True Freedom

 

Freedom means different things to different people. We listen to stories of refugees and realize oppression and bondage takes many forms, most of which we have never experienced.

Yesterday, one friend shared that the country she was born in forbid any criticism of government leaders. Those who did and were reported would likely not be seen again. When she moved to Great Britain and heard people speak badly about the Queen, she intensely worried for their safety.

Sometimes slavery is being forced to serve other people. Sometimes it is slavery to bad habits or a way of life. Always it is slavery to that power that holds people from being all that they could be — slavery to sin. When Jesus came, He said:

“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” They (religious leaders) answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. (John 8:31–36)

I’m thinking of what can enslave me in terms of my current life in my part of the world. One is fear, fear of future events, and current threats in political decisions. We just had an election in which the winner has a vague history in ruling a country and the opposition leader lost in his riding and must resign. Talk and promises can sound good, but fear of what happens next could put many in bondage to their fears.

Another threat is aging. A former friend died this month at 103. I can hear her laugh. Will I live that long? Be healthy? I realize that God could call me home anytime. I could be in bondage to concerns about who will be the first in our household to die and how will the remaining person manage? If it is me, will I need to move again? Many questions, but the future is never known or made certain.

I could also be a slave to my I-wants. A big one is wanting to see ALL my family knowing and walking with Jesus. Some do. Some are far from it. Praying daily for them, yet this burden could ruin my freedom to think or do much else.

I could also be a slave to ignorance. We listen to people rant about something they read on social media but didn’t check it out — a total pack of lies. I hear others go on about their problems yet never seem to look for solutions. They enjoy being in the dark? They like to occupy their minds with stuff that is not true? I don’t understand this, but realize I could also be a slave to lies.

Yet Jesus said, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” The key? “If you abide in my Word… and you will know the truth…” Knowing and believing what God says and sticking to it (abiding) is the key to freedom, freedom from fear, life’s concerns, selfish ideas and habits, and even ignorance. It means reading it, not just as an exercise, but in search for truth that produces trust and takes away fear. Truth that makes me know the folly of worry, the futility of my wants in comparison to the wonderful will of God, and truth that breaks the power of ignorance.

PRAY: Oh Lord Jesus, I am so glad that You are the Way, the Truth, and the Life that is offered to me as a gift because of Your amazing grace and mercy. I can be confident, not fearful or worried as I read it, joyful and assured of Your wisdom and care. This isn’t just about me either, but about the state of the world near and far. You are God and those who try to be will eventually discover that they are not. Amen.

Precept upon precept, line upon line . . .

 

Most writers of nonfiction order their material in logical outline, stating a truth and then giving more information about that truth. The idea is to make it clear, easy to understand, and easy to read and apply. The more complex the topic, the more this manner of writing is used.

The Bible is not written like that. My first reaction is that God did not want mere intellectual understanding without faith. Instead, He wanted to reveal truth in a way that faith is required to receive it. Not only that, faith is not complete in its onset. It is more like a child taking his father’s hand without a clue where he will be led, then discovering in the journey how much his father can be trusted.

As for the writing of this enduring Bible of nonfiction, it has one main purpose: God wants to reveal Himself to us:

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. (Hebrews 1:1–2)

The OT is like peeking at the future. Its readers did not get a full picture of the Son that was to come, but they were given glimpses of Him and His purpose for revealing God to us in a human body. One of the reasons is that we needed to see God’s Laws lived out in this perfect, sinless One. Jesus said:

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. (Matthew 5:17)

By doing this, Jesus showed that God’s revelation of truth, His nonfiction story, progressed from promise to fulfillment, from partial to complete. This is called progressive revelation in that the OT anticipated Christ’s coming; the New Testament records His coming.

Just like a new Christian cannot immediately grasp the meaning of the entire Bible, The OT writers didn’t understand everything they wrote. For one thing, it didn’t always apply to their day. That’s why Peter said,

Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look. (1 Peter 1:10–12)

This does not imply that the OT is inaccurate, nor that its readers were without full faith in God. Those who read it in its entirety along with the NT begin to realize that any distinction isn’t in the rightness or wrongness of the revelation but in its completeness. Just as a child progresses from letters to words to sentences, so God’s revelation progressed from types, ceremonies, and prophecies to final completion in Jesus Christ and the NT.

