John 8:31-32, 36 says, “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”  Today we will look at living free in Jesus.  Many Christians do not live free, even though they are freed.  The work of Jesus is a finished work.  He died to make man free.  He already freed all mankind, but not all men are free.  Jesus burst the gates of Hell.  He took the keys to Hell, death, and the grave.  But a person must first hear this, and then get understanding of it by abiding in God’s Word, to truly become a disciple of Jesus Christ and experience the freedom He purchased for them.  An individual must first believe in Christ and His Word, then continue (abide) in His Word.  Then He will become a true disciple, and then he will know the Truth (Jesus), and the Truth (Jesus) will make him free.  For who the Son (Jesus) makes free is free indeed (in truth, completely).  Let’s get into God’s Word.

Many Christians might say they are free, but they are actually in bondage.  They are freed (through faith in the shed blood of Christ), but they do not live free. The Word is not reality to them. The Word has not truly come alive in them.  They sometimes have the outward appearance of freedom, but they are in bondage to the law, to sin, and to death.  They experience little or no victory in their life.  They may believe in the forgiveness of sins, but that is as far as they go.  Forgiveness of sins is wonderful, but Jesus did much more than that. Jesus came to make men free now - not just when we die. 

Freedom was the message of Jesus.  He came preaching deliverance to the captives , and setting at liberty those that are bruised (Isa 61:1, Lk 4:18).  Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there if freedom and liberty (2Cor 3:17).  The Law of Moses died in the body of Jesus (Col 2:14, Eph 2:15, Heb 7:18), and now we are free to marry another (The Risen Lord, Jesus - Rom 7:1-4). We are now children of freedom, not children of bondage (Gal 4:21-31). We now have the grace and ability through faith in Jesus Christ to truly live in righteous freedom. To truly live holy. Do you believe it? Do you live it?

I recently saw a film about a group of men that escaped a Siberian Communist prison and walked all the way to India. One of the prisoners, who was a life-long criminal in the system, did not go with the others when they reached the Russian border. Why? Because he knew nothing else. He could not handle freedom. He was actually afraid of freedom. Although he was freed, he wasn’t free. He was still in prison in his heart. He was comfortable in bondage.

It reminded me of a lot of Christians. They cling to the law of Moses, although they are freed from it and it’s curse (Gal 3:13). They are afraid of real freedom. They are afraid that if they don’t have the law stepping on their neck, then they are not going to live for Jesus. Why do they feel this way? Because they are carnal. They don’t live out of the spirit. They live out of the flesh. They only relate to the flesh. They are scared, because they are not truly submitted to God.  Practically, they live as an unrighteous man (1Tim 1:9).   

Do you know why grace preaching gets a bad rap? Because many hear it and cast off all restraint, and are back living as twice the child of Hell as they were before. So, it must be that “Greasy Grace, Sloppy Agape” preaching that caused them to do that, right? Wrong! It was already in their heart to live like that, and the grace preaching just revealed what was in their heart. In other words, they really don’t love Jesus, and it’s not really in their heart to serve Him.  Just like the Pharisees, they are rotten on the inside. Their Christian walk is nothing but a show. It is grace preaching that reveals that - not law preaching. Law preaching might scare some into acting right for a while, but it doesn’t change the heart (Prov 16:6). 

Do you walk in true freedom? Is your heart truly changed? Are you a true disciple, or a faker with a rotten heart that really doesn’t love Jesus? Does grace cause you to want and go live in sin? If so, then you’re not the real thing. You are living a lie. If you have to cling to the law of Moses to do right, then your heart is not changed. The law of Christ (Gal 6:2), the law of liberty (Jam 1:25), the law of the Spirit (Rom 8:2), the law of love (Rom 13:10), the law of faith (Rom 3:27) - that is the New Testament law. It is written on the heart. It is sincere desire and ability to live for Jesus Christ. 

It’s time to become mature in Christ. It’s time to walk in the freedom Jesus came to give us. It’s time to truly live for Christ from the heart. Christian, your are freed – now will you walk free? Be free in Jesus Name! Stand strong in your freedom (Gal 2:4, 5:1)! Until next time, rejoice in the Lord!