FREE MEN IN CHRIST

“Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’” ~ John 8:31-32

We hear much about freedom nowadays, and we are aware of how terrible it would be to have it taken away. The Bible likens men to slaves and as such unable to free themselves. God has offered such a freedom to those in Christ – The Liberty of Love. Our fallen nature views this liberty of righteousness as if it were bondage. The fallen nature comes to love sin, but sin leads to death and offers only temporary pleasures. The freedom we receive, that has been purchased by the blood of Christ...does not give us license to practice injustice. True freedom is justice, righteousness and love. True freedom does not impose on others. Even though God created us, He never imposes or requires anything of us that is unjust. The Psalmist caught the thought that God’s precepts were liberty: “I will walk in liberty (freedom) for I seek your precepts” (Psa. 119: 45). Paul captured the thought too: “Sin shall have no dominion over you, for you are not under law but grace” (freedom) - Romans 6:14.

Thus, we have established that righteousness is freedom. But how slow we are to perceive it. Many well meaning Christians have not enjoyed the liberty in Christ. They make rules of beliefs that bind and hinder their brethren from entering freely into the liberty of Christ. “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is LIBERTY” (2 Corinthians 3:17). Interpretations lose their power when righteous-ness of heart reigns. We often wonder how brethren can read ten chapters in Romans and then try to bind books, isms, and systems of reasoning upon us. Why not let the beauty of heart righteousness give us rest? Let our sincere conscience and our obedience to the knowledge we have in His word make us FREE in Christ. This is possible since we are saved by GRACE.

Truth does not mean a precision of interpretation, for if that were true Paul would not have made any provision for us to forego our rights so that we do not offend our brother’s conscience and cause him to stumble. He would have said, “Such things could be a good lesson to our brother that he might learn the proper interpretation.” As it is, we are not to eat meat or do anything that would stumble our brother. If knowing the truth means perfection of knowledge, would not Paul have educated his brethren?

Knowing the Truth then is knowing and yielding to the purposes of God. It is knowing His saving power and how we are to walk yielding to righteousness. Therefore, where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty, freedom to love right. James helps to stimulate us to this end: “But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the works, this man will be blessed in what he does” (Jas. 1:25 ). “So speak and so do as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty” (Jas. 2:12).

The law of liberty means a pure conscience, void of offense towards God or man, doing with our might what pleases God. It is believing, to the best of our ability, what is taught of God through His Word. After gaining this spirit, it is then true of us: “If Christ has made us free, we are free indeed.” For pure religion is a life lived in purity and love where our labors speak for themselves. (See James 1:27.)

Our great adversary would take this liberty from us. He works in many ways. He represents himself as “an angel of light” so as to deceive. He pounces on others, plucking the very seed of truth from their hearts, frightening them so that they cease to progress. One of his grand successes is to confuse in every way possible, so that the truth will have no effect. He seeks to stifle the study of God’s Word, and where he cannot control that entirely, he seeks to enforce conformity. He sets up authority (denominations) over religious thinking. He brings in cares of this life and as much of the spirit of this world as he can effect in us. He is intelligent and on a much higher plane than man, which makes man no match for him. He is an enemy to faith in God. He is “a liar and a murderer from the beginning.” He uses fallen angels (now called demons) to further his kingdom. He uses deceived men to deceive others, and he places them in power in the very presence of the assemblies of God to work his deceit and to plant strange doctrines. Contentions are his victory in the church. The Apostle Paul claims contentions are useful for nothing. We must be on the alert. Do these things leave us faint and discouraged? Fear not, brethren, for GOD IS OUR STRENGTH.

“Since God is for us who then can be against us? God, who did not spare His own Son, but gave him up for us all surely will give us everything besides! Who is to accuse us, the Elect of God? When God acquits who shall condemn; will Christ? The Christ who died, yes, who rose from the dead, the Christ who is at the right hand of God who pleads for us? What can ever part us from Christ’s love?

