Chapter 43
"Because the
creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the
glorious liberty of the children of God." -- Romans 8:21
This text speaks both of
bondage and liberty, “the bondage of
corruption and the glorious liberty of the children of God”. “The bondage of corruption” is that bondage into which sin has
brought us. It is the bondage of nature, the bondage which makes us all
miserable slaves and prisoners. This bondage of corruption is the forerunner of
the everlasting torments of hell’s bondage. Unless God intervenes, it will
bring us, and our children into eternal misery at last.
All who live in the dungeon of sensuality and corruption, as
the willing bond slaves of sin, dragged from place to place by the chains of
envy, malice, anger, and wrath, shall spend eternity in the darkness and
corruption of hell under the wrath of God, unless the Son of God makes them
free.
“The bondage of corruption” holds multitudes in abject
servitude to fashion, style, and social approval. It makes us all, by nature,
slaves to our own corrupt passions; and that man who is a slave to his own
passions is a slave to the worst possible despot. Physical slavery is the most
immoral, debasing abuse of humanity imaginable. However, this “bondage of corruption” is indescribably
worse. This is the bondage, not of our bodies, but of our hearts, our minds,
our souls! This satanic “bondage of
corruption” manifests itself in many ways. It is the bondage of sin, the
bondage of the law, the bondage of social acceptance and approval, and the
bondage of religious tradition, custom, and superstition.
The Lord Jesus Christ,
the Son of God came into this world to deliver God’s elect from “the bondage of corruption into the glorious
liberty of the children of God”. He came to set the captive free,
to open the doors of the prison which held his people in captivity, to break
the oppressive chains and shackles which held us captives to sin and Satan.
Christ is the great Liberator of men’s souls. He came to set his people free.
Salvation is the deliverance of chosen, redeemed sinners by the grace and power
of God “into the glorious liberty of the
children of God”.
The
liberty of God’s elect in Christ is, without question, a very controversial
issue. But it
is controversial only because of the prevailing errors of ascetic, legal
religion, which have become so universally accepted that most people associate
liberty with licentiousness and bondage with godliness. The fact is -- All
human religion is bondage, operates upon principles of bondage, and seeks to
keep people in bondage.
There is a
great need for plain, practical instructions about the matter of Christian
liberty. Let’s look into the Word of God and see what God has to say to his
people about their liberty in Christ. Every child of God needs to know that
since Christ has made us free, it is our responsibility both to stand fast in
the liberty of his grace, refusing to be brought again under the yoke of legal
bondage, and to use the liberty he has given us for the glory of his name and
the good of his people.
Jesus
Christ alone is the great Liberator of men. No one ever comes to enjoy true liberty before God,
true liberty of heart and mind, true liberty in his soul, until he is set free
by the merit of Christ’s blood and the power of his grace. This liberty of
grace is a blessed privilege of faith in Christ. Yet, there is a false liberty,
which must be avoided.
Everything good, every work of God’s grace is imitated by
Satan. He is a master counterfeiter. Multitudes are deceived by him with a
false liberty. Let all be warned. The word “liberty” has been greatly abused by
many. I have personally heard men use it to excuse and justify everything from
Hollywood evangelism, to homosexuality and the ordination of women, to the
worship of idols. Do not be deceived. All is not liberty which men call
liberty. May God graciously keep us from a false liberty that will bring us
into eternal ruin. Here are three
common refuges, refuges of lies, into which people run in hopes of finding
liberty.
1.
A Religious Profession
-- Multitudes are so naïve and gullible that they think a mere profession of
religion is liberty from the curse of the law and the wrath of God. They think
they are free because they profess that they are free.
2. Self-righteousness -- Many grow weary of their evil ways and seek freedom by making an
outward moral reformation. I fear that most of what passes for Christianity is
nothing more than a reformation of life.
