The Truth Shall Set You Free
“If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. …everyone who sins is a slave to sin. … if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:31,32,34,36)
Jesus in the above verses announces man’s liberation. We, to this day, still struggle at letting it become reality. He clearly laid the groundwork for our status as slaves of sin in His first great teaching, The Sermon on the Mount. But portions of it are often taken out of context to lead us to a wrong conclusion. Most of Jesus’ teachings are on a single subject or result from an impromptu conversation, but The Sermon on The Mount was a lengthy public address containing the pillars of New Covenant faith. No one was writing it all down as He spoke it, and everyone present would leave with a slightly different impression of what it all meant based upon their own perspective. The sermon would not be available in print for decades.
We should therefore consider this sermon as those present did. So, imagine yourself arriving home after hearing it, and being asked, “What did the teacher say?” Being now purely a matter of recall, your answer might go something like this, “Well, he began with some words of encouragement for those in despair and praise for good hearted people. And he taught us about prayer, trusting God, caring for the poor, and more. But what stood out the most was his emphasis on the fact that The Law remains fully in force, and even thinking of breaking a law is the same as committing the very act. And regarding justice, he taught that we should endure the offenses of others, and love our enemies. It seems that keeping The Law is now more difficult than it has ever been!”
Such a conclusion would be natural if you read The Sermon on the Mount from beginning to end, or better yet listened to it in its entirety. Jesus taught clearly that The Law was impossible to keep. Anyone attempting to attain righteousness through it will fail. That was in fact God’s intention regarding the Mosaic Law from the very beginning – The Law was and remains our judge, jury and executioner, making us slaves to sin.
An analogy can help bring this home: Imagine that you are far from shore in an ocean treading water. This ocean is ‘sinfulness,’ which is sometimes calm and manageable and other times rough and overwhelming. Your endless challenge is to keep your head above water, through a combination of trying to avoid sin and repenting of it each time you fail. This is your slavery. You have little time to do anything else, because you are literally consumed with keeping your head above the water. No matter how accomplished a swimmer you are, eventually you will become exhausted and surrender to a death by drowning in your sins.
But now imagine that at the very moment you surrender to this indisputable destiny, Jesus’ hand appears outstretched. He does not grasp your hand, but rather beckons you to grasp his. In a faith born out of desperation and hope you do so, and He pulls you up out of the water to escape imminent death. Jesus is now your Savior.
After this ordeal, does it make any sense to return to a conscious attempt to avoid sin and repent of it each time you fail? No, of course not! You already lost that struggle. You were as good as dead, but Jesus delivered you. Without Jesus you are dead. But through Jesus you have now “already crossed over from death to life.” Why then return to a life of slavery that leads to imminent death if Jesus has set you free such an awful existence?
We of course continue to war against sin. Paul admitted, “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.” (Romans 7:15) We are however, through Jesus Christ, a new creation. Our perspective on everything is now different. “The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (II Cor. 5:17) The Sermon on The Mount was in fact not a proclamation of condemnation, but rather a call to embrace and strive for a perfect (mature and complete) love reflecting God’s love. As James so eloquently put it, “I will show you my faith by what I do.” As a ‘born again,’ spirit filled, adopted and ‘set free’ child of God, gratitude compels us to please Our Father in a manner that the Law never could. The truth has indeed set us free to live a life of love rather than fear.