You Been Set Free; Stay Free
Jesus replied, Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin…(but) if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:34-36.
The context of this scripture is a discussion Jesus had with the Jews in which Jesus pointed out that if they held to His teachings, they would know the truth and the truth would set them free. His opponents resisted His word and pointed out they had never been anyone’s slaves. Jesus then responded that the only people who were truly free were those who had been set free by the Son of God: “...if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
Sometimes we try to gain freedom from our struggles through all kinds of means such as sheer will power and various detox and other forms of social and medical programs. All these have merits and various level of success. But for a lot of people, there is a constant relapse. The battle to stay free goes on relentlessly. The reason is because sin ultimately has a hand in many forms of addiction. Our fallen human nature has caused our hearts to be corrupted by sin which evidently pushes us into different forms of less than ideal behaviors. Each of us has a natural bent to sin.
That is why the first thing God does when we give our lives to Jesus is to forgive our past, set us free from the power of sin and give us His Holy Spirit to keep us on the path of righteousness.
The Apostle Paul reminds us that we have died to sin and therefore we are no longer slaves to sin. We have been set free by the Son and therefore we are free indeed. This is a reality we can enjoy everyday by the help of the Holy Spirit.
A few weeks ago, I had a first hand witness of God’s power to keep us free. There was someone I had ministered to in some very dark alleys of struggle. This individual had literally lost everything: marriage, children, home, car, you name it...it was all gone and was facing serious legal charges as well. But this person came to church as a result of an outreach event and received love, support, prayers and the word of God. God brought about a miraculous restoration and set her free from the addiction. The test came when she underwent a surgical procedure and got prescribed the same pain killers she had previously been addicted to. She sent me a picture and said, “Pastor, I will fill the prescription But I will not take it. I will take Tylenol and trust Jesus to see me through because I have been set free.” She was victorious. The Son had set her free and she was free indeed.
You and I have been set free by Jesus; let us stay free and bring Him praise and glory.
Sometimes we try to gain freedom from our struggles through all kinds of means such as sheer will power and various detox and other forms of social and medical programs. All these have merits and various level of success. But for a lot of people, there is a constant relapse. The battle to stay free goes on relentlessly. The reason is because sin ultimately has a hand in many forms of addiction. Our fallen human nature has caused our hearts to be corrupted by sin which evidently pushes us into different forms of less than ideal behaviors. Each of us has a natural bent to sin.
That is why the first thing God does when we give our lives to Jesus is to forgive our past, set us free from the power of sin and give us His Holy Spirit to keep us on the path of righteousness.
The Apostle Paul reminds us that we have died to sin and therefore we are no longer slaves to sin. We have been set free by the Son and therefore we are free indeed. This is a reality we can enjoy everyday by the help of the Holy Spirit.
A few weeks ago, I had a first hand witness of God’s power to keep us free. There was someone I had ministered to in some very dark alleys of struggle. This individual had literally lost everything: marriage, children, home, car, you name it...it was all gone and was facing serious legal charges as well. But this person came to church as a result of an outreach event and received love, support, prayers and the word of God. God brought about a miraculous restoration and set her free from the addiction. The test came when she underwent a surgical procedure and got prescribed the same pain killers she had previously been addicted to. She sent me a picture and said, “Pastor, I will fill the prescription But I will not take it. I will take Tylenol and trust Jesus to see me through because I have been set free.” She was victorious. The Son had set her free and she was free indeed.
You and I have been set free by Jesus; let us stay free and bring Him praise and glory.
Prayer: Jesus, I thank you that you have set me free. By the power of the Holy Spirit I will remain free indeed. Amen.