Monday, July 3, 2017, 5:52 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song “Songs in The Night.” Speak, Lord, your
words to my heart. I read various scriptures (in the ESV) on the subject of
freedom in Christ Jesus.
What is Freedom?
I think most of us, who have
any knowledge of scripture, know that Jesus died to set us free from sin, but
not everyone agrees on what that means. Some people think of this freedom as
merely being set free from the ultimate punishment of sin, which is death, i.e.
eternity without God, and in eternal damnation in the fires of hell (or in the
lake of fire). And, being set free from the punishment of sin means they get to
go to heaven one day when they leave this earth. But, is that all there is to
it? Or, is there more?
The Truth Sets You Free (Jn. 8:31-36)
So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If
you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth,
and the truth will set you free.” They answered him, “We are offspring of
Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You
will become free’?”
Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you,
everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the
house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will
be free indeed.
Here we see that if we abide
(stay, remain, continue) in Christ and in his Word, then we are truly his
disciples (his followers) (cf. Jn. 15). The result is that we will know the
truth. Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life, so we will know (intimately,
experientially) Jesus Christ. His Word is also truth, so we will know
intimately, through first-hand experience, God’s words to us, not just through
head knowledge. And, this knowing of The Truth will set us free from slavery to
sin, not just from the punishment of sin, because it isn’t just head knowledge,
but it is intimately and experientially joining ourselves to Christ and his
Word by listening to him and in following (obeying) him.
Here we also see that the
opposite of freedom from sin is slavery to sin, for if we practice (walk in)
sin, we are still slaves to sin, and we are not FREE. Now, we cannot provide
our own freedom, i.e. it is Jesus Christ who sets us free, if truly we have
trusted in him as Lord and as Savior of our lives. But, if we do not walk in
that freedom, then we are still enslaved to sin, and we have not truly been set
free (See: Lu. 9:23-25; Rom. 8:1-14; Gal. 5:19-21). So, we must understand here
that being set free has to do, not just with loss of eternal punishment for
sin, but it has to do with death to sin and living to righteousness, as well
(See: 1 Pet. 2:24). For, if we continue in sin, we are not free, but we will
still face the fury of hell when we leave this earth.
Dead to Sin – Free from Sin (Rom. 6:6-7, 16-23)
We know that our old self was crucified with him in
order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no
longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin.
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? But
thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient
from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and,
having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I am
speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you
once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to
more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness
leading to sanctification.
For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard
to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things
of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now
that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit
you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin
is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
When we trust in Jesus Christ
to be Lord and Savior of our lives, we are crucified with Christ in death to
sin in order that we might walk with him in newness of life, created to be like
God in true righteousness and holiness (See: Rom. 6:1-4; cf. Eph. 4:17-24). Jesus
Christ died that we might die to sin and live to righteousness (1 Pet. 2:24).
So, Jesus didn’t die just so we could escape hell and have heaven when we die.
He died so that, through faith in him, our old self would be put to death in
order that sin would be brought to nothing, i.e. so that it would no longer
have control over (enslave) us. If we have truly been saved from our sins,
thus, it means sin has been put to death in our lives so that righteousness
might reign.
Many people are being taught
today that faith in Jesus Christ is just an acknowledgment of who Jesus is and
of what he did for us on the cross, in taking our punishment for us, and that it
is an acceptance of his forgiveness of our sins. And, many of them are being
taught that repentance (turning from sin) and obedience to Christ are not
required by God for their eternal salvation, and that, in fact, they are
works-based salvation, so they are being trained that faith in Jesus has
nothing to do with death to sin and living to righteousness. But, God’s Word
teaches us that if we present ourselves as slaves to sin, it leads to death,
not to eternal life, but obedience to Christ and his Word leads to
righteousness and to eternal life with God. Being set free from sin means we
are now slaves to Christ’s righteousness.
Walk by the Spirit (Gal. 5:1, 16-24)
For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm
therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not
gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the
Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are
opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if
you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the
flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery,
enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy,
drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before,
that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the
fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And
those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and
desires.
I know that this is in the
context of legalism and of adding to God’s grace what he does not require, but
the principle applies, as well, to the subject of being set free from sin, in
its entirety. Jesus set us free from sin so that we would no longer be slaves
to sin, but that we would walk in freedom, which means to walk in righteousness
and no longer according to our sinful flesh. So, we need to stand firm, not
only on not adding to God’s grace what is of the flesh, but also in not
removing from God’s grace what God has established as the very purpose for his grace
to us. His grace is not a free license to continue in willful sin against God,
without guilt and without remorse, but his grace instructs (commands) us to say
“No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright
and godly lives while we wait for Christ’s return (See: Tit. 2:11-14).
So, not only did Jesus set us
free, but we need to walk in that freedom. If we walk (in lifestyle) by the
Spirit of God, we will not gratify the desires of the flesh. So many people
believe that they can have the Spirit of God living within them, and have the
promise of heaven, and still live their lives however they desire, but the two
are in opposition to each other. If we continue to practice sexual immorality, for
example, which includes viewing pornography or watching sexually charged movies
or TV shows, et al, we do not have the hope of eternal life. If we make it our
practice to involve ourselves in idolatry, impurity, sensuality, fits of anger,
drunkenness, etc., we will not inherit the kingdom of God.
This is not saying that we
lose our salvation every time we sin (See: 1 Jn. 2:1-2), but it is saying that
we can’t continue living in (practicing) sin, as a matter of lifestyle, and
expect to go to heaven when we leave this earth. If we belong to Christ, we
have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires, so let us live by and
keep in step with the Spirit of God, and not give way to the flesh, for Jesus
set us free! So, let us live like we believe that. Those who are led by the
Spirit are the children of God (Ro. 8:14).
Songs in the Night / An Original Work / December 18, 2013
“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and
singing hymns to God,
And the other prisoners were listening to them.” Acts
16:25 NIV ‘84
Lord, I praise You
forevermore.
You, my Savior, I now adore.
Hope in heaven awaiting me,
Because You died at Calvary.
I have been forgiven,
And I’m bound for heaven.
Jesus set me free from
All my sin, I say.
I will praise Him always!
Lord, I love You for all
You’ve done:
Overcame death, my vict’ry
won!
Jesus saved me, and now I’m
free!
I rejoice in His love for me.
I will walk in vict’ry!
My sin is but hist’ry!
I am free to please Him
With my life today.
I will love Him always!
Lord, I thank You for giving
me
A new life bought at Calvary.
Loving Jesus, I meet with
Him.
Tender mercies now flow
within.
Lord, I am so thankful;
Through my Lord, I’m able
To sit at His table;
Fellowship with Him.
I will thank Him always!
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