"Jesus
said... 'If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.
And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
They answered Him, 'We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been
in bondage to anyone. How can you say, ‘You will be made free?' Jesus answered them, 'Most assuredly, I say to you,
whoever commits
sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house
forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes
you free, you shall be free indeed."
John 8:31-36
Freedom to follow
God, not license to sin:
"What shall we say
then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly
not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do
you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ
Jesus were baptized into His death?"
Romans 6:1
"For though
I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to
all, that I might win the more; and to the
Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are
under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who
are under the law; to those who are without law, as without
law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward
Christ), that I might win those who are without law; to the
weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have
become all things to all men, that I might by all means save
some. Now this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I
may be partaker of it with you."
1 Corinthians
9:19-23
"All things
are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are
lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any."
1
Corinthians 6:12
God's freedom
refers to the spiritual freedom we have in His Kingdom,
not to the physical or earthly "freedoms" of the world.
Walking with Jesus, we may be hated, imprisoned and killed for
our faith, but such assaults do not infringe on the
freedom
we enjoy in Christ!
"Stand fast
therefore in the
liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be
entangled again with a yoke of bondage."
Galatians 5:1
"For you are all
sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of
you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There
is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free,
there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in
Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are
Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise."
Galatians
3:26-20
"...when the
fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born
of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who
were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as
sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the
Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, 'Abba,
Father!' Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and
if a son, then an heir of God through Christ."
Galatians 4:4-7
"...it is written
that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other
by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born
according to the flesh, and he of the freewoman through
promise, which things are symbolic. For these are the two
covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to
bondage, which is Hagar— for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in
Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in
bondage with her children— but the Jerusalem above is free..."
Galatians
4:22-26
"There is
therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do
not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For
the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from
the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in
that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in
the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in
the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be
fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according
to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the
things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the
things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be
spiritually minded is life and peace."
Romans
8:1-6
"...reckon yourselves to be
dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
...And do not present your members as instruments
of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being
alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of
righteousness to God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for
you are not under law but under grace."
"What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under
grace? Certainly not! Do you not know that to whom you present
yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey,
whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to
righteousness?
"But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you
obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were
delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of
righteousness.
"I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For
just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of
lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members
as slaves of righteousness for holiness....
"...having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of
God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life
in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Romans
6:1-23
"Therefore
submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake,
whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who
are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise
of those who do good. 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 for vice, but as
bondservants of God."
1 Peter 2:13-16
When earthly
commands clash with God's Truth, we are free to follow
God:
"...the high
priest asked them, saying,' Did we not strictly command you not to
teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your
doctrine, and intend to bring this Man's blood on us!
"But Peter and the other apostles
answered and said: 'We ought to obey God rather than men.
The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by
hanging on a tree.'"
Acts 5:27-28
"So they called
them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of
Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said to them, 'Whether it is
right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you
judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen
and heard.'"
Acts 4:18-19
"Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole
spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do
it." 1
Thessalonians 5:23-24