FREEDOM

 

 

Jesus came to grant us liberty, but when and in what form?

 

·       And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed,” (Luke 4:17-18)

 

Jesus also declared that the Truth “SHALL set us free” (John 8:31-32). This is an ongoing process, but set free from what?

 

·       “And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will. (2 Timothy 2:24-26)

 

When our heart/mind is renewed (regenerated), we begin to see the power and ugliness of sin and desire forgiveness and cleansing (1 John 1:9). Consequently, we come to “our senses,” by God’s grace, so that we can recognize and resist sin and Satan’s deceptions. If we cannot see our sin, we cannot resist it and its deceptive power.

 

Consequently, sin and its blinding deceptions (Romans 7:11) can exercise dominion over our lives and enslave us. (Romans 6:7).

 

Our liberty comes through God changing our hearts and opening our minds to enable us to understand. However, once we sin and refuse to confess and repent, we again begin to fall under the enslavement of sin and Satan:

 

·       Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? (Romans 6:16)

 

We will sin, but it is far more important is to turn to our Lord and to humbly and sincerely confess our sins:

 

·       If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:8-9)

 

Confession must be accompanied by a sincere commitment to turn away from our sins (repentance). Without this, “confession” is no than more than a game.

 

It should be no wonder to us that we are being transformed as understand the Word by the Spirit. Consequently, Jesus described the fruitful person as those who understand the Word:

·       As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.” (Matthew 13:23)

 

Why does our Lord seem to care more about our commitment to Him through His Word than our performance - successfully turning from sin? For one thing, performance without faith produces pride, arrogance, and self-righteousness. Therefore, the heart/mind first needs to be reborn (regenerated) (Ezekiel 36:25-27).

 

Our Lord also knows that we are weak and helpless, but He intends to first humble us to then rescue us :

 

·       This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them. (Psalm 34:6–7) 

 

Who are those who “fear Him?” Those who make a commitment to seek Him before all else:

·       But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (Matthew 6:33)

 

While this might seem like bondage to some, it is actually freedom, similar to the freedom of fish who navigate within the confines of their watery homes. We too maximize our freedom when we remain within the relational confines where we have been designed to thrive.