31 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who
had believed Him, “If you continue in My
word, then you are truly disciples
of Mine; 32 and you will know
the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
John 8:31-32 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
True freedom comes
from knowing the truth. Does any truth work? No, it must be the truth of His
word, the truth that He is the only way to God and heaven, the truth that He is
God and died as a sacrifice for our sin, the truth that we are no longer
subject to the Law for salvation but are saved by His grace along. That is the
freedom He gives, freedom from having to perform rituals and sacrifices, from
having to obey every one of 613 laws in order to be saved. It is not freedom to
do what we want. It is freedom to live under His grace, the ability to serve
Him completely. Without this freedom we are slaves to the Law and sin. But if
we continue in, or live by, His words we will be freed from that slavery. The key
here is continuing. It is not a
one-stop shop where you believe once, repent once, and you’re done. We must
live by His word. Only His disciples are truly free and we can only be His
disciples if we live like He did. It is not that we are saved by obedience,
rather obedience proves that we are saved. Our freedom on earth can be taken
away. We can be persecuted for our faith. Our rights can be removed. The Holocaust
was full proof of that. But no one can take away the freedom Christ gives. Seek
the freedom that lasts!
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