3. Antinomianism -- Antinomianism is a vile,
atrocious thing. It says, “Since salvation is by grace, it does not matter how
I live, or what I do.” God’s servants today are frequently called antinomians,
just as Paul was (Rom. 3:8). We must not allow that slander to bother us. If
lost religious men, clinging to their self-righteousness, accused our Master of
being a glutton and a drunk, we should not expect to be treated any better. It
is impossible to preach salvation by grace alone and not be charged with the
evil of antinomianism by slanderous legalists. However, we must always be on
guard against that form of licentiousness. Freedom from the law is not a
license to do evil.
May God the Holy Spirit keep us from a false liberty. It is far
better to be in bondage and know it than to be in bondage and think your
bondage is liberty. Yet, we must not
fail to declare the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ truly does make sinners
free (John 8:32-36; Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:6-7; 5:1).
True liberty, the liberty of grace, the liberty of life and
peace in Christ is obtained only by the power and authority of God’s eternal
Son. Only the Son can make us free.
Let me show you the significance of those words.
During the days of our Lord’s earthly ministry there was a
custom among the Greeks and Romans. When a man died, if he left slaves they
became the property of his eldest son. If the son said, “I proclaim these
slaves, left to me by my father, free men,” those slaves were forever free and could
never be taken into slavery again. Under Greek and Roman law, that was the one,
certain way by which a slave could obtain his liberty. If the son proclaimed
freedom, the slave must go free. Therefore, our Savior said, “If the Son
therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” Jesus Christ, the
Son of God is the great Heir of promise. If he, the Son of God, makes you free,
you shall be free indeed.
The Lord Jesus
Christ purchased freedom for his people by his precious blood (Gal. 3:13). He comes
to chosen, redeemed sinners in the preaching of the gospel and proclaims
purchased, unconditional liberty to captives (Isa.
61:1-3). But the Lord Jesus Christ is
more than a proclaimer of liberty. He accomplishes
liberty, effectually bringing his elect into the glorious liberty of his grace
by the power of his Spirit.
“He breaks the power of cancelled sin; He sets the prisoner free!
His blood can make the foulest clean; His blood avails for me!”
The instrument by which the Lord Jesus brings liberty
to his people is the Word of God (John 8:32). The preaching of the gospel is
like the blowing of the jubilee trumpet. The more clearly the truths of the
gospel are preached and understood, the more fully liberty is enjoyed. Bondage
comes from error. Liberty is the result of truth.
Faith
in Christ brings God’s elect into this “glorious
liberty of the children of God” (Gal. 4:1-7). The moment a sinner is born again by God the Holy Spirit
and becomes (experimentally) a child of God by faith in Christ, he begins to
enjoy true, lasting liberty before God. As we grow in the grace and knowledge
of Christ, as we mature spiritually, we enjoy that liberty more fully; but the
liberty is ours the moment we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. It is both our
privilege and our responsibility to walk in, enjoy, and protect this liberty,
which the Lord Jesus purchased for us by his blood and gave to us by the power
of his grace. Any return to bondage is giving up the liberty of grace (Gal.
5:1-4).
Let me describe that liberty which is ours in Christ Jesus. May
God give us grace ever to promote it and walk in it for the honor of his name.
In Christ we are free from sin, Satan, and the law. This is where the liberty
of grace begins. When a person comes to Christ in faith, he is set free from
that bondage in which all men by nature are held as prisoners and slaves.
The Lord Jesus Christ also frees his people from the bondage of
sin (Rom. 6:14-18). Believers are not free from the being of sin, the body of
sin, or the acts of sin. All God’s elect, so long as we are in this world, have
to contend with sin. But in Christ we are no longer under the dominion of sin.
The guilt of sin has been removed by the blood of Christ. The condemnation of
sin has been removed by that same precious blood (Rom. 8:1). The power of sin
has been broken by the power of God’s saving grace.
In salvation the Lord Jesus delivers his people from the power
of Satan, too. By nature the devil holds a usurped dominion over all men, blinding
them, binding them, deceiving them, and taking them captive at his will to do
his bidding. In salvation the Spirit of God dethrones Satan. He enters the
hearts of God’s elect, binds the strong man, and takes his house. He turns men
and women from the power of Satan to God. He translates us from the power of
darkness into the kingdom of God’s dear Son. Thus, the believer is no longer a
slave to Satan to do his works and lusts. We are not yet freed from the
temptations of the devil, or his roars; but we shall never be devoured by him!
