JANUARY 3
THEREFORE, IF THE SON MAKES YOU FREE, YOU SHALL BE FREE INDEED
(John 8:36)
In these United States, we have assumed an interesting definition for the word, freedom. Many choose to define the word as a “right to do whatever we want.” As a result, many in our society do wicked and ungodly deeds in the name of freedom. Recently, I have been considering this definition and comparing it to God’s definition as found in the New Testament scriptures. I have come to the conclusion that God’s definition is not the same as this worldly definition.
The scriptures refer to the freedom we receive from Christ in the context of serving the Lord and, accordingly, choosing to do right. In essence, Christ has made us free to submit to the Lord and His righteousness. He has made us free by setting us loose from the bonds of sin and wickedness that held us and prevented us from doing good.
It is also instructive to note this freedom we can receive from Christ was purchased for us by the blood of the Only Begotten Son of God. As the only man who has ever lived totally free from sin, it was Christ’s blood only that was worthy of such a sacrifice for He truly died free from sin. This sacrifice allows us to also achieve the goal of being free from the bondage of sin.
Consider the following passages: Luke 4:18, Romans 6:18, 22, 2 Corinthians 3:17, Galatians 5:1, 13, James 1:25, 2 Peter 2:19. These all refer to the principle of freedom or liberty to be used to do good and they refer to sin as a “bondage” – the opposite of freedom. Specifically consider 1 Peter 2:15-16: “For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men – as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak of vice, but as bondservants of God.” God warns us not to use liberty as an excuse to do evil, but to use it to do good.
When people use liberty as an occasion to perform evil, their liberty no longer is freedom, but rather bondage. They become slaves to sin. However, the choice to become a “slave to righteousness” is not slavery, but rather true freedom.
What an interesting dichotomy! Slavery to righteousness leads to true freedom while, at the same time, freedom to sin leads to bondage. The same Man who established this principle for us also said that if we want to live, we must die. Only the Lord in His pure wisdom could establish such principles.
Christ frees us from our bondage to sin, and that is the one true freedom that allows us to serve the Living God. This is a freedom that those in our society who are not serving the Lord cannot possibly understand for, despite their perception regarding their own lives, they are truly not free if they have not been freed by Jesus.
Yes, in the eyes of the Lord, freedom is not the ability to choose wright or wrong. It is the ability that only Christ can grant us to choose only right. Until we have been freed from our bondage of sin, we cannot taste true freedom. And, once we have been freed, we dare not use our freedom as an occasion to sin for, when we do, we return back to bondage from whence we came.
Evangelist Jay H. Graham
DECEMBER 27
LORD MAKE ME A SERVANT
One of the many things that separates The Christ from man’s idols and fables of false goods is that He is Isaiah 42:1 prophecies of the Christ, referring to Him as the Lord’s Servant. Certainly, Jesus came to do the will of the Father and, in that, He was the Lord’s Servant. However, Jesus is also described as being our Servant! Jesus Himself said in Matthew 20:28: “. . .just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” The apostle Paul describes Jesus in Philemon 2:7: “. . . but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.”
This concept can be baffling – to think that the Son of God came to earth, not just as a man, but as a lowly servant. There are many fables of how false gods came to the earth to lead armies and to fight battles in the name of their own glory. Christ certainly came to earth to be glorified among men, but His primary purpose was and is to serve mankind.
Jesus came to serve mankind in several ways.
- He came to become a Holy Sacrifice so that mankind can be saved.
- He came to teach and bring a better way for mankind to live.
- He came to be a path for righteousness for those who humbly will bow down to their Creator.
He accomplished these, not as a victorious captain and not as a prince from heaven, but as the suffering Lamb of God, who came to serve.
Many times in the gospels, Jesus is pictured as a servant, whether as a servant who healed the sick and fed the hungry or one who washed His disciples’ feet. It is interesting how we see Jesus portrayed in Revelation 5. Even as He rules over His churches, He rules for the good of His people as only a true servant would.
Jesus portrays services as the highest ideal for his Christians. Jesus said that if you want to be great in the kingdom of God, you need to be a servant. Therefore it is a holy and right desire to want to be a servant as He is. For this reason, His Christians should pursue service as the highest calling they can receive.
Consider the lesson our Lord was trying to teach those who would be His apostles in Jesus’ discussion with them in Matthew 20:20-28. His disciples were arguing among themselves about who would be the greatest in the Lord’s kingdom. Jesus answered them in verses 26-28. “Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave: just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” If we concentrate on serving others, we will not have the time nor the inclination to try to be the greatest because we are busy serving.
The apostle Paul also wrote in Galatians 5:13, “For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” When we are tempted to use our liberties as an opportunity for our flesh, we are reminded to concentrate on something far greater and more spiritually profitable, “through love serve one another.”
With these thoughts in mind, I am reminded of the song that goes, “Lord make me a servant, Lord make me like You, for You are a Servant, make me one too. Lord make me a servant, do what you must do, to make me a servant, make me like you.” Indeed, make us like Him.
Evangelist Jay H. Graham