Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him,
“If you abide in My Word, you are my disciples indeed.
And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.”
John 8:31-32
In order to experience the freedom that this verse speaks about, we need to know the truth and we can know the truth by abiding in God’s Word. His Word is filled with so many truths, but if you read on further in this passage you gain additional insight into the specific truth that is being referred to here.
Jesus answered them,
“Most assuredly, I say to you,
whoever commits sin is a slave to sin…
Therefore if the Son makes you free,
you shall be free indeed.
John 8:34, 36
As Americans we pride ourselves with the freedom that our country has established for its citizens. I for one am extremely thankful for it and thankful for those who are willing to sacrifice their own lives so I can experience life as I know it. The freedom that Jesus was speaking of in this verse is so much more important than the freedom we value as Americans.
To be free from sin is to have life.
When God created the world, He purposefully made mankind unique as compared to the rest of creation. Nothing else that He made was made in His image and capable of experiencing an intimate relationship with Him. He intended for us to know Him and for Him to know us. I have always been blown away by this truth. I find it incredible that the One who is responsible for making everything that exists desires a relationship with me. You would think someone with that much power wouldn’t have the time or patience to be involved in my life but He is. He has made the ultimate sacrifice to restore this relationship.
None of us are perfect and all of us are guilty of sin. We have all chosen at one point or another to go our own way, to rule our own lives rather than letting God do that. We are guilty of playing the role that He intended to be played by Himself. In choosing to play this role, we have become slaves to sin as the verse above describes.
Sin is not without consequences in this life or after we die. The consequences that we face after we die are eternal, meaning they last forever. We either go to Heaven and spend eternity with God or we go to Hell and spend an eternity separated from Him. If we remain a slave to sin and never seek the freedom that God has to offer then we face eternity in Hell. I realize this is a truth that many people choose not to believe because it seems too harsh, but God has made it very clear in His word that this is the way it is.
Romans 3:23 says:
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”
and
Romans 6:23 says:
“For the wages of sin is death…”
Hell is a real place and people will go there. Remember that God created us desiring this relationship and He knew when He created the world that sin would be a part of it. He made a plan to provide freedom- we would no longer have to be slaves to sin and could enjoy the freedom that He wanted us to experience all along.
Romans 6:23 continues:
“…but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
and
Romans 5:8 says:
“But God demonstrates His own love toward us,
in that while we were still sinners,
Christ died for us.”
The penalty that our sin required was satisfied on the cross when Jesus died. Jesus was a sinless man because He was God in the flesh and became the perfect sacrifice, able to pay the consequences for every person’s past, present, and future sins. He proved that He was God when He defied death and rose from the grave on the third day.
God has done all that He can do to make us free. Now He is offering us this gift of freedom. It is up to us to accept the gift of salvation that Jesus has offered so that we can have a relationship with Him.
Romans 10:9 says:
“that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and
believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
In being saved from our sins, we are experiencing the best kind of freedom available!
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