JOHN 8:31-32 – So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
THEME OF THE DAY: FREED BY THE LORD JESUS. In the opening of his letter to the Christians in Rome, the Apostle Paul would proclaim how powerful the Gospel of the Lord Jesus is to the believing sinner – For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith” (Romans 1:16-17) . The word the Apostle uses for power is the dynamis from which we get our English word “dynamite” giving us the picture of explosiveness. How fitting for that is exactly what the Gospel is – God’s dynamic power delivering us from the strong fortress of sin. But there is more . . .
In the Christian life, the power of the Gospel has delivered us from the domineering power of sin in our lives. Again, from the Apostle Paul – For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace (Romans 6:14). This glorious application of the Gospel means we need never be enslaved to any sin. Granted, there are certain areas of weaknesses and temptations that fight us tooth and nail, but the power not to give into any is found in the Gospel. We can and must say “no” to such areas of warfare and it is a “no” applying by faith the power from Him who is the Gospel. Yet there is far more in the treasure chest of the Gospel than forgiveness of sin and overcoming besetting sin.
The Gospel applied in the Christian life is the power to release us from the bondage of selfishness. Yes, selfishness. The remaining sin within us, and its DNA, selfishness, will not be removed in this life. Daily we must put self to death, put personal desires away, and walk in the power of the Gospel through our union with the selfless Christ. And it is this application of the Gospel to the believer that will determine a life of joyful and sacrificial service driven by the interests of Christ and others, or a life of joyless and self-serving service which rarely puts the interests of Christ and others ahead of one’s own.
When the Lord Jesus proclaims, “and the truth will set you free”, that freedom includes freedom from our most dangerous of spiritual foes – self. Here is the application. When tempted to be self-serving, or to have life largely orbit around the small world of me, my, and mine, stop and remember this profound truth that liberates us from ourselves – I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me (Galatians 2:20). It is this aspect of the Gospel that enables us to not only be freed from sin and self but bring us into the glorious refreshing and freeing experience of walking with Him who is the Gospel and dwells with us.
PRAYER: “Father, I praise You for Your Son and the liberating power of His salvation in my life.”
QUOTE: “The Gospel is not only the power to save us but deliver us from Satan, sin, and self.”
In the affection of Christ Jesus,
Pastor Jim