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I. The bondage of the unbelievers:
А. Under sin.
B. In the self.
C. Under the hand of Satan.
D. Under judgment, condemnation, wrath, and death.
E. Under hardships, anxiety, and deceitfulness.
II. The freedom of the believers:
А. Already obtained and currently being enjoyed:
1. Freedom from judgment, condemnation, wrath, and death.
2. From the power of sin.
3. From the self, the flesh, and the old man.
4. From the law.
5. From Satan.
6. From the world.
7. From all kinds of troubles.
B. To be obtained in the future:
1. From the corruption of the old creation.
C. The law of freedom.
Release enables us to have freedom. When we were sinners, we were under all kinds of bondage. The Lord came to save us and to deliver us from bondage so that we might obtain release and freedom. Therefore, release — freedom — is one of the blessings of the Lord’s salvation. The Lord’s salvation delivers us not merely from sin and death but also from bondage; it enables us to obtain not only justification and life but also release, freedom.
Every worldly person, no matter how high his education, how high his social position, or how good his behavior, is a person under bondage. If he has not received the Lord’s salvation by faith, he is under some form of bondage, and he has no freedom.
1. “Everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin” (John 8:34 see also Rom. 6:17).
The first kind of bondage that people fall under is the bondage of sin. People are like slaves under sin. The Greek word for slave denotes a person sold into slavery. One who is sold into slavery is entirely under the control of his master and has no freedom whatever. People under sin are slaves of sin; they are controlled by sin and mastered by sin to the extent that they have no control over their sins.
People think that sin is merely a wrong action or bad behavior, but the Bible speaks of sin as a living thing within man. It has the authority and power to make people its slaves, causing them to commit all kinds of sins. Just as slaves must obey their masters, people under the control of sin cannot control themselves in the matter of committing sins.
2. “They themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom anyone has been defeated, by this one he has been enslaved” (2 Pet. 2:19).
Sin controls people and causes everything they do to be corrupt. Therefore, anyone who does corrupt things is a slave of corruption and cannot be free. Corrupt things, such as eating, drinking, womanizing, gambling, and smoking, control countless people and cause them to lose their freedom. Many are controlled like slaves to eating, drinking, womanizing, gambling, and smoking. Even though their reasonable mind does not agree with these things, they are powerless to refrain from them.
3. “I am...sold under sin” (Rom. 7:14).
Man is sold under sin. He is sold as a slave to sin. He is under the authority, control, and bondage of sin. He cannot be free.
1. “I see a different law in my members, warring against the law of my mind and making me a captive to the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from the body of this death?” (Rom. 7:23-24).
In man, that is, in his body, there is a law that wars with his desire to do good and takes him captive against this desire, forcing him to do all kinds of evil and wrong things against his will. This law in man’s body is a spontaneous power that captures him and forces him to do the evil he does not will to do. Under this law, man cannot decide for himself and cannot be free.
1. “Lies in the evil one” (1 John 5:19 see also Acts 26:18).
Satan controls and acts upon man. Today all people are under his authority and control. They lie in the evil one, and having no freedom, they are acted upon by him. People lie under his hand. He acts upon them like a doctor operating on patients under anesthesia, having no control over the doctor’s hand.
2. “The snare of the devil, having been caught alive by him” (2 Tim. 2:26).
Today man has been caught alive by the devil and is trapped in his snare, having no freedom and ability to free himself. The devil is very tricky. He captures people without their knowledge. Even though they think they are released and free, he ensnares people. The truth, however, is that all people have been caught by the devil without their knowledge, regardless of whether they are officials, farmers, laborers, businessmen, males, females, old, or young. They are in his snare, and they cannot escape by themselves.
3. “Whom Satan has bound”; “Oppressed by the devil” (Luke 13:16; Acts 10:38).
Satan uses many things, such as sin, money, and pleasure, to seduce people and take them captive. He also uses sickness and sufferings to bind and oppress people, making it impossible for them to be free. People are either seduced, captured, and enslaved to sin, evil, money, and pleasure or they are oppressed and cannot be free from the bondage of suffering and sickness. This is how Satan treats people.
