About a year ago the Lord began to challenge our church to look at the concept of freedom in a different way - a completely Biblical way. This journey the Lord set us on would shake us to the core and require us to give up and/or change some long held preconceived ideas in regards to what freedom is. My prayer is that as we share some of what God is saying to us about freedom - that you too will be challenged to let the Word of God and the Spirit of God speak to you about freedom.
One of the most frequently misquoted, and misinterpreted passages in the Bible has to do with freedom. How many times have we heard someone say, "...the truth shall set you free." Of course, the passage we are referring to is John 8:31-32:
- "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (NIV)
Most readers focus entirely on those last six words, and miss the reality of what Jesus is saying. If you examine the passage as a sequence of logical "if-then" statements it would read like this:
- If you hold to my teaching, then you are really my disciples
- If you are really my disciples, then you will know the truth
- If you know the truth, then the truth will set you free
While the statement "the truth will set you free" is true - taken out of its textual context it loses the full meaning of what Jesus was saying. For the truth to be able to set me free - I have to know the truth. For me to know the truth - I have to really be a disciple of Jesus. For me to really be a disciple of Jesus - I have to hold (obey) to His teaching. Can you see the reality of what Jesus was teaching?
How can we know the truth? This is revealed in John 14:6:
- "...I am the way and the truth and the life...." (NIV)
To this point we have identified two central truths about freedom -
- We must know Jesus (the truth) to be free
- We must hold to or obey His teachings.
However, our challenge was to look at freedom in a different way. In our spiritual life - we usually define freedom as the absence of some bondage or obstacle. For instance, if a person was an alcoholic and stopped using alcohol we would say they are free. In the same manner if a drug addict stopped using drugs we would say they are free. One problem with this approach is that it defines freedom as the absence of a bondage or addiction rather than the presence of Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 3:17 states this principle:
- "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." (NIV)
So stated another way - freedom is not the absence of some thing - but the presence of a person - the person of Jesus Christ. We are looking at freedom in a whole new way, with the recognition that it is the Sprit of the Lord, the presence of Jesus Christ in our lives that gives us freedom. So if we look at freedom differently - our approach to seeking freedom will change. Previously, when a person came to the church with an addiction - we would offer ministry geared toward that addiction and finding a solution. From this point forward we will use the principle of Matthew 6:33:
- "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness..."
The principle is that whatever we seek first in our lives orders and directs our lives. If our focus is on the addiction, then the addiction orders our life. If our focus is on Jesus Christ and His kingdom, they would then order our life and direction. Thus, our approach to ministry in regards to addictions and bondages will be to focus first on kingdom princples, let those order the individual lives, and then provide ministry for the specific issues, addictions, or bondages in the individuals life.
If you or someone you love is struggling with bondages or addictions - encourage them to be a part of our Freedom Foundation Classes that meet each Monday at 7 PM at the City of Refuge Hooven. www.crhooven.org
