Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. — John 8:36
According to John 8:31, Jesus was talking to a group of believing Jews who didn’t understand this talk about freedom and even said to Jesus, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?” (John 8:33). I have always found a bit of irony in that statement since the Israelites had been in bondage many times in their history. They had been in bondage to Egypt for 430 years, in bondage to Babylon, and in bondage to the Persians to a degree. Even at the time they made this statement, they were not free, but under the hand of the Roman Empire. I find it interesting that many people today have the same attitude about freedom as did the Jews in this passage. “I’m not under bondage to anyone or anything,” they insist. “I do as I please.” They make that statement because they do not understand the bondage Jesus was talking about: the bondage of sin. In verse 34, Jesus made this clear when He said, “Whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.” Yet how often people today view freedom from sin as a form of Christian bondage. Some seem to think living a holy and pure life makes a person a slave to religious disciplines, but Jesus says clearly that’s not true at all!
As someone with a past that I would do anything to change, I assure you that the long list of things I no longer do is what my freedom is all about. One of the greatest things about being free is living without regrets for actions done the night or day before. Don’t misunderstand me; I still do stupid things at times that I later wish I hadn’t done, but they are not the things that used to be my master. No longer do I have regret for the actions or words of a drunken tirade. No longer do I live in fear of getting caught for something I did wrong. I am free indeed!
If God has been talking to you about some form of slavery, don’t take the attitude of the Jews or the many today who say of their vices, “I can quit anytime I want. I am not in bondage.” Friend, if God has been speaking to you about something yet you keep thinking, I can do this and still be a Christian, you are a slave to whatever that thing is. But God wants to set you free, and believe me, you will never regret surrendering anything that the Lord says is hindering your walk or harming your witness or body.
He who the Son sets free is free indeed! Doing what He wants and not what you want is true freedom. No habit or practice can bring you that kind of freedom, no matter the liberty you may think it provides. Do what God says to do in His Word, and freedom from regret will be your joyous course in life. Take it from someone who knows!
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