The
Lord Jesus Christ has also made us free from the law. This is a fact so
plainly, constantly and forcefully stated in the New Testament that ignorance
concerning it is utterly inexcusable (Rom. 6:14,15; 7:4; 8:2;
10:4; Gal. 3:23-25). Christ is the end, the terminating point, of the law for
all believers. In Christ, because of his blood atonement, the believer is
completely free from all the types and shadows of the ceremonial law, all the
rigors of Old Testament dietary laws, all the statutes and curses of the law,
and all the bondage, terror, and rule of the law as a way of life.
In Christ God’s people have no covenant with the law, no curse
from the law, no condemnation by the law, and absolutely no obligation to the law.
Christ has satisfied all the law for us and we fulfill all the law by faith in
him (Rom. 3:31). The lives of God’s people in this world are not ruled,
governed, and motivated by rules and regulations, but by gratitude, love, and
faith for the glory of God (1 John 3:23; 2 Cor.
5:14).
Some may think, “What
can be wrong with teaching God’s people to live by the ten commands as a rule
of life?” Let me show you. It is a direct violation of the Word of God
(Col. 2:16-17). Legalism promotes pride and self-righteousness. Legalism always
produces severity, judgmentalism, and a condemning
spirit. Legalism denies the finished work of Christ and causes men to look not
to him alone for everything, but to him and to themselves for assurance,
sanctification, acceptance with God, worthiness before God, and peace with God.
Many would have us believe, contrary to the Scriptures, that having begun in
the Spirit we must now make ourselves perfect by the works of the flesh (Gal.
3:1-3).
There
can be absolutely no mixture of law and grace (Rom. 11:6; Gal. 5:1-4). We must
never wear a garment of linen and wool before God, or plow with the ox of grace
and the ass of our own works in the same yoke. This liberty that we have in Christ goes
beyond mere doctrinal matters. According to the teachings of the New Testament,
it reaches to the common, everyday affairs of our lives.
Our
liberty in Christ gives us total liberty from all the religious customs,
traditions, and superstitions of men. Pharisees, both ancient and modern, impose heavy
burdens upon the consciences of men and women, by which they make void the Word
and commandments of God. We must never allow ourselves to become the servants
of such things. We have no obligation to adhere to religious tradition. Indeed,
we must not adhere to the oracles of men in spiritual matters (Matt. 15:1-6;
Col. 2:6-8, 16-18, 20-23).
Neither the Church of Christ, nor those men who are sent of God
to preach the gospel, nor any other group of men have any right to add anything
to the Word of God. We do not have the right to develop our own rules, dogmas,
or doctrines. Neither local churches, nor religious denominations, nor
councils, nor synods have authority to impose their opinions upon the
consciences of God’s saints. The Word of God alone is our rule of faith and
practice.
In
Christ, God’s people are perfectly free to use every creature of God for their
food, happiness, comfort, and satisfaction in this world. In the Old Testament things
were divided into clean and unclean categories for the purposes of ceremonial
purification. The Levitical law made the use of some
things unlawful. But in this gospel age we are given liberty to use every
creature of God. Nothing is common, or unclean of itself (Acts 10:14-15; Rom.
14:14; 1 Tim. 4:3-4). We are perfectly free to use those things that are
neither commanded nor forbidden of God, matters of indifference, as we see fit
(Rom. 14:2-3, 13-15, 20-23; 1 Cor. 8:9-13). I will
lay down no rules about those things. Let me simply offer a few biblical guidelines
about the use of those things, which are matters of indifference.
1. Do
not make any of these things a point of merit before God. Indifferent things become
idolatrous if you make the use or nonuse of them a means of obtaining favor
with God, a means of religious devotion, or a means of obtaining peace of
conscience.
