“Houdini, the great escape artist, once claimed that he could free himself from any jail cell in only a few minutes. His challenge was answered by a small-town jailor. Houdini came and was placed behind the iron bars. The steel door was slammed shut. immediately Houdini went to the task of picking the large lock. Nothing happened. The bolt did not budge. Minutes quickly passed, time was running out. The mighty Houdini made one last attempt to free himself His final, desperate efforts proved fruitless. He had failed. Drained, he crumpled to the floor. His tired body came to rest against the cell door. To his astonishment and utter disbelief, the door opened; it was never locked! It was bolted only in his mind. He was never imprisoned. He neither knew nor believed that he was free. So, in his mind, he remained a captive.
Men have died to gain freedom. Liberty of the mind, heart, and soul is something to be desired and treasured. Throughout the of Christ, individual worth and freedom is affirmed. “…you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” The Good News of the gospel of Jesus Christ brings to mankind a greater and higher standard of freedom. The freedom that Christ offers frees us “indeed.” It liberates us from our own egotistical immoralities. The heart of the “not-yet-free-indeed” person is an incubator for all kinds of selfish desires! The world at large is not “free indeed.” Secular wisdom cannot unshackle the heart of a human being merely through education, improved living conditions, or equal rights. These things are good, but they cannot set a person free in the lasting sense of the word, only the Creator of humanity can do that. And He has provided that emancipation in Jesus Christ.
There are numerous barriers to freedom, [which] can rob us of God’s gracious and abundant provision of life that we have in Christ. Ignorance of Jesus as the Light of the World,’ and as the Way, the Truth, and the Life,’ can keep us in darkness. Jesus is the wisdom from God that dispels ignorance. Conceit can keep us enslaved to our selfish egos. Arrogant pride can cause people to presume that they have need of nothing outside themselves. This is the deception of humanism and the disguise of legalism. Fear. Anxiety. Worry.
Consternation. These are thieves that cheat us out of the joy of God’s freedom. Fearful anxiety can keep one in confinement: confined and captive to sin. This is why Jesus came and identified with dying humanity. The real self-righteous legalist cannot live free from fear because he is never sure if he really “measures up.”
Freedom is a gift we possess only when we receive it and use it. When one submits to the truth of the gospel and obediently trusts in God’s abundant grace to save and to keep one saved, then that person will know what it means to be “free indeed”: free from ignorance; free from arrogant conceit; free from fear. The saving grace of a loving God as realized in Christ Jesus is the most liberating power known to man.”
[From the book, Set Free? Stay Free! by Larry Deason. Request your FREE COPY TODAY! See FREE BOOKS]
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