Understanding True Freedom Through Jesus
Recently there have been some programs from Apologia and Pastor Wallace that have brought out some unfortunate hostility. Over the years I have engaged in some of the hostility against Dr. James White, and Pastors Jeff Durbin and Jason Wallace but even more so with those who follow their lead. Our short message tonight is a gentle outreach to these brothers and sisters in the faith.
In John chapter 8 Jesus is having a discussion with the religious leaders of his day and in it we read the all familiar words: John 8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; 32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. What did Jesus mean when He said “And you shall know the Truth, and the Truth shall make you free?” To answer this we might first ask, What is the Truth that Jesus speaks of here that people can know?
The Truth That Sets Us Free
Some would say the truth includes the traditions and teachings of Man. Others would say the truth is the written Word. I suggest that Jesus told us what this truth was (that we could know), when He proclaimed: “I am the way, the Truth and the life and no man comes to the Father but by me.” In other words, Jesus was saying in John 8:31 “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; 32 And ye shall know ME (the truth,) and I (the truth) shall make you free.” The traditions of Man thus far have not set us free. They have ensnared us. The various interpretations and systemizations of the written word have not set us free, but have served to divide us and bring condemnation upon each other. So the first point I would like to make is to KNOW Jesus is to be set free.
The second question we might ask (in an effort to understand these passages) is, what does knowing Jesus the truth make us free from? Some Christians would say, “free from sin!” I would say, “Amen.” Others might say, “free from death!” And I would say, “amen.” But can we also say that knowing Jesus the Truth, “frees us from the bondage of the flesh of our former man or woman?” That really knowing Jesus the Truth will set a person free from all bondage therefore liberating us to truly follow the fruit of the Spirit?
Indicators of Knowing the Truth
We have Jesus telling us, that if we KNOW Him (the truth), I mean really really know Him then the indicator, the result, the proof of this knowledge, would be liberation and freedom from sin, death, AND the ways of the former man, which are antithetical to the fruit of the Spirit? Didn’t Jesus say, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another?” And isn’t love defined by Paul in 1st Corinthians 13 long suffering, kind; not envious; not boastful, not proud, it behaves well, is not self-promoting, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in evil, but rejoiceth in the truth; bears all things, believeth all things, hopes all things, endures all things and never fails?
In the face of all of this we might go so far as to say that IF we are not free from the ways and wiles of our flesh and all that it is about, that if we aren’t operating by the Fruit of the Spirit, which is love, then perhaps we don’t really know the truth? At least not to the extent of having been made free from the ways of the flesh. Because Jesus said “to KNOW the TRUTH (means) the TRUTH will set you free?” No person is free if they operate by the ways of the flesh – no matter the ways. When I first became a Christian I thought it good and right to attack others, to call names, to question the salvation of other believers, criticize, condemn, mock their beliefs and to endorse warfare with people who claimed Christ as Lord. In the end, I think I did this because I did not KNOW the truth as intimately as I could (or should).
Understanding Truth and Liberty
Immature babe appealing to tradition (as the truth) or the written word instead of Jesus the Truth, the Word made flesh and His Spirit, which always brings LIBERTY. As He matured me in the faith, I came to see more and more the error of my operating flesh as He brought me closer to understanding Him. This was not my strength or power but His able to abide in me as I abided in the True Vine by faith.
The Growth in Faith
In other words, as I grew in my understanding of the Truth, I grew in my liberty from the actions of my flesh. And I came to an amazing realization – which I have shared with you all before – if my doctrines and stances do not lend to more of the fruit of the Spirit in my life, then my doctrine and stances are not true! They are producing or supporting or reinforcing my flesh – with its merciless words, unforgiving approaches, judgmental airs, and condemnatory rhetoric.
The Fruit of the Spirit
The message then is unless we are free from the flesh we are absent to some extent or another of the Truth. The fruit of the Spirit is manifested in LOVE, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, self-control. When these abide, the Spirit, not the flesh leads. When other characteristics abide, the flesh leads, proving that we do not know the truth . . . as much as we can. I am calling to my brothers to consider what I am saying. That if their words and actions toward others are not in harmony with the fruit of the Spirit, they are not inline with the Truth – because the Truth will always set us free.
