Freedom

Freedom (by David Peterson at The Rock Of Jesus Church)

While in the temple in Jerusalem, Jesus tells His listeners that those who believe in His word will know the truth and will be set free. In John 8:34-36, Jesus goes further on the subject of sin and says: “Truly, truly I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. Now the slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. So if the Son sets you free, you really will be free.”

Jesus is promising freedom to those who believe in Him, especially those in bondage to habitual, spiritual sin. Obedience to His Word leads to freedom from slavery to sin.

Pastor Timothy J. Keller, a well-known Christian apologist, once wrote; “You know how addiction works. It starts like this: There’s some kind of disappointment or distress in your life. As a result you choose to deal with that distress with an agent; it might be sex, it might be drugs, it might be alcohol. The agent promises transcendence. The agent promises freedom, a sense of being in control, a sense of being above all this, a sense of being liberated, a sense of escape. And so you do it. But when you do it, when you take the addicting agent as a way of dealing with life, the trap is set.” Keller describes an all too familiar path, not just to addiction, but to a life of sin. Jesus’ answer to this was to follow Him and leave the shackles of sin behind.

Reverend George F. Hopkins wrote the hymn “The Truth Shall Make You Free” in 1900. The first stanza is;

O blessed Words of Jesus,

the Lamb for sinners slain;

He’ll take away your load of sin,

with all its guilt and stain.

If you will but accept Him,

the crucified for thee,

Repent, believe, and trust in Him,

the Truth shall make you free.

Reverend Hopkins echoes the words of freedom through Jesus our Christ.

Let us pray: Loving Lord, help us to learn of You and grow in Your grace, for we want to know the truth and to be set free from the bondage of sin, a freedom that only comes as we abide in You. Amen.