The truth shall make you free

John 8:31-32 (NKJV)

31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

Matthew Henry says that to those whom Christ makes free are free indeed. The Jews boasted of a false liberty for to remain free they must always ensure they were living life according to God’s law. However, those who abide with Christ and have been made free from Christ are truly free. Although the premise of the laws remains, restoration and forgiveness is always readily available from Christ, who died to set us free.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, poet and dramatist once wrote – “None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.”

Freedom comes at a high price. The freedom to live independent in the United States of America came after a long fought battle with the British. Americans wanted true independence from those oppressed their freedom to live as they desired. They wanted freedom of religion; they wanted to live without undue and harsh taxes imposed on them.  Most of all they wanted to be heard for Parliament was elected by people living in England, and the colonists felt that lawmakers living in England could not understand the colonists' needs. The colonists felt that since they did not take part in voting for members of Parliament in England they were not represented in Parliament. So Parliament did not have the right to take their money by imposing taxes. "No taxation without representation" became the American rallying cry.

If we think hard about it we do live in a country that has more freedoms that many countries in the world, but we are still not free. We must abide by the laws that set forth or suffer the consequences of jail. We still pay taxes. We have representation from those who live near us, but they do not always represent the will of the people.

In Christ we are truly set free. Christ put away the chains of the Mosaic Law. No longer did breaking a law require immediate penance, it only required asking Christ for forgiveness. No longer there was a need for a priest to enter the temple of God to make sacrifices for man. For before Christ the only way to cover sin was for a priest who had purified himself through rituals to enter the temple, make sacrifices to God and offer prayers of forgiveness for the people. For with Christ all sin had been forgiven; past, present and future. Christ gave us true hope to be free from sin. For our belief in Christ and knowing the truth about Christ sets us free from sin. When we cry out to Christ for mercy and grace He is right there listening to us. He is not off in some far off land where we cannot be heard. Instead Christ hears us and makes intercession for us, speaking to the Father on our behalf. Nothing is harshly imposed on us. Instead we are free. We can sin, but we grow to learn sin is our prison that holds us captive and with Christ sin had been overcome. We can live free because Christ showed us we can live free and have a wonderful life without sin hindering our lives.