One of the great paradoxes of Scripture is that true freedom is a function of being a slave to Christ. In addition, Pastor Alistair Begg adds: “When we become captive to the Word of God, then we discover true freedom.”1 While most Americans consider themselves free people the reality is that they are completely in bondage to sin, and not free at all. And not understanding that without Christ we all are in bondage to Satan and his world system of lies and deceptions, we sadly think that we are free.
John Dewey said it well: “The first step in freeing men from external chains was to emancipate them from the internal chains of false beliefs and ideals.”2 And these false beliefs center on the idea that we are free and don’t need Jesus and the Bible to exercise this freedom.
However, knowing the truth of the God’s Word has an amazing ability to make you free. We read in (John 8:32): “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” However, just knowing the truth of the Bible is not enough to truly liberate you from the bondage of your past sinful lifestyle. In order to do this, we need to read not only (John 8:32), but (John 8:31) together with (John 8:32). This couplet of verses reads: “Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, ‘If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.’” The key here is in order to be free from the bondage of sin we must first abide in the word and in Christ. Once we do this, our abiding will give us the power to say no to the flesh and yes to the spirit – the result will be great freedom!
And it is this abiding or obedience to God’s Word that truly has the power to make you free. I believe that it is one of God’s spiritual laws that the more we obey the truth contained in the sacred Scriptures the more liberated we become. Henry Ward Beecher said it well when he proclaimed: “True obedience is true freedom.”3 Only when we are obedient to the Word of God are we free to walk in the path of true freedom.
To do whatever we want, when it conflicts with the will of God, will keep us in bondage to sin. And bondage to sin is the opposite of true freedom. Being a bondslave to Christ is the most liberated a person can be because true joy, peace, and meaning, the things that people really want in life, are a by-product of letting Jesus be master of our lives. My friends, there is nothing more liberating than being a servant of the Lord! Obeying and abiding in Christ is the only way to obtain true freedom in a world that is in total bondage to sin and living in the fantasy world of false freedoms. In reality what the world calls freedom is the ability to be free to sin and I for one am so glad to be delivered from this false illusion of freedom!
1 Discover True Freedom (truthforlife.org)
2 The first step in freeing men from external chains was to… (libquotes.com)
3 True obedience is true freedom…. Quote by Henry Ward Beecher – QuotesLyfe