Real Peace: Freedom and Conscience in the Christian Life

Wiersbe

Preface

This book contains edited transcriptions of radio messages I delivered over the Back to the Bible international network.

These messages were first spoken to a listening audience make up of a variety of people in many nations and at many stages of spiritual growth. This explains the brevity, simplicity, and directness of the material. Were I writing a comementary or presenting a longer pulpit message, the approach would be vastly different.

In sending out these messages, my prayer is that they will encourage and build up God’s people and help them in their own ministries.

Part 1

Freedom

1

What Is Freedom?

While window-shopping one day, I saw a T-shirt with beautiful butterflies printed on it. The lettering on the T-shirt read: Butterflies are free! Of course, butterflies are free! They are free to be butterflies, but they certainly aren’t free to fly to the moon!

Our world is concerned about freedom, but very few people ask, What really is freedom? or, If I did have freedom, how would I use it? Here is what the Lord Jesus Christ had to say about freedom:

As he spoke these words, many believed on him. Then said Jesus to those Jews who believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. They answered him, We are Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man. How sayest thou, ye shall be made free? Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house forever; but the Son abideth ever. If the son, therefore, shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

John 8:30–36

The people to whom Jesus was speaking were confused about freedom. Imagine a Jewish person saying, We have never been in bondage to any man! When you read the Old Testament history, you find that the Jewish nation was often in bondage because God had to discipline them. In fact, at the very hour our Lord was speaking, the Jewish nation was under the heel of the Roman government!

Many people do not understand freedom. If you want to understand and enjoy freedom, you must understand the three affirmations that the Lord Jesus Christ made in this passage of Scripture: (1) God’s purpose for people is freedom; (2) God’s method for freedom is truth; and (3) God’s revelation of truth is Jesus Christ.

God’s Purpose for People

God’s purpose for people is freedom. What is freedom? Many people think that freedom is the absence of restraint, but that could lead to anarchy. Suppose we had no laws telling us on what side of the highway to drive. Suppose we had no regulations governing such things as medicine or money. Suppose we were able to do whatever we wanted to do. The world would be filled with chaos! Freedom is not the absence of restraint, nor is freedom doing whatever you please. That could be the greatest kind of selfish bondage. Freedom is the privilege and power to become all that God wants you to become. Freedom is the opportunity to fulfill your potential to the glory of God.

You were born with a tremendous potential. When you were born again through faith in Jesus Christ, God added spiritual gifts to your natural talents. God surrounds you with opportunity. You and I are free in Jesus Christ, not to do whatever we want but to be all that God wants us to be. Freedom is the opportunity to fulfill your potential to the glory of God.

You were made in the image of God. God made you to be free. When God put the first man and woman in the garden, he gave them freedom—freedom that was governed by regulation, freedom that was hedged in by protective law. They were free to work for God. They were free to walk with God. But they were not free to disobey God so that they might have their own way. Creation says to me, God made you to be free. We are made in the image of God to enjoy the freedom that he has made for us.

The Bible is a book of freedom. Beginning with the Exodus, when God set his people free, all the way through to the Book of Revelation, the emphasis is on freedom. Whenever the nation of Israel sinned, they found themselves in bondage. Whenever they obeyed God, they found themselves enjoying freedom. The Bible is a book of freedom. The cross speaks of freedom. The Holy City, the New Jerusalem, speaks of freedom. Every word in the New Testament pointing to Jesus Christ emphasizes freedom. Freedom begins with salvation, freedom begins with trusting Jesus Christ as your Savior.

Jesus said that whoever commits sin is the servant of sin (John 8:34). That verb means is in the habit of practicing sin. In other words, when you and I repeatedly, continually disobey God, that isn’t freedom; that’s the worst kind of bondage. When you trust Jesus Christ as your Savior, you have freedom from the guilt, the punishment, the judgment of sin. You have freedom in walking with the Lord, in the Spirit, overcoming the power of sin. And you have freedom to become all that God wants you to become. You have freedom to grow, to develop your full potential and become like the Lord Jesus Christ. God’s purpose for man is freedom.