1. “Fall under the judgment of God”; “Has been condemned already”; “The wrath of God abides upon him” (Rom. 3:19; John 3:18, 36).
Everyone is a sinner before God; they are waiting for death under God’s judgment, condemnation, and wrath. God’s righteous wrath is waiting to burst forth like thunder because of man’s sins before Him. His wrath will eventually explode upon the world. Anyone who has not repented, believed in the Lord, and been forgiven will be unable to escape this wrath.
2. “It is reserved for men to die once, and after this comes judgment”; “Who because of the fear of death through all their life were held in slavery” (Heb. 9:27; 2:15).
Everyone is sinful, so everyone will die. After death comes judgment; this is the fate that sinners cannot escape. People may be able to escape from other things, but no one can escape from death. Who does not wish to escape from death? But who can? Death is a fate over which no one has a choice, and this fate makes everyone fearful. Anyone who thinks of death or faces death feels that death is terrible. Who is truly not afraid to die? Man’s entire life is under the shadow of death, in the fear of it, and under its control. Man is a slave under its power without any freedom. Because of man’s fear of death, he often voluntarily gives up his freedom, doing many things that bring him into bondage. Death really is a power and a bondage.
1. “All who toil and are burdened” (Matt. 11:28).
Every worldly person toils and is burdened; no one has a heart that is completely at rest and comfortable. Moreover, most toil and burdens are impossible to escape or avoid.
2. “The anxiety of the age and the deceitfulness of riches” (Matt. 13:22).
The anxiety of the age and the deceitfulness of riches are worries and bondages from which it is difficult to be released. Many are plagued with anxieties and cannot rise above them; many others are deceived by riches and cannot overcome them. The anxiety of the age and the deceitfulness of riches have ensnared countless people, trapping them in hardships and causing them to lose their freedom and self-determination.
The believers have been saved by the Lord and released by Him from all kinds of bondage to obtain freedom. Obtaining freedom is related to two time periods — one is in the present, and one is in the future. In the present believers obtain and enjoy freedom. In the future believers also will obtain and enjoy freedom.
1. “Who loves us and has released us from our sins by His blood” (Rev. 1:5 see also Titus 2:14).
The Lord shed His blood to redeem us from our sins, cleansing us and releasing us from our sins so that we no longer have the problem of sins. All the troubles that come to us from our sins were resolved by the Lord’s blood, which has released us from them. Since the Lord’s blood has released us from our sins, it also has released us from judgment, condemnation, wrath, and death, which are related to sins.
2. “He who believes into Him is not condemned”; “Has passed out of death into life” (John 3:18; 5:24).
In the past we were condemned before God because of our sins. Now we are released from our sins by faith, and we are no longer condemned. In the past we fell into death because of sin, and we were dying — even dead — people. Since our sins have been forgiven, we have passed out of death into life. We have been released from the threat of condemnation and the power of death.
3. “Christ has redeemed us out of the curse of the law, having become a curse on our behalf” (Gal. 3:13).
Our sins brought us under the curse of God’s righteous law, making us those who should perish and die. However, according to God’s righteousness, the Lord was cursed by the law in our place. He redeemed us out of the curse of the law, which we could not get out of by ourselves. This releases us and gives us freedom.
4. “Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath which is coming” (1 Thes. 1:10).
In the past God’s righteous wrath was waiting to explode upon us because of our sins. Since the Lord Jesus suffered the punishment of God’s wrath in our place, according to God’s righteousness, He thoroughly redeemed us from our sins and released us from God’s coming wrath. Believers will not have to face the wrath that unbelievers will be unable to escape.
5. “Destroy him who has the might of death, that is, the devil, and might release those who because of the fear of death through all their life were held in slavery” (Heb. 2:14-15).
Through His death on the cross, the Lord destroyed him who has the might of death, that is, the devil, and released us, who were being held in slavery because of the fear of death. This released us from the control of death and gave us freedom.
1. “He...will save His people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21).
We were drowning in sin and could not rescue ourselves; the Lord came to save us from our sins, making us free and happy.
2. “If therefore the Son sets you free, you shall be free indeed” (John 8:36).