2. Use all things
in moderation. Eating is not wrong; but gluttony is. Drinking a glass of wine
is not wrong; but drunkenness is. Entertainment is not wrong; but reveling is.
Use all things wisely, abusing none.
3.
Carefully avoid offending your brethren. To offend a brother is to cause him to go against
his own conscience, doing something he thinks is wrong. This we must avoid at
all costs to ourselves. My brother’s conscience is more important than my own
comfort, happiness, and satisfaction.
4. Make your use of all things subservient to the glory of God, the gospel of Christ, and the welfare of the church. In all things make love for Christ and his people the basis of your actions. Use all things wisely, for the glory of God, and abuse none.
John Gill gave this word of caution: -- “Care should be taken, on the one hand, lest such things should be reckoned indifferent, which are not indifferent, and so any precept, or ordinance of God be neglected; and on the other hand, such as are indifferent, should not be imposed as necessary, which may lead to superstition and will-worship.”
Here is the essence of the glorious liberty that is ours as the children of God: -- In Christ we are free to worship and serve the Lord our God. No man can or will truly worship God except by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. But all who are in Christ are free to do so (Eph. 2:18). In Christ we are free to call upon God in prayer. In Christ we are free to all the ordinances of the gospel: -- Baptism -- Church Fellowship -- The Lord’s Supper.
Those who are in Christ by faith have freely given themselves
up as bond slaves to him. We hold ourselves, all that we are, and all that we
possess in reserve for our Master, his cause, and his family.
“Ready to go, ready to stay, Ready my place to fill;
Ready for service, lowly or great, Ready to do His will.”
_____________________________
“All for Jesus, all for Jesus! All my beings ransomed powers:
All my thoughts, and words, and doings, All my days and all my hours.
Let my hands perform His bidding, Let my feet run in His ways;
Let my eyes see Jesus only, Let my lips speak forth His praise.”
And
our great Savior graciously grants his people deliverance from the fear of
death (Heb.
2:14-15). Through his incarnation, sufferings, and death he has delivered us,
who, through fear of death, were all our lifetime subject to bondage. Death,
formidable as it is, is no longer king of terrors to God’s elect. We have no reason to fear the death of the
body. Trusting Christ, believing that we are in him, and having a good
hope that we shall ever be with him, we choose to depart this life and be with
the Lord. We know that to die is gain. In the prospect of death and eternity,
we can sing, “O death, where is thy
sting! O grave, where is thy victory!” We both live and die in hope of the
resurrection. And in Christ, we have
no reason to fear the second, eternal death (Rev. 20:6). Being justified
by his grace and redeemed by his blood, the second death has no power over
God’s elect.
“Bold shall I stand in that great day! For who ought to my charge shall
lay?
While through Thy blood absolved I am, From sin’s tremendous curse and
blame?”
Still,
there is more. There is a glorious liberty yet to be revealed. It is this
anticipated liberty, which is our blessed hope in Christ. This is the liberty that the
sons of God shall have in the world to come. As soon as the believer dies, he shall be with Christ and with the spirits
of just men made perfect. Then he shall be free from all sin. We will
then be free from all the corruption and defilement of sin, free from the very
being of sin, and free from all the evil consequences of sin.
I do not pretend to know all that awaits
us in heaven. But this I know: -- In heaven’s glory we shall be free from every
evil thing associated with our sin. Can you imagine what this liberty must be?
We shall be free from all unbelief! – Free from all doubts! -- Free from all
fears! -- Free from all distresses! -- Free from all evil thoughts! -- Free
from all temptations! -- Free from all strife! -- Free from all pride!
Then,
when Jesus Christ comes again, these very bodies shall be raised to “the
glorious liberty of the children of God!” In the resurrection, these bodies shall no
longer be sinful, but glorious. Our resurrection bodies shall not even bear the
scars and pains of sin. Our bodies shall be free from every pain and disorder.
Our very bodies shall be immortal! Body and soul shall be joined together in
perfection. We shall be like Christ. We shall be with Christ. And we shall
never be in danger of the bondage of sin again! This is “the glorious liberty of the
children of God!”