John 8:32 "If you hold to My teaching, you are really My disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth set you free."
John 8:36 "If the Son sets you free, you are free indeed."
Do you feel free? I don't. Not completely. I still feel hindered by myself and by the world around me. Even by the church. I still have a drag on me, like a racecar with a parachute at the back, and I'm not sure what it is. I have some suspicions, and they appear to be tied in to the fact that I don't think I completely understand what happened at the cross. I know something mystical happened there and that in understanding and embracing it I will be set free - free indeed.
But the 'drag' on my life is still there, so my understanding of the truth is limited. We're missing something. Yes - He took the penalty for my sins. Yes - His justice was satisfied. Yes - He conquered death. I get all that. I've been taught it from birth. But what haven't I been taught? What am I missing? What else happened there? Why do I have the nagging feeling that I'm still far short of what is possible?
I want the truth, because as He said, it's the only thing that will set me free. Jesus said that if I hold to His teachings I will become His disciple. It appears that too many are holding to traditions and teachings of the church instead of to Christ. Therefore they are disciples of the church. Therefore they are not set free.
Again - do you really feel free? I think Paul did - and it's no coincidence that he had as his stated goal to "know Christ and the power of His resurrection." He only preached Christ and Him crucified. So I put all this together and I come to the conclusion that I better zone in on the teachings of Christ, the life of Christ, and what happened at the cross. The Truth lives there. Find that, and you find freedom.
4 comments:
amazing. really honest and powerful stuff my friend. as you know, i am very much in the same boat.
In recent years, I have come to recognize the great lack of recognition I had previously given the Christus Victor motif in Scripture regarding Christ's work on the cross. This motif is actually quite prevalent though I had largely overlooked it.
For example, Col. 2.13-15 has come to represent my most basic convictions about what Christ accomplished on the cross.
- He forgave us our sins
- He canceled the 'written code' against us (law)
- He triumphed over the powers, even humiliating them
We in the American church often ignore the emphasis Scripture places on the unseen warfare presently taking place ...even in our theology of the cross. Christ's cross was a cosmic victory that signaled the beginning of the ultimate defeat of the enemy.
The application of this truth in our personal lives is unparalleled. Christ is victorious!! And we too can share in his victory.
Paul tells us that we wrestle against unseen fallen ruler-beings bent on our oppression and destruction. Yet, Paul also tells us the weapons of our warfare have divine power!! We are not helpless ...we are not on the defense ...we are warriors doing battle against the forces of darkness that wish to enslave us!!!
Christ's victory on the cross compels me to live victoriously!
Thanks for that T.C. That is one of my favorite passages of Scripture on what happened at the cross. Death was defeated, and not just physical death, but all that it's wrapped up in, including as you say, the cosmic warfare that's going on. Paul said in I Corinthians 15 that the "sting" of death was gone. I think that's deeper than a saying at a funeral - I think it's present tense in our battle with Satan.
Your right, something more happened and I wonder if we can even comprehend it sometimes. We live in a world that moves a hundred miles an hour, and we are so busy trying to keep up, and Jesus says drop everything and follow me. The world says, think about YOU, HE says, love your brother/sister. The world says, look after your loved ones, and HE says, love your enemies. Maybe we should love first and then think second.
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