the Flood; Sodom and Gomorrah; eventually leading God’s chosen people to captivity.
Relinquishment-often in Holy Writ we find the people of God giving into the sin which so easily besets them, bringing them into captivity without rights and bound by a taskmaster. One such example is the pain of giving into the Egyptians, bound to them as servants and slaves without freedom.
Reality-This Rebellion and Relinquishment is seen in the reality of Spiritual slavery. It is not the way God’s creation began; in the garden we see total, complete unity with the Father Creator. Each day the first parents enjoyed personal fellowship with the Father. Yet, when sin entered the picture, a gulf formed between the two creatures and Father God. Separation leads to slavery; slavery leads to pain; pain leads to sorrow. It is a continual descent as the Evil one takes pleasure in placing chains on the wrist, the ankles, a yoke of toil upon the shoulders, a heavy weight and continues to pull down and down until you are dead. Completely and totally without life or liberty.
“Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that lay before Him endured a cross and despised the shame and has sat down at the right hand of God’s throne.”
Hebrews 12:1-2 (HCSB)
The Answer
God’s answer to our loss of freedom has always been Jesus Christ. Liberty comes through Him. Take note of the words of Jesus in the text from Luke:
“The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to Him, and unrolling the scroll, He found the place where it was written: The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim freedom to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. And the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on Him. He began by saying to them, “Today as you listen, this Scripture has been fulfilled.” Luke 4:17-21 (HCSB)
All are born into sin. Sin is the stain on our lives because of the sin of the First Parents. This sin must be dealt with.
- “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23 (HCSB)
- “But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us!” Romans 5:8 (HCSB)
- “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23 (HCSB)
- “If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation. Now the Scripture says, Everyone who believes on Him will not be put to shame, for there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, since the same Lord of all is rich to all who call on Him. For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Romans 10:9-13 (HCSB)
There is no life outside of Christ. He came to give life and life abundantly for all who will call on Him. For He came to “bind up the brokenhearted.”
The Payment
Jesus Christ came to free us from death, sin-anything that enslaves. The payment was a huge one, costing the Father His Son. Jesus died on the cross to satisfy the demands of the Old Testament. A lamb was the satisfactory offerings for sins in the Temple in the days of old. It was to be a perfect lamb, without blemish or spot. Once the animal was found acceptable, it was placed on the altar and its throat was slit and the blood was spilled out upon the altar. The priest would sprinkle the blood on the people, affirming that the shed blood was the cleansing of sin and pardon. This seen was reacted year after year and was an incomplete sacrifice. When Jesus came, He once and for all offered Himself as the sacrifice for sin for all time!
The payment for our sin in found in the Savior Jesus Christ!
The Choice
God gives us freedom to choose our own path. Each person must decide for or against Christ. It is a life or death decision. To refuse Christ is to choose a path leading to destruction; to choose Christ is a path leading to eternal life.
No person can be forced to choose salvation. It is a decision each person makes as they are drawn to the Father through the Spirit, revealing truth to them and then they decide. It is a “yes” or “no” decision.
