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Writer's pictureDr. PJ de Bruyn

Redeemed with His precious blood

Text: John 8: 31-47

Text verse: John 8:32

The truth referred to here is Jesus as a person. The more you know Jesus’ words and redemptive work, the more you possess this truth. Truth is therefore about the way God delivers man from sin. When you believe in redemption through Jesus Christ, you are set free.

Everyone who was bound by the chains of sin, entangled in the darkness of lies, and now believes in this truth, is set free.

In contrast, the unbeliever lives without realising that he has a problem. He lives with the delusion that he is free. That is why they tell Jesus that they have never been anyone’s slaves. This while they were slaves in Egypt, were taken into exile and are now under the Roman yoke.

In the same way, we often live as if we are in control of our lives. We do as we please. We want to be in control of our own lives. We think that freedom means you can do whatever you please.

However, freedom never means you can do what you want. A fish’s freedom is restricted by the water in which it lives. It is only free while in the water. Similarly, an athlete experiences the freedom of being fit, but he is only fit within the limits of his exercise program.

Jesus shows us here that this is also the case with our life of faith. If we think we are free to do whatever we want, then we are actually still under the yoke of sin. The result is that we are then just like a slave who is never sure of his position. A slave can remain with a household for a long time and even enjoy many privileges and freedoms, but he remains a slave. He is never part of the household. His position remains uncertain because his owner can sell or send him away at any time.

We also experience the insecurity of sin when we embrace the freedom that participate in debauchery, drunkenness, extravagance, and all such sin, only to realise that we are totally alone. All the relationships around us collapse.

On the other hand, a son is part of the family. Even if he leaves home, he is still attached to the house.

In the same way Jesus temporarily left His Father’s home to come to earth. His mission was to set slaves free so that they could become His children and only He had the right to grant release.

To fully enjoy this freedom, we must change our lives. We can no longer live as slaves of sin because we are now children of God. We must become part of this family by coming together and worshiping the Father, through the Son. Only in Him do we gain the freedom to be a child and not a slave.

We have the assurance that no one can snatch us from God’s hand. The price was paid for us. We can now live in the certainty of being a child and not in the uncertainty of being a slave.

That is why Paul writes: “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.” (Phil. 3:12).

As believers, we must live with this certainty: We belong to God. The shackles of sin have been broken! The darkness is lit up by the truth of Christ’s salvation and therefore we can live in this glorious freedom of being His children. We are part of a wonderful family of faith.

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