OCTOBER 8, 2024
“Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:31-32)
Jesus Christ says that if we abide in His word, we will know the truth and the truth will set us free. He alone gives true freedom, and that freedom comes by way of divine knowledge. But we must understand the freedom in which Christ gives to His saints.
The freedom that the believer has is not freedom from utter dependence upon the Lord and obedience to Him. In other words, it is not a freedom that the men described for us in Psalm 2 are looking for. They say, “Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.” This verse describes for us the pursuit of the ungodly. They seek to rid themselves of God. They see no need to depend or rely upon God. They seek to rid themselves of the law of God. This is the kind of freedom that the ungodly seek after. They take no pleasure in the Lord or His commandments. But this cannot be said of Christ’s disciples. They love the Lord and love His commandments. Therefore, the freedom that the saints obtain is not freedom from utter dependence upon the Lord and obedience to Him.
The freedom that the saints obtain in Christ Jesus is freedom from the power of indwelling sin and freedom from the influence of the world and Satan, which is also great in power. By way of divine knowledge, freely given by the Lord through the word of God, the disciples of Christ learn of God’s great work of redemption and how it applies to them. They learn that Christ died for all of their sins. Therefore, they have forgiveness for their sins in Christ and are reconciled to God in, and through Him alone. In being reconciled to God, they are no longer enemies of God but His dear children. They learn that Jesus defeated Satan on the cross, putting to death sin and death in His body for His beloved. He was buried and rose on the third day for the justification of all who will believe in Him. And as He rose from the grave, all who believe in Him are risen with Him as well. Out of the pit of sin and death, the Lord has brought all of His redeemed, and this He had accomplished in His death, burial, and resurrection. Therefore, being risen with Christ we are freed from the power of sin and given newness of life in Him. Sin is no longer the reigning power that rules in the hearts of Christ’s disciples, but it is their Heavenly Father who rules in their hearts as King! Redemption, and all that is accompanied with redemption, comes to the disciples of the Lord in, and through, Jesus Christ alone. As Paul says, Christ is our wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. The disciples of Christ not only delight in God but delight in their utter dependence upon God for all things. They enjoy their freedom from the power of indwelling sin because God dwells within them, giving them grace upon grace in their times of need.
The saints are not only set free from the reigning power of indwelling sin but they are set free from the influence of the world and Satan. It is written that Satan comes as an angel of light and his servants come as servants of righteousness. The world and Satan profess to have the truth. They proclaim this boldly and with great persuasion. Both come as a united force declaring, “Come, come, we have the truth. We will show you the way!” Solomon says that this great deceiver comes with honey dripping from her lips and her speech is smoother than oil. For those who do not have the truth freely given by God, they will follow the kingdom of darkness and know nothing but the bondage that comes by way of error. But the disciples of Christ, those who seek God and learn at His feet through His word, they come to know the truth and are set free from all error. For the disciple of Christ, freedom is found in knowing the Lord and His ways because they have a newfound desire to do that which is pleasing unto the Lord. The disciple of Christ wants to know what the truth is because they desire to walk in the good way of the Lord. The world declares that they know what is pleasing to the Lord but only deceive themselves, while deceiving others. They do not know what pleases God because they do not know the Lord or His ways. They equate their own pleasures with that which is pleasing to God. If it makes life easy on them, if it’s the road of least resistance, if it causes the world to love them, if it seems to bear much fruit, if it makes them feel good, if it gives them what they want, then they believe they have found the way of God. That’s what the world thinks. They do not acquire this knowledge from the Word of God and if they do seek the Word of God (or the counsel of men who say they have the Word of God) they only do so to fit the Word of God to their own pursuits. This is the case for both the irreligious, and the religious who are of the world because they love the world and care not to please God. The worldlings desire to please themselves and please men. This is not so for the disciple of Christ. They are not of the world but are born from above. Their hearts are not set upon the world but are set upon God. As Paul says, they are not servants of men but are servants of God. They are loyal to God, loyal to the One who died for them. They owe the world nothing because the world has done nothing but sought their utter ruin. They have learned that they owe God everything because He has saved them! They love God and His commandments; they desire to do what is pleasing to God. Therefore, the disciples of Christ are set free from the influence of the world and Satan. While the world and Satan continue to seek to enforce their lies upon the disciple, the disciple walks in the truth that they have learned from God’s word and enjoy the freedom that Christ has given.
Please hear me, this freedom is promised to all who will come to Christ! Christ did not come to condemn you. Rather, Christ came to set you free from the condemnation you have brought upon yourself. He promises to set all men free who will come to Him. He will set you free from the reigning power of sin and He will set you free from the influence of the world and of Satan. He does this by exposing the darkness by His word and making it light, teaching all men who seek after Him. He promises that if you abide in His Word, you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. Whom the Son sets free is free indeed. Go and learn from Christ and you will find the freedom that Christ has purchased for you! This is the most urgent need in the life of all men because if you do not know this freedom, and walk in this freedom, you will come to know the wrath of God. If you remain a subject to the kingdom of darkness, if you remain a slave to sin, you will have the wrath of God poured out upon you for all eternity. Is such a short life of slavery worth an eternity in hell? Go to Christ and He will set you free!
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