Bible Devotion "freedom"
People do many things in the name of freedom that lead to their destruction. That’s why Christians should never envy the "freedom" of sinners. Often we look at people who sleep around and think, "That must be fun." Or we envy those who build their lives upon greed, lust, pride, power, prestige, gluttony, materialism, violence, hedonism, the pursuit of wealth, the acquisition of worldly fame, the practice of moral perversion, and we think, "That’s a fun way to live."
How wrong we are. They have jumped from the plane of immoral freedom only to discover their chute won’t open. They have jumped from the plane of material success only to face their own
destruction. They have jumped from the plane of hedonism, pride, power, and sexual excess and are in a free fall that will end in death.
From this we learn an important truth: Christian freedom is freedom from sin, not freedom to sin. As Martin Luther put it, freedom is not the right to do what you want but rather the power to do what you ought. In the Christian sense, true freedom is not doing whatever you dream of doing or acting on every wild idea; it is choosing to do what God approves because you know it will bring you the greatest happiness today and the deepest joy in eternity.
What Freedom Is."
Freedom is not the absence of restraint; that could lead to anarchy. Freedom is not the absence of laws; that could lead to chaos. Freedom is not doing whatever you please; that would result in abuse.
A phrase printed on a T-shirt reads, "Butterflies are free!" Of course, butterflies are free! They are free to be butterflies, but they certainly aren’t free to fly to the moon.
We are born with tremendous potential. We are free in Jesus Christ, not to do whatever we want but to be all God wants us to be. Freedom is the opportunity to fulfill our potential to the glory of God.
The Opposing Force."
Two forces are at work in this world today—the force that comes from Heaven and the force that comes from Hell. The power of God works through truth, and the power of the devil works through lies. Satan is the liar. What are some of his lies?
• Everybody is doing it.
• No one will find out.
• It won’t hurt anybody.
• You deserve it.
• It feels so right.
Satan uses lies to bring us into bondage and that bondage leads to destruction; but God uses truth to bring us into freedom and that freedom leads to fulfillment.
The Way of Truth."
Truth has been given to us in three different ways.
Jesus is the truth. Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life" (John 14:6). That is why he claimed in John 8:36, "If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."
The Word of God is truth. Jesus prayed to the Father, "Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth" (17:17). He said in John 8:31, 32, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." The Word of God exposes the lies of the devil. When we know Jesus we have truth. When we study his Word we have truth.
The Spirit of God is truth. First John 5:6 says, "It is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth." "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom" (2 Corinthians 3:17). When the Spirit of God reveals the Son of God in the Word of God, we experience the freedom of God. God’s method for freedom is truth.
When we believe the devil’s lies and obey them, we experience bondage. God’s purpose for us is freedom and God’s method for freedom is truth.
Jesus—The Truth."
Jesus was free from the bondage and traditions of man. Jesus came to a nation that was under political bondage, but even more than that, it was under spiritual and religious bondage. The Pharisees had added so many traditions to the Word of God that people were shackled. A yoke was put on the people that made it difficult for them to enjoy God. Jesus was free from these legalistic measures. Jesus was free from fear. He slept in a boat in the midst of a storm. He went to the cross without fear. Jesus was free from sin. The bondage of sin that enslaves humans did not have a grip on Jesus.
While Jesus was free from sin, we aren’t. We break his laws; we fail him; we fall short of his requirements. We may claim that our sins are no big deal. We may attempt to cover up our sins, but God says we can’t get away with it.
Jesus comes along, the man who knew freedom from sin, and took the penalty for our sin. That is what the cross is all about. On the cross Jesus took the punishment sinners deserved and freed us from the consequences of sin. Because Jesus accepted the sentence of death that we deserved, we are set free in him from the penalty of sin.
Jesus said, "Everyone who sins is a slave to sin" (John 8:34). While we are free from the consequences of sin when we die, we often live under the power of sin while on earth. Sin creates bondage. We try not to lie, but we do. We try not to be jealous, but we are. We try not to yield to temptation, but we do time and time again. We are slaves.
The Academy in Florence, home of Michelangelo’s David is a sight to behold. If you where to go there you would noticed four partially finished sculptures. These were figures Michelangelo originally intended to use on the tomb of Pope Julius, but midway through the project he decided not to use them and ceased work on them. There is a hand protruding here, a torso of a man there, a leg, part of a head, but none are finished.
Nearly everyone who sees these works senses the turmoil, the struggle embodied in these figures. It is as though they are crying to break free from the prison of their marble to become what they were intended to be.
Author Theodore Roder looked on these four figures Michelangelo called The Captives and wrote, "When I looked at those partial figures, they stirred up in me a deep longing to be completed—an ache to be set free from that which distorts and disguises, imprisons and inhibits my humanness, my wholeness. But as with those statues, I cannot liberate myself. For that I need the hand of another."
How do we break the power of sin? We need the hand of another. That other is Jesus. We can break the power of sin by knowing, trusting, loving, and obeying Jesus.
Freedom is life controlled by truth and motivated by love. Bondage is life controlled by lies and motivated by selfishness. Freedom is the result of a living relationship with Jesus Christ—walking with him, talking with him, and learning from him. He is the only one who can set us free.
David L. Himmelheber evangelist