Some do think the OT is incomplete by New Testament standards or that it is totally unnecessary reading now that we have the NT and the covenant of grace. However, the OT is also fully inspired by God and that truth is affirmed often in the NT:

For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. (2 Peter 1:21)

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, (2 Timothy 3:16)

We need to remember that these NT writers did not have the full NT when they wrote the above affirmations. Also, while the OT isn’t all of God’s truth, all of it is true. As it is read, God reveals His character and His plan for redemption. It is like a vista unfolding before us while we walk along a path, even though that vision and those truths are not put in a logical, easy-to-understand order like editors insist upon today. The only way to see the wonder of what God reveals is by reading it, applying what is seen, and continuing to read, trusting God to make Himself known in the marvel of what He has breathed into the hearts and pens of His human servants.

PRAY: Jesus, Your Word is like You reciting into my heart what You want me to know. At times, some of it seems garbled or vague, but when Your Spirit gives clarity, it always gives me truth that I need for the things that are happening in my life or in the world around me. Some might critique the writing style, but the endurance of Your Book proves that You are the greatest author and You know exactly how to use words to change lives.

PONDER: how can my faith respond to 2 Timothy 3:16–17 and 2 Peter 3:16?

 

 

Love rejoices when . . .

 

It’s easy to see when my housework is not done or my makeup is still in a drawer and not on my face. When supper is not made, we know it. If I don’t take my prescription pills, I know that too, not by their absence but by the results.

It isn’t difficult to realize when the Spirit of God is not governing my behavior also. When He is pushed aside, I get symptoms such as jealousy, boasting, arrogance, rude toward others, self-centered, easily provoked, complaining about the way people hurt me, or finding that sin makes me happy or at least feel good.

Thankfully, the Holy Spirit also makes His presence known. I can tell that He is with me by the fruit that He produces: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22–23) but need to be careful about my focus. If I think too much about the wonder of this, I become self-focused and lose it!

One way to avoid that is a determined choice to do what love does: It “rejoices with the truth” (1 Corinthians 13:6) which is completely opposite to rejoicing in sin and unrighteousness. Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6) so that means concentrating on Jesus and rejoicing in Him, the Living Word of God.

Of course the written Word of God is how to do that. It is the standard of truth, the source of faith, and the way that God talks to me and verifies His will and His love to me. From reading it, I know false teaching and when I’ve fallen into sin. In a positive sense, it gives me the same delight as the psalmist:

Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day. Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the aged, for I keep your precepts. I hold back my feet from every evil way, in order to keep your word. I do not turn aside from your rules, for you have taught me. How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. (Psalm 119:97–105)

Some say that biblical doctrine divides people, but that is not true. Division comes when we try to interpret and apply it without obeying it, without the love God gives us, and without the fullness of His Spirit. Division also comes when we listen to false teaching from others or directly from its source, the devil who is the Liar.

And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it. For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist. Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward. Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. (2 John 6–9)

Biblical love operates according to God’s Word. Spiritual discernment might be needed but love produces excellence and purity of life, not division and sin. As Paul wrote:

It is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. (Philippians 1:9–11)

PRAY: Jesus, give me always a hunger for Your Word and a desire for truth, rejoicing in both so that I will glorify You. Protect me from the enemy’s lies and keep me from thinking I know it all as You have done for many years. Keep giving me surprises from You each day, truth to enable me to love You and love others. Increase that and keep drawing me to You. Grant also godly discernment for there are many voices and many demands for Your love. I know that there are not enough hours in a day for one person to take care of the love-needs in this world. May You fill Your people with Your Spirit and show Your love to millions who crave it.

PONDER: Philippians 1:9–11 and consider the reality of how love requires truth, knowledge, and discernment  as its foundation. Rely on God for all this and more . . . .