“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” John 8:32
“If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” John 8:36
“Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holy day, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days” Colossians 2:16
I find today that many believers do not understand, or cannot accept, the freedom we have in Christ Jesus through His sacrifice upon the cross. Jesus ALWAYS told the truth and can NEVER LIE. He said that in Him WE ARE FREE INDEED. So, what have we been set free from? May I suggest that there are three main areas where the true believer is set free. You may think of others, these four areas are by no means inexhaustible.
LEGALISM
SLAVERY TO SIN
SUPERSTITION
By LEGALISM, I mean the keeping of the law, or any attempt to do so, in one point or all. Legalism can creep into Churches, even by the back door. The devil is very subtle. If He can lead you into any form of law keeping, he knows you will FALL FROM GRACE.
“Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace” Galatians 5:4
Churches get caught up into LEGALISM, even in things like women being banned from wearing make-up, or from going to the cinema, or even banned from drinking alcohol. Wherever additions are made to the requirements of being saved, it becomes SALVATION BY GRACE PLUS WORKS.
Many cults make Saturday Sabbath keeping, into a requirement of being a Christian. This also is very wrong. Today, we are also seeing this IN REVERSE gear. Many are saying if you celebrate CHRISTMAS or EASTER, you are pagan and not saved. This again is putting another requirement on being saved. I even learned this week that somebody has been going around my home town calling me a FALSE TEACHER because I celebrated EASTER. God is my judge, and knows that there was not even a hint of paganism in my Easter celebrations! I celebrated my precious Saviour dying for my sins and rising again for my justification! This is all a form of legalism. It's the GOSPEL + NOT CELEBRATING EASTER.
SUPERSTITION is something else we are gloriously set free from. O how sad it is when I hear of believers who are chained up with superstition. Believers who won't walk under a ladder! Believers who are a bundle of nerves on Friday 13th, actually waiting for something bad to happen! There are all kinds of superstition, some have very serious consequences.
BUT JESUS OUR SAVIOUR has set us FREE FROM ALL THAT, just trust Him, not the devil's lies! THERE IS NO SUPERSTITION IN THE GOSPEL!
SLAVERY TO SIN is a condition that we were all once in. We knew no better. We got caught up in the evil desires of the flesh, the chains of addiction, and even the simple traps that we've all fallen into, like 'white lies' 'pride' 'jealousy' 'resentment' 'unforgiveness' 'coveting' and a host of other stuff that many people consider to be a NORMAL part of human nature, but it's anything but normal. Jesus has made it possible for us to be SET FREE FROM ALL THIS.
Jesus said, “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” John 8:32
So, I ask you, do you know the TRUTH?
Let me tell you. The TRUTH is that Jesus Christ, by dying upon that cruel cross of CALVARY, broke the bars of death, and sin. He set the captives free. If you just begin to understand something of the depth of CHRIST'S ATTONEMENT for us, and by receiving it by faith, YOU CAN BE SET GLORIOUSLY FREE.
Jesus stood up and took the scroll and read from Isaiah 61, a passage of scripture that He Himself implied, actually spoke of His ministry. He read:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised” Luke 4:18
