July
4, 2003
YOU
SHALL BE FREE!
"Therefore
if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed"
(John 8:36, NKJV).
Today,
in the United States, we celebrate Independence and Freedom!
What is Freedom, and what is it to be Free?
According to Webster's Dictionary, Freedom is the quality
or state of being free: as in the absence of necessity, coercion,
or constraint in choice or action.; liberation from slavery
or restraint or from the power of another. Being free implies
having the legal and political rights of a citizen, enjoying
civil and political liberty, enjoying political independence
or freedom from outside domination
In John
8:34-36, Jesus is referring to "bondage" that we
as human beings often bring on ourselves, such as through
behaviors that ensnare us and especially through disobedience
to God's laws of love that are there to protect us and society
from behaviors that are harmful, oppressive and destructive.
With "freedom" comes responsibility to protect society
from oppression and from demeaning and dominating behaviors
over others.
Here
Jesus contrasts the difference between a slave and a son,
between bondage and freedom, and the freedom that only He
can provide, "Whoever commits sin
is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house
forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes
you free, you shall be free indeed" (John 8:34-36).
Let's say that behaviors that are harmful is sin. And here
Jesus is saying that harmful behaviors enslave us. However,
He is also saying that we may be set free from harmful behaviors
and He is the One who can set us free.
We know
that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of
God" (Romans 3:23). Therefore how do we transition from
being a slave of sin and become a son set free from the slavery
of sin? Paul gives us a hint when he says, "But now the
righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed,-- even
the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to
all-- who believe" (Romans 3:21, 22). What a transference!
To all who put their faith and trust in God, He gives to them
the "righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ,
to all-- who believe." As the atoning sacrifice, Jesus
took our sins upon Himself so that we may receive His righteousness.
"For He (God) made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be
sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God
in Him" (2 Corinthians 5:21).
"Therefore
if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed!"
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