True Freedom
- His Servant - Rob McKee
- May 31, 2022
- 12 min read
So, what is freedom? Interesting question, don’t you think? Here are some definitions that I found online…
Definition of “freedom”
1. the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint
2. the state of not being imprisoned or enslaved
Pretty reasonable explanation, don’t you think? Simply put: “freedom” is the ability to make a choice that you are not being forced to make. According to the definitions we have found, “freedom” is power. We know that power enables people to do things that they otherwise could not do. For instance, since I do not possess the power to raise or lower gas prices, they look kind of funny at me and laugh when I ask the gas station attendant to reduce the price per gallon. I do, however, have the power to save 15% on my car insurance though, right?
Now, I do have the power to call and get a new car insurance quote. I even have the power to change my current insurance provider. But, what if I do not choose to use this power? Will my car insurance just change on its own? Nope. Do you know why? The reason why is because I am the only one that has the power and authority to change my insurance. Now, I can give power to others though. I am able to give my spouse, children, or others to make decisions concerning my insurance, right? I do this with my words. I give permission to others through the things that I say.
This is how we enter agreements with others. Sometimes we even put our words on paper. Like giving someone the power of attorney to make decisions on our behalf. Sometimes we can even use the words of others to enter into agreements, that is if we have the power to enter the agreement. What about marriage? Usually the person marrying the couple says, “repeat after me…”, right? What happens if you repeat those words with witnesses? Now, think about this, there is always a witness.
Matthew 12:36-37 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. 37For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.
Did you know that God, by His Word, gave you and I the ability to have freedom and power? How do we accept this power? Well, first of all, we must believe…
Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.
John 1:10-13 He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. 11He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. 12But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name: 13Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
The question then is, do you believe? If you say yes, then you are saying that you believe in Jesus Christ? Jesus Christ is God’s Word. Silly question for you here – how much of God’s Word is God’s Word? -All of it, of course! So, if you believe in Jesus Christ, then this means that you believe in God’s Word. If so then, you can pass the Word test, right? What is the Word test? Well, how much of God’s Word do you know? You cannot possibly say that you believe in something or someone that you know little about and be telling the Truth? In fact, God said that His people…
John 8:31-32 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on Him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; 32And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
How much of God’s Word is Truth? Again- all of it!
John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Knowing the things we have shared here so far, how many people really do know God’s Word? Perhaps this is the reason that so many people are still bound in sin? You know, slavery is a real shame. People who are in slavery cannot do what they want, when they want, can they? You might say that a slave cannot live life, or even that they do not have life, right?
John 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
But – does this sound familiar?
Romans 7:19-24 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. 20Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. 21I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. 22For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: 23But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 24O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
I’ll tell you who delivered Paul. How do I know, because He is our deliverer! Also- Paul told us so in the very next verse:
Romans 7:25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
You know, Paul was acknowledging here that, before he met God, on the road to Damascus, he was living in the flesh, being a slave to it. He wanted to serve God, but he said that he could not find it in his members to do so. You see, as a slave to sin, Paul, not unlike anyone else, could not overcome the influence that this world had on him through his flesh – being not yet free from the power and influence of sin that is. This is because our flesh is part of this world. So, when it is in control (which control is given to it at our birth into this world), sin reigns in our mortal bodies. But what happens when God gives us His Spirit? We now have the power to become the Sons of God! His Spirit frees us from the power and influence of this world.
2 Corinthians 3:17 Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
John 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
Colossians 3:2-5 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 3For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. 4When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory. 5Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry
Remember that we talked earlier about having power to change our car insurance, but what I we did not use this power? Would our car insurance change on its own? Nope. The same is true with having power over sin – the “power to become Sons (or daughters) of God”. You have to use the power Folks!
A moment ago we quoted a scripture in God’s Word that was instructing us to “mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth.” God, through His Spirit, gives us the power over sin and it is our reasonable service to kill it with the affections and lusts!