“Yea, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to PART US FROM GOD’S LOVE which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:37-39).

You will know the truth! What is meant by this? Paul grasped where the test should be. “I know not the speech of strange talk (doctrine) but what their power amounts to, for God’s reign does not show itself in talk, BUT IN POWER” (1 Corinthians 4:19, 20). In this, Paul is speaking about the effect of the power that the teachings have in our lives. How useless are all teachings even the best of interpretations, if they have no power to transform our lives. Long and complicated articles on chronology or deep studies on prophecy, if they have no power to bring us closer to God, if they do not edify and establish righteousness in our hearts and watchfulness of our conduct, they are useless to us for things that do not edify but confuse the mind. Paul’s reasoning was the test of a man’s teachings was what it accomplished in the hearts of the hearers. If a man’s teachings cause growth in the character likeness of Christ thus bringing fruit bearing results, it stands the test of the age.

Looking back on the history of the church, we see repeated falling away from the faith of the Gospel. They ceased to conform their lives to holiness in the absolute meaning of this word. The test of the age was upon them, and they yielded to conformity instead of the character likeness of Christ. If we are humble before Him, we will be on the alert, taking a lesson from what we have seen occurring before. Yet it seems strange that brethren, once enlightened and having been set free, would again entangle themselves in slavery by traditions of men. Let us notice, at the conference of the Apostles and Elders at Jerusalem it was decided no laws were to be laid upon the Gentiles. They were to be free to serve God in fulfillment of the love for righteousness that was in their hearts. What a marvel! The yoke of bondage in the Apostles’ day was the interpretation of law, of which Peter said, “Why fasten upon the Gentiles a burden that we or our fathers were not able to bear...” This same spirit of making laws and fastening them on the assemblies is still evident. Written and unwritten demands of conformity of interpretations are not only prominent in many of the churches but also among Bible Students. Channel doctrine is another means for teaching bondage. Channel doctrine always takes on the idea that they alone have all the known truth and to be the Lord’s, you must line up with them. In principle, Paul warned about this in Galatians 5:1: “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.”

If the Jew, after being saved by grace, took part again in the law, became a debtor to the law, likewise, we Gentiles if we set up laws and channels for our saving…take ourselves out from under grace. God’s grace has power to save. What power is in their laws of interpretations?

Jesus brought the flow of truth to individuals -- “He that believes on me, as the scriptures said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living waters” (John 7:38). Thus, free men in Christ become fountains. Let us contrast cisterns, wells, and fountains of water. Cisterns are man-made. They have no source of supply except what man puts into them. This could represent organizations very nicely and surely includes any that make their own creedal thinking. (See Jeremiah 2:13.) If we liken cisterns to Christians, such would be lean indeed; such would have great toil for small blessings. “...broken cisterns that can hold no water.” Surely this would show them striving to be self-blessers by their own works. Those that drink from cisterns will not obtain freedom in Christ for it represents them doing their own wills. Those drawing water from wells will not obtain freedom, because they do not go on to a complete surrender to God so that the fountain can spring up within them. Only free men in Christ become fountains! These are free from their own wills; free from the binding tie of organizations...free from the dominance of men or of Satan...free in Christ!

It may seem strange to put so much stress on FREEDOM, but the understanding of our personal relationship to God and to Christ, and to each other, has been so minimized, so beclouded by creeds, isms, teachings and organizations, that the warning is necessary. The common truth of our freedom has been swallowed up in sects. That is why brethren will refuse to hear a speaker, not on charges of teaching error, but on the grounds that we do not need him, for we have all we need in our organization. They cut these off from service and/or fellowship. The relationship of brotherhood is broken, but not on scriptural grounds. God is not a respecter of persons. Will He look kindly if we reject those whom He receives? “But every one that fears Him, and works righteousness is accepted with God.” Let us walk in love...and in the precious liberty of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! From Bible Student Examiner - E.C.W.