Life is full of warnings. It seems like someone is always telling us what we can’t do. Some think that's the essence of Christianity. God sits up in heaven on his throne issuing rules like lawyers. He commands, “Don’t do this! Don’t do that! And don’t you dare have any fun!”
Religion for many becomes drudgery instead of freedom. What a tragedy! You see, God is all about freedom; and only with Him can we experience real freedom.
Take these two statements from Psalm 119, for example, "I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free." HEY (Psalm 119:32 WEB) “I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts.” (Psalm 119:45)
These two statements connect freedom and the Word. One says because we are free we are able to keep the commands of God. The other says that since we seek out the precepts of the scriptures we are able to live in freedom. Both verses say, "freedom and the Word go hand in hand." Does that sound like your life?
I know that I have not always experienced freedom in Christ. In fact, I think I have often slipped into living to please others, and to conform to religious expectations. Sound familiar? Often our culture defines freedom as being loosed from the shackles of religion. We talk of “free thinkers.” The Catholic Encyclopedia defines them as “those who, abandoning the religious truths and moral dictates of the Christian Revelation, and accepting no dogmatic teaching on the ground of authority, base their beliefs on the unfettered findings of reason alone.”
Young people often consider the Bible as restrictive. If they were to follow it they wouldn't be free to do what their friends do. But is freedom from God and the Word really freedom? No! It is really slavery. Let’s look at (John 8:31-38) to contrast true freedom from the actual slavery of rejecting God’s word.
To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." They answered him, "We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?" Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. I know you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are ready to kill me, because you have no room for my word. I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you do what you have heard from your father."
Rightly, his Jewish listeners discerned that the opposite of freedom is slavery. They bristled at the suggestion that they were slaves to anyone. Politically and spiritually they prided themselves for being fiercely independent of others. But Jesus declares that they are really slaves.
Let’s take a moment this morning to consider some forms of slavery grasping the Pharisees. First, there is the slavery to sin. The obvious example of the grip sin had on them is that they were ready to reject and kill Jesus, the Son of God (John 8:37).
As much as we try to blank out the guilt of sinful disobedience, we are not really acting freely. When we stop obeying God, we become a slave to the devil. Have you ever tried to stop sinning? If you have, you know you are not truly free.
Another slavery is religious arrogance. Do you recall the story about two men praying in the temple? "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ’God, I thank you that I am not like other men — robbers, evildoers, adulterers — or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ "But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ’God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ "I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." (Luke 18:10-14)
Unfortunately, we identify with the first character all too often. We judge others as inferior. We are certain that we are closer to God than other religious peoples. We are really slaves. We are slaves to tradition. Have you ever examined what you really believe and how you practice your faith? If you compare your life and beliefs, you will see a discrepancy with scripture. Sometimes it is hard to tell the difference because we are so wedded to our religious traditions. The Pharisees continually conflicted with Jesus with their traditions over ritual cleanliness and Sabbath regulations. Guess what? Traditions won out every time over the authoritative word of the Lord.
Christians can also be enslaved by their fear of men. As the Proverbs say: “Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe.” (Proverbs 29:25) We are so desperate for approval we will do all kinds of things to please others. This is one of the cruelest forms of slavery. But Jesus has come to set you free!
Freedom is found in careful obedience to God’s word. Psalm 119:45 says “I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts.” It may sound strange but submission to the authority of God sets us free from a host of different slaveries. There is nothing quite like the inner peace associated with obedience to the Word.
The way of freedom is submit willingly to the Word of God. If we want to be free disciples, we need to hold on to the teachings of Jesus. I believe this means learning what Jesus teaches us in the scriptures, and letting it seep deep into our minds. The Word is powerful to loose us from slavery. The Spirit of the Word will empower us to live in the freedom of obedience to God.
Scripture: John 14:15; Luke 6:46; Romans 6:16; Matthew 7:21; James 1:22; Isaiah 1:19; Romans 8:28
Now, let's pray...
O Father, give us the humility which realizes its ignorance, admits its mistakes, recognizes its need, welcomes advice, accepts rebuke. Help us always to praise rather than to criticize, to sympathize rather than to discourage, to build rather than to destroy, and to think of people at their best rather than at their worst. This we ask for in thy name's sake. Amen
O Father, give us the humility which realizes its ignorance, admits its mistakes, recognizes its need, welcomes advice, accepts rebuke. Help us always to praise rather than to criticize, to sympathize rather than to discourage, to build rather than to destroy, and to think of people at their best rather than at their worst. This we ask for in thy name's sake. Amen
Have a blessed week!
Bibi
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