God’s Method for Freedom

God’s method for freedom is truth. Two forces are at work in this world today—the force that comes from heaven and the force that comes from hell. The power of God works through truth, and the power of the Devil works through lies. Satan is the liar. Jesus made that very clear in John 8:44: Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own; for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Satan uses lies to bring you into bondage, and that bondage leads to destruction; but God uses truth to bring you into freedom, and that freedom leads to fulfillment. In Genesis 3 Satan said to our first parents, Yea, hath God said? (v. 1) and then he promised them, Ye shall be as God (v. 5). Satan was offering them freedom without responsibility, freedom without consequences, and there can be no such thing. Satan’s lie is Ye shall be as God, and that is the lie that rules the world today. Man is his own God. The world today is worshiping the creature more than the Creator (Rom. 1:25). Man no longer looks at himself as a creature who must be obedient to God. Man looks at himself as the creator. Man is now his own God! God’s purpose for man is freedom, and God’s method for freedom is truth.

Truth has been given to us in three different ways. In John 14:6 Jesus said, I am … the truth. Jesus is the truth. This is why he claimed in John 8:36, If the son, therefore, shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. This ties in with verse 32, And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. When you know Jesus Christ, you know God’s living truth, and that truth sets you free.

The Word of God is truth. In John 17:17 our Lord said, Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth. This is why Jesus said in John 8:31–32, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. The Word of God is the truth of God. The Word of God also exposes the Devil’s lies. When you and I have a personal relationship with the Son of God, we have truth. When we spend time studying and meditating on the Word of God, we discover the truth.

In 1 John 5:6, we are told that the Spirit is the truth. The Spirit of God gave us the Word of God. The Word of God is inspired by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit of God teaches us the truth of the Word of God. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (2 Cor. 3:17). When the Spirit of God reveals the Son of God in the Word of God, we experience the freedom of God. God’s method for freedom is truth. But let me warn you. Satan is at work with his lies, and Satan wants you to believe his lies. When you believe the truth and obey it, you experience freedom. When you believe the Devil’s lies and obey them, then you experience bondage. God’s purpose for man is freedom, and God’s method for freedom is truth.

God’s Revelation of Truth

Third, God’s revelation of truth is Jesus Christ. If the Son, therefore, shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed (John 8:36). The Lord Jesus Christ could not make us free unless He were free Himself. When you read the four Gospels, you see the experience of Jesus Christ here on earth, and He experienced freedom. He came to a nation that was under political bondage, but even more than that, it was under spiritual and religious bondage. The Pharisees had added so many traditions to the Word of God that the people were shackled. A yoke was put on the people that made it difficult for them to enjoy God. The Lord Jesus Christ was free from legalism. You don’t see Him bowing down to the traditions of men. He was free from fear. He slept in a boat in the midst of a storm! He went to Calvary without fear. You don’t see the Lord Jesus Christ in bondage to any person or system because He was free. If the Son, therefore, shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed (v. 36).

The better you know the Lord Jesus Christ, the more freedom you are going to enjoy. Our responsibility is to know Him. How do you get to know Him? Through the Word of God. Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free (v. 32). Do you spend time daily in the Word of God? Are you studying the Word of God? Are you learning the Word of God? Have you discovered that the Word of God is your key to freedom? Get to know Him, and that word know doesn’t simply mean to know intellectually. It means to have a living relationship with Him. Know Him. Trust Him. If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed (v. 31). Yield to the Word of God. Try to do all that God wants you to do. It’s important, very important, for the Word of God to fill our hearts and minds. We must know Him and we must trust Him.

We must love Him. If God were your Father, ye would love me; for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me (v. 42). You see, the better we know Him, the more we trust Him. And the better we know Him, the more we love Him.

We should obey Christ. If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death (v. 51). That’s an amazing statement, isn’t it? Many Christians have died, but death was not an enemy. Death did not devour them or destroy them. Death was simply the open door that led to glory. Our responsibility is to know Jesus Christ better, to trust Him, to love Him, and to obey Him. When we have this living relationship with Jesus Christ, we begin to experience more and more of His freedom. This freedom we enjoy will be seen in our thinking, our speaking, our behaving. We experience joyful freedom, and we become more like the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now the interesting thing is this: the more you become like the Lord Jesus Christ, the more it releases your potential. We have yet to see what God can do in our lives! You may think you have no gifts or abilities. You may think there are no opportunities for you. You may be discouraged. But the more you become like Jesus