Freedom through truth, sacrifice, and the Spirit

Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider celebrated a divine service in the Polish Baltic Philharmonic in Gdansk in Poland on Sunday, 2 August 2015. Some 500 brothers and sisters from all parts of Poland and neighbouring Belarus participated in the divine service. The Chief Apostle was accompanied by District Apostles Wilfried Klingler and Bernd Koberstein, the Apostles Gerald Bimberg, Jens Korbien, and Rolf Wosnitzka from Germany, and the Apostles Sergey Bastrikov and Pavel Gamov from Russia. The sermon was based on Galatians 5: 1, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.”

Freedom through truth

“Christ has made us free. Through His word, the word of truth, He has liberated us from the lie,” the Chief Apostle said at the beginning of the service. Adam and Eve were deceived and became victims of a lie. The Serpent approached them and told them that they would not need God, that they could get along without Him, and that they could even be like God. Adam and Eve allowed themselves to be deceived. “In retrospect they realized that it had been a lie.”

Today too the father of lies wants to make us believe that we do not need God in order to be happy, the Chief Apostle said. But the joy and happiness Satan offers is short-lived, superficial, and fragile. “It is totally dependent on the circumstances; today this, tomorrow that,” the Chief Apostle remarked. Truth be told, man without Christ is poor, miserable and wretched. “We want eternal happiness that is there forever and goes as deep as possible. Let us therefore keep the word of God.”

Freedom through Christ’s sacrifice

“Because the first humans were deceived and fell for a lie, they became slaves of sin. Since then man has lived in the slavery of sin. People are not free. They are bound. We cannot come to God,” the Chief Apostle said. “Through His sacrifice Jesus Christ liberated mankind from this bondage. Those who believe in Jesus Christ will be freed from this bondage.”

The Chief Apostle spoke openly about his concerns. “Sometimes I worry that we get used to sin, that we get used to our shortcomings and weaknesses. ‘That is just the way I am. Just look at the people around you. Everybody else is doing it too. So it cannot be all that bad.’” And this is where things become tricky, he said, because we are no longer determined to fight against sin.

And sometimes things become even worse, because some people think that sin is fun. They love it. “Some might think now: Yeah, sure, carnal desires and so on … No, I am thinking in a completely different direction. Some are so happy and proud about all that they have achieved in life that they completely forget that they had to lie to get where they are now. To achieve what they did they had to be dishonest and violate the law of love.” Anyone who has walked the path of sin to get ahead in life—and was unkind and unforgiving towards other people on the way there—enjoys sin and no longer actively fights against it.

“Dear brothers and sisters, in order to be freed from the bondage of sin, we can count on the help and the victory of Jesus Christ. But we have to stick to our firm resolve and renounce sin and avoid it,” the Chief Apostle appealed to the congregation.

Liberty through Christ’s Spirit

“Jesus Christ will lead us into the liberty of God so that we can enjoy the same liberty as He,” Chief Apostle Schneider said. The divine personality should be able to unfold its full potential in us. What does this freedom consist of? The Chief Apostle provided three answers.

• God is free. He is not subject to the limitations of time. People are constricted by time and cannot free themselves from its grip. The Holy Spirit makes it possible for us to persevere and wait. “Those who allow themselves to be led by the Spirit of God can be absolutely sure that the Lord will come. That’s it! This is as sure as though it had already happened.”
• God is free. He is absolutely free to realize His will. Human beings always reach their limits: they do not always do all the good that they could do. But if they firmly believe in the Lord, He can still give them the victory over evil. “That is the freedom into which the Holy Spirit wants to lead us: we do what we want because we want what God wants.”
• God is free. He has mercy on whom He wills (Romans 9: 18). The Holy Spirit teaches us to look beyond the first impression and to shed prejudices. “That is where the Spirit of God wants to lead us. He wants us to be less oversensitive so that we no longer react to outward appearances, opinions, and prejudices, but see the neighbour more and more as God sees and loves him.”

Summary: Jesus Christ’s truth liberates those who keep His word. Christ’s sacrifice liberates those who renounce the evil one. And Christ liberates those who allow the Spirit to guide them.