Spotlight 9/2020: Conscious decisions make free!
Freedom does not fall from heaven. The spiritual freedom through Jesus Christ our Lord is brought about by man’s conscious decision: for Jesus Christ and against sin. District Apostle Wolfgang Nadolny from Berlin-Brandenburg in Germany explains this in his article.
In the Bible there is an account of a conversation of the Lord’s with a group of Jews who believed in Him. Jesus Christ makes clear that those who remain in His word are truly His disciples. They will recognise the truth and will be made free through it (John 8: 31–36). That means: Christ makes free!
Based on these few words it becomes clear that Jesus Christ is the acting party here. We cannot free ourselves from sin. Jesus Christ made it very clear: “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin” (John 8: 34).
Humans began to turn away from God when they started to listen to the lies of Satan, who had come to them in the form of a serpent. Already at the very beginning Satan sowed doubt with the words: “Should God have said …?” and talked the first two humans into believing that they would definitely not have to die if they did not obey God, but that their eyes would be opened instead and they would become like God and know what is good and bad. They believed this lie and thereby fell into the bondage of sin.
Through the rebirth out of water and the Spirit we have become children of God and are therefore called to be free. But we are also still human, meaning we have an inclination to sin. All too often we consent to sin. Apostle Paul writes in his letter to the Romans that we have been saved for the hope in store for us. He then continues and says that the Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness, and that He Himself makes “intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered” (Romans 8: 24–26).
Inevitably we are still weak and the good things we want to do, we don’t do; and the evil we don’t want to do, we actually do (Romans 7: 19). And in such moments the Lord’s words unfold their effect: they reveal the truth of our condition. We recognise our sins under the word of God and turn to Jesus Christ in a repentant manner, and He makes us free. How fortunate we are!
Thanks to God’s grace we live in the freedom of the children of God, and the more we become aware of this freedom the more we decide against sin. With the freedom given to us in Christ, we decide for our Lord Jesus Christ, for love towards God and our neighbour, for an active life in the church of Christ, and for eternal fellowship with God in His kingdom.
Photo: Jens Lange
