Liberation

Liberation

You can only experience liberation if you first experience that there is something that is binding you. The bonds of sin are gruesome; they bind the sinner and force him to do the same evil deeds over and over again. As long as he is bound by sin, the curse of the law affects his heart and mind, because cursed is everyone who does not continue to do all things which are written in the book of the law. Nothing can weigh down and oppress a person’s mind more than this curse; and if sacrificing earthly goods could liberate and purify the conscience, many people would gladly sacrifice all their possessions to be liberated. However, it takes more than that.

In His great wisdom, God gave us a Redeemer—Christ—who redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. Gal. 3:13. Jesus had to come down to earth to help us, because “inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil.” Heb. 2:14.

Jesus had to become like us; He had to come down to our level, be born of a woman and be tempted in every way that we are tempted. As such, He was oppressed and afflicted, but when He suffered, He did not threaten. He spoke the truth and had no fear of those who were able to kill the body because His body was always presented as a living and acceptable sacrifice to God. His words were like goads, which is why the religious leaders of His day called out, “Away with this Man, and release to us Barabbas.” Jesus was despised, mocked and spat upon; afterwards, they hung Him on a tree between two thieves and He was numbered with the transgressors.

He in whose mouth there was no guile now had to suffer. But this is exactly what gives us liberation. God’s spotless Lamb was reckoned as a transgressor so that He could help the transgressors. The devil drove his servants to lay hands on the Holy One of God, but in doing that, the devil fell into his own trap and was crushed by the death of the Righteous One. If Jesus had been a transgressor of the law, the devil would have had the right to do what he did, but Christ was righteous. The one who causes the death of a righteous person makes himself guilty of death; this is exactly what the devil did.

By His death, Jesus rendered the devil powerless, the one who had the power of death. Because Jesus suffered as a transgressor (though He was righteous), He can now forgive the transgressors and justify the ungodly. Only the one who has been wronged has the power to forgive. Because Christ was wronged even to death, He can now forgive and save even to death, and in this way He renders him powerless who has the power of death, that is, the devil.

Therefore, if a person who is bound in sin becomes united with Christ in His death, the devil has to let him go. Here the devil, with all his powers and bonds, can do nothing. Christ conquered the principalities and powers on the cross and made a public spectacle of them. So, if we press in to Christ on the cross, we will come to the One who is truly triumphant and to the place where all enemies are conquered.

The secret of power is therefore in and with Christ on the cross. The devil can do nothing when the lusts have been crucified, for this is the very source of power. For this reason the cross and the power cannot be separated. There are so many who have tried to cast off the cross so they could just enjoy the power, but sooner or later, they have all fallen in the snare of the devil.

We find true liberation on the cross. There the curse of the law must release its prey, and the conscience becomes pure. However, from the moment the curse of the law lets go of us, we must obey the laws of Christ that lead us to the cross and self-control, because liberty in Christ does not mean that we are without law.

It feels good to be liberated from the curse of the law. You feel as free as a bird from everything and everyone. It is God’s desire that in this liberty we live a life that demonstrates godly fear; He loves the souls who serve Him voluntarily and with a willing heart. In this liberty, we must bear our cross, knowing that all things serve us for our good, we who fear and love God. Although we are free from all, we can—in this liberty—be the slave of all. Liberty makes us agile and quick; it gives us understanding and power for self-control and self-denial. If liberty is paired with wisdom and understanding, its possessor will—in the fear of God—be invincible. What more could a man need who has Adam’s mortal flesh?

We will be very successful in our battle against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places and against the rulers of the darkness of this present age, and all things will work for our best.

Amidst our liberty, we can learn something from Paul by the way he used his liberty. Whatever was gain to him he counted as loss, because the knowledge of Jesus Christ, the Lord, was worth so much more to him. Phil. 3:7-8. In all his liberty, Paul gave up everything so that he could know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, because he wanted to be made like Him in His death.

There are not many who, in the midst of their liberty, choose to partake of fellowship with Christ in His sufferings, who choose to follow Jesus when He—led by the Holy Spirit—turned toward Jerusalem and who choose to be made like Him in His death.

It is obvious that most people would like to be with Jesus at the wedding in Cana and share in the glory on Mount Tabor. But the desire of His heart is that we watch with Him in Gethsemane, and that, in love for Him, we share in His sufferings. If we do this, we will one day be glorified with Him.