- Freedom from Sin and Satan - Jesus tells us in John 8:32, “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free”. What is it that enslaves us, so that we need to be “free”? The Jews of Jesus’ day responded by asking Him a similar question in John 8:33. In this account, we immediately sense the Pharisees’ blindness to their own sinfulness. Such hard-heartedness is evidenced in many places in the Bible and is a characteristic of everyone who is not saved. The Bible clearly reveals in 1 John 2:16, “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world”. These same enticements are the bases for our sin, which is rooted in our own selfishness. They also form the foundation of how unsaved man thinks, speaks, and acts. That is why the Bible states in John 8:44, “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do ...”. Jesus continued to explain that they were in bondage to their own sin; but in spite of this, they remained incapable of seeing their wretched spiritual condition. The most fundamental deception of sin denies the very existence of sin itself. 1 John 1:8 declares, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us”. The Biblical notion is that all sin is based on deceit, or based on a lie. Deceit is the opposite of truth and is, therefore, the opposite of the Word of Truth, the Bible. The Lord Jesus makes the point twice in John 8:32 that it is the Truth that makes one free and in John 8:36 He states that it is the Son that sets a person spiritually free. Here Jesus is emphasizing the fact that He is the Truth, as He clearly states in John 14:6: “… I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me”. God saves His people through the truth of His Word, as we read in Jam 1:18: “Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures”. The word “begat” means to be “brought forth”, or to be spiritually “born from above”. When that happens, the new believer goes from being a slave of sin to being a slave of righteousness, or a slave (servant) of Jesus Christ. Rom 6:18 declares, “Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness”. Eph 6:10-13 explains who the real enemy is in this spiritual warfare, and states that a believer is to “put on the whole armour of God that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil”. 2 Cor 2:11 tells why this is: “Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices”. Eph 4:14 also highlights the deceptive teaching that is rampant in our day. Eph 6:10-18 highlights the objective for wearing the pieces of armor, which are defensive in nature – except for the Sword of the Spirit (or the Word of God) which is the only offensive weapon in the Christian’s armory. This weapon – the Truth as revealed in the Word of God, the Bible – along with all the rest of the armour of God can overcome Satan’s Deception.
John 8:32-36 “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”
Rom 6:14-18 “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. 15What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. 16Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? 17But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. 18Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.”
Eph 6:10-18 “... take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day [judgement day], and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;”
- Freedom from Second Death - We see in Jam 1:13-15, man is enticed by his own lust, and it is lust that “bringeth forth” sin, and sin “bringeth forth” death. Actually, these verses highlight man’s enslavement to sin and to Satan and, unless saved, his final destiny – eternal damnation in Hell. That is why the Bible has so much to say with regard to our sinfulness. From even a casual reading of the Bible, we are brought face to face with not only our innate weaknesses and inadequacies but, more importantly, with our sins that are sending us pell-mell to eternal damnation. We read in 1 Cor 15:56 that “the sting of death is sin …” In this verse, as well as many others in the Bible, we notice that God is linking death to sin. Because of this fact, we know that God is not referring to physical death but to spiritual death, which is ultimately the eternal second death”, in Hell. Rom 7:5 declares, “For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death”. To be “in the flesh” signifies that we are not saved; however, to be “in the spirit” is language that refers to somebody that has become a child of God. In John 3:6 the Bible declares, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” and verse 7 continues, “Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again”. This “new birth” is referred to as “first resurrection” in Rev 20:6. It is God’s grace that provides salvation for every child of God through the work and the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ, as Acts 20:32 affirms. We must never forget the enormous price that the Lord Jesus had to pay to secure salvation for each Christian. In reality, the Lord Jesus voluntarily became sin; and, consequently, He was guilty of us violating the Laws of the entire Bible and had to endure the penalty of eternal Hell, which is demanded by the Law of God – the Bible. Christ’s death served to free the true believers from their bondage to sin, the world, and Satan as Heb 2:14 declares, “… that through death he [Christ] might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil”. Rev 20:6 declares, “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection [born again]: on such the second death hath no power”.
1 Cor 15:54-57 “... Death is swallowed up in victory. 55O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? 56The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
John 11:25-26 “Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead [spiritually dead] , yet shall he live [have eternal life]: 26And whosoever liveth [born again] and believeth in me shall never die [shall not taste second death in hell] ...”
Heb 2:14-15 “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.”
- Freedom from Law of Sin and Death - Rom 4:15a informs us that “… the law worketh wrath”. In other words, the wrath of God abiding on a person can also be described as being eternally “under the curse”. This means that because we cannot obey every commandment in the Bible perfectly (Jam 2:10) – only Christ did that – we are subject to the greatest curse imaginable unless God, in His great mercy, grants us everlasting forgiveness. I cannot emphasize enough that the Lord Jesus Christ had to become sin – He had to become cursed – in order to pay the punishment that the Law of God, the Bible, demands – eternal damnation in Hell. Think about this: God the Son, Who is perfectly holy, harmless [innocent], and undefiled became unholy, guilty, and defiled in paying for the sins of each Christian. Thus, God was forsaking God at the Cross! God was cursing God! God was punishing God in Hell! The reason the Law (which is the whole Bible) is called “the strength [power] of sin” is because the Bible, as the Law of God, is designed to expose our sin and guilt before God and condemn our sin, “... I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet” (Rom 7:7). Moreover, it drives God’s elect to see their overwhelming need for a Savior, as Gal 3:24 explains. In essence the “Law”, or the “book of the Law”, refers to the whole Bible – the “sword of the Spirit”. The two edges of that “sword” signify its roles of either inflicting eternal damnation by the law of sin and death, or providing eternal life by the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, as seen in Rom 8:2. These are the two main messages of the Gospel of Christ. Rom 8:2 declares, “...the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death”.
Gal 3:11, 13 “But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. 13Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:”
Gal 3:24 “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster”
Rom 7:4 “Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.”
1 Cor 15:54-57 “… Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
- Saved to Serve as Servant of Christ - Our spiritual bondage to sin and subsequent salvation by the work of Christ is illustrated by the Israelites, who were slaves in Egypt for over 400 years until God delivered them out of Pharaoh’s hand using Moses as chosen instrument. The Christian, by God’s grace, has been set free from that bondage: “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:” (Col 1:13). Acts 26:18 pictures the transfer of power and spiritual metamorphosis that occurs when one experiences birth from above to become a servant of Christ: “To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me”. In the incisive passage, Rom 8:5-8, God is making the distinction between the two kingdoms we have been discussing. The phrases “after the flesh” and “carnally minded” describe the nature of one who is unsaved and in the kingdom of Satan. On the other hand, the language “after the Spirit” and “spiritually minded” illustrate the nature of a true Christian – one who has become a citizen of God’s kingdom. The words of 2 Cor 5:17-21 depict the wonderful salvation that God has provided by His infinite mercy and grace. Those who have been redeemed are the servants of God, and they live to do His divine bidding, to be “ambassadors for Christ”. True believers have been raised from spiritual death to life and have an insatiable desire to be obedient to the Word of God. Rom 6:12-13 becomes part of the new “marching orders” (the whole Bible) the believer now follows.
Rom 8:6-9 “For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.”
2 Cor 5:17-21 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”
Rom 6:12-13 “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.”
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