Freedom through Faith

The USA's Independence Day is tdoay and I woke up earlier in the week thinking about what it cost my country to free itself from oppression.  The price was high, but freedom was gained.  In fact, we hold the day freedom was obtained in very high regard, almost reverance, here in the U.S. and I woke up thinking about our freedom in Christ Jesus and what it costs us to have freedom in Him.  So, in light of our study of Faith in Hebrews, I thought today we could look at Freedom in Christ.  So, here we go.

John 8:31-36  Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.  (32)  And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."  (33)  They answered Him, "We are Abraham's descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, 'You will be made free'?"  (34)  Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.  (35)  And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever.  (36)  Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed."

There is something that struck me very funny in the above scriptures.  The disciples said. "We are Abraham's desendants, and we have never been in bondage to anyone."  In other words, they told him that they had not been like the children of Israel that Moses led out of Egypt.  Jesus wasn't talking about physical bondage, was He?  Jesus goes on in His answer to that question by telling them that anyone who sins is slave to that sin.  If you consider the living conditions of slaves, they did not leave in the house with their masters.  They lived in their own quarters.  Yet, Jesus said, a son abides forever.  And we know that we are adopted sons and daughters, so it stands to reason we abide forever in the House of our Lord.  

We have looked before at what it means to be a slave to something.  Anything that rules or controls our lives makes us a slave to that thing.  Paul said,

Romans 8:2-3  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.  (3)  For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh,

The writer of Hebrews has been echoing this exact same sentiment throughout what we have studied so far.  He has said that the law was not perfect in that it could not offer forgiveness for sins and Jesus came as the more perfect sacrfifice.  We who have accepted Christ and believe Him to be the only Son of the One True and Living God have been saved from the law, that could only lead to death.  The wages of sin is death, remember?  (Romans 6:23).  However:

Galatians 5:1  Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.

We can take our bondage back.  We can choose to once again live under the old law thinking we are free.  Christ has set us free from death.  Sometimes we forget that although He opened the door to our prison and broke the chains the held us captive, we have to leave our cells.  We can be saved and born again Christians and still be in bondage in our minds.  

Proverbs 23:7  For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. "Eat and drink!" he says to you, But his heart is not with you.

The first part of this verse is often the only part quoted.  I am going to focus on it as well.  Our minds are traps.  What we think sets the course of where our actions will take us.  We do not act first, we think first and our actions then follow what we think.  We can be so wrapped up in our own thoughts that we become wrapped up in bondage again, or we never leave the cells with an open door.  Wouldn't be heartbreaking if we saw a prisoner in jail suddenly have his door opened and all ties of bondage broken, yet he did not step out of the cell to freedom?  We can become so comfortable where we are sometimes that our own comfort becomes our prison. Our faith must take us beyond the walls of our prisons and allow us to step out of the door believing fully that God our gracious and merciful and loving Father will be there to walk with us.  

A prisoner that has been in prison and then released has an adjustment to make to living on the outside of prison walls.. Many are unable to make that adjustment to living out from under the bondage they were in.  In fact, a local prison has nearly an 80% failure rate.  Those it releases after completing the rehabilitation program, commit crimes on the outside, get their probation revoked, and return to the prison unit.  Isn't that sad?  Only 2 out of every 10 inmates in this particular prison will successfully integrate back into society, overcome their own minds and fear and learn to live in freedom outside those prison walls.

Our freedom in Christ is no different.  He has offered us freedom, but we have to make the adjustments to live that life of freedom and it starts in our minds.  We have to control our thoughts.  We have to tell Satan that he no longer has the ability to sway or deter us from the promise that is ours in Christ Jesus.  I mentioned a scripture in my short video the other day, 2 Corinthians 10:4.  Let's look at it and verse 5:

2 Corinthians 10:4-5  For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,  (5)  casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,

We have mighty weapons in God to pull down every stronghold that we have built or allowed to be built in our minds.  Do you know what a stronghold is?  The original word in Greeks means: to fortify, through the idea of holding safely.  So what have chosen to fortify in you mind and keep safe?  Isn't that what we do?  We don't want to deal with something so we put in the corner of our minds and shut the door.  Maybe someone hurt you so bad in the past that you now have a trust issue and you think it is easier to "protect" yourself by closing off that hurt place and keeping it safe from any healing the Lord wants to give.  Keeping and holding onto anything like that prevents us frome seeing true freedom.  We have to be able to take thoughts captive themselves and bring them under the obedience of Jesus Christ.  But what does that even mean?  

Our mightiest weapon in God is the written scripture.  Jesus used in the wilderness to fight the enemy.  If it was good enough for Him, it should be good enough us, right?  When thoughts of fear enter our minds, we need to have a scripture ready to go to in combat to knock that fear down where it belongs:  

2 Timothy 1:7  For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

"No one loves me.  Everyone always leaves me.  I have no one in my life." 

Deuteronomy 31:6  Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you."

"God doesn't care about me or what happens to me."

Jeremiah 29:11  For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

It doesn't really matter what thoughts we think, there is a scripture we can use to fight the enemy, bring those thoughts under the subjection of Jesus Christ and into obedience.  But likewise, we take the good thoughts captive.  EVERY thought becomes captive.  Hang onto the word that gives you freedom.  Use your faith, as Peter did, and step out of the boat when Jesus says, "Come."  Our faith brings us freedom.  Our faith allows us to step out of our prison cell knowing that Jesus Christ is waiting on the other side of the door with an outstretched hand waiting on us to follow.  

But don't let fear deter you from your destination, as Peter did.  Don't look around at the storm that is raging.  Look ahead at Jesus as He leads you into the freedom that is in Him.  

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