Romans 8:11-14 But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you. 12Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. 13For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. 14For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
How?
Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
How?
Ephesians 4:21-24 If so be that ye have heard Him, and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; 23And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; 24And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
The questions here to all that can hear and may be listening is this: have you truly been set free? Do you really know Jesus? Do you know the Truth? Are you practicing Truth? Either you are a child of God, or you’re not? There is no in between. What do those do that are not children of God? They practice sin…
Romans 2:12-16 For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law; 13(For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. 14For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: 15Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;) 16In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.
There is an old saying that tells us that “everyone has someone to answer to.” This is true, other than for God of course. Having freedom, simply means that we have a choice. The choice that we are given is to not have free will to do whatever we want at any time and to go back and forth between good works and evil works, but to choose who our master is. The difference is that we are born as slaves, sin being our master. But God, through His everlasting mercy and bountiful love, sacrificed His own Son so that He might redeem us by giving us the choice to choose to become Sons and Daughters of God.
John 8:34-36 Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. 35And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. 36If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
Luke 16:10-13 He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. 11If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? 12And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own? 13No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
We can choose to remain in bondage, serving sin. We can also choose to believe a lie by receiving a false doctrine and become a child of the devil. Or, we can choose to believe the Truth, that mankind now has the ability to choose yield to God’s Word and crucify sin in this life to inherit life everlasting.
Wake up! Stop believing the lies that are being spread on every corner, saying that no one can live without sin in the sight of God!
Matthew 19:26 But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.
Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
1 John 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
Galatians 3:1 O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?
Titus 2:11-14 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 12Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; 13Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; 14Who gave himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
What does God want to redeem us from? Sin! Redeem means to put us back in the place that Adam and Eve fell from; to restore us back to a state of having fellowship with God, in His righteousness.
What is the difference between us, once we are redeemed, and Adam? Well, we both are faced with a choice to choose to defy God or to serve Him, right? The difference is, assuming that we are chosen and redeemed, is that we chose God and obedience. Adam and Eve did not. Proof?
God created Adam and Eve and said that His creations were “good”. He gave them one simple commandment, right? Why didn’t He put a fence around the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? Because they would then not have been created equal to us; having the choice to either serve or disobey God’s Word.
You might say that they did not know the difference between good and evil. If you were to say this you would be correct, that is until they became disobedient. Well, isn’t a child innocent until it begins to become rebellious and disobedient? Yes we are “born into sin”, but this simply means that we are born into the world, and we therefore learn the ways of this world as we mature in it.
Psalms 51:5-7 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. 6Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. 7Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Yes, the difference is that Adam and Eve were created free from sin, we were not. We were created in sin. Either way, we all ended up possessing the knowledge of good and evil…
So, did Adam and Eve truly love God? I’m afraid that their actions proved what was really in their heart. You might say that God’s Word revealed the contents of their hearts because He gave them His Word in the form of a commandment, but they chose to defy it.
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Matthew 12:25 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.
John 14:23-24 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, He will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. 24He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.
Has God truly set you free? If He did, you are no better than this woman, are you?
John 8:10-11 When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, He said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? 11She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.
You have the choice, you know. You can serve God, or you can continue to live being a slave to sin, serving your own wants when you want, but never able to completely fulfill any desire to serve God in Truth and Holiness.
If He truly has set you free, continue to choose the good!
Hebrews 10:23-29 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for He is faithful that promised;) 24And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: 25Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. 26For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, 27But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. 28He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: 29Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?
What did God command you not to eat once He set you free? Did you read about it yet? There are many commandments within God’s Word. He spoke to us there. Are you listening? Here is the summary of The Lord’s instruction:
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. 14For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
Hopefully, all here understand that being a servant is not a part-time gig. Isn’t it time that we seek God with our whole heart and make a firm choice? Are you all in, or not?
Joshua 24:15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
Matthew 12:30 He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.
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Ephesians 6:23-24 Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.
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