Despite the fact that people today strongly promote freedom and want to enjoy freedom, everyone is under the bondage of sin; their spirit and conscience do not have freedom. When a person enjoys sin and casts off restraint, it seems as if he is following the desires of his heart, but actually he is going against them and contradicting his conscience to be a slave and captive of sin. He does not have true freedom. He is a slave until he receives the Lord Jesus as his Savior. Then he obtains true freedom in his heart, spirit, and conscience. The Lord Jesus is the Son of God, and the life of God is in Him. When a person receives the Lord Jesus as his Savior, the life of God within the Lord enters into him to be the power for his human life, freeing him from the power of sin and giving him freedom.
3. “The truth shall set you free” (John 8:32).
The truth in this verse is the Lord’s word (v. 31), which is the Lord Himself (14:6). The Lord and His word are found in the Bible, so the Bible can set us free. If we read the Bible frequently, we will know and obtain the truth in it. This truth, which is the Lord Himself and His word, will free us from sin and its bondage, making us free indeed.
4. “Our old man has been crucified with Him in order...that we should no longer serve sin as slaves” (Rom. 6:6-7).
God tells us in His Word, the Bible, that our sinful old man with its sins has been crucified with Christ and has died with Christ. A dead person is spontaneously free from sin. Since we died with the Lord, we were freed from sin and are no longer slaves to sin. By the Lord’s death on the cross on our behalf, we escape the punishment of sin; by our death with the Lord on the cross, we are delivered from the enslavement of sin. The Lord’s cross saved us from these two aspects of sin and made us free.
5. “Sin will not lord it over you”; “Having been freed from sin” (Rom. 6:14, 22, see also v. 18).
We were crucified and resurrected together with the Lord Jesus, so we are no longer under the law but under grace; therefore, sin can no longer lord it over us. The more an unbeliever relies on himself to keep God’s law, the more he feels sin lording it over him, and the more he is unable to escape the power of sin. When he receives the Lord’s salvation and life, he will see that his old man was crucified with the Lord. Then he will stop trying to keep God’s law by himself, and instead, he will enjoy the grace of God by the Lord’s life. In this way he lives under grace, not the law. Having been freed from sin, sin cannot lord it over him. The Lord’s grace causes us to have His life, to be joined to Him, and to be crucified with Him, so we do not have to keep the law of God in ourselves. We can enjoy God’s grace by His life and escape the power of sin, having been freed from sin.
6. “The law of the Spirit of life has freed me in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and of death” (Rom. 8:2).
When we are saved, we receive the Spirit of life. In the Spirit of life there is a law, which is a spontaneous spiritual power that frees us from the law of sin and of death, meaning that it frees us from the spontaneous power of sin and of death. In the past the law of sin and of death was a spontaneous power within us, preventing us from escaping sin and death. Now God has placed the Spirit of life in us as another law, a spontaneous power, that nullifies the law of sin and of death and nullifies the spontaneous power of sin and of death. This frees us from the law of sin and of death, causing us to escape sin and death and giving us real freedom.
7. “There is now then no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has freed me” (Rom. 8:1-2).
No condemnation does not refer to having our sins forgiven but to being freed from sin; that is, there is no condemnation within ourselves (cf. 7:23-24). In the past we condemned ourselves because we could not overcome the law of sin; instead, we were continually captured by sin to do evil. Since the law of the Spirit of life has freed us from the law of sin, we are no longer overcome by sin and no longer condemn ourselves. This release within our being makes us bold and free.
1. “In the putting off of the body of the flesh”; “You have put off the old man” (Col. 2:11; 3:9).
Man’s strongest bondage and entanglements come from his flesh and the old man. From these there is no escape for those who are not saved. However, in Christ those who are saved have escaped the flesh and the old man. The Lord’s death and resurrection enables them to put off the flesh and the old man. The Lord’s life of death and resurrection enables them to experience this putting off and to no longer be bound by the flesh or be under the bondage of the old man.
1. “God sent forth His Son...born under law, that He might redeem those under law” (Gal. 4:4-5).
Our sins place us under God’s law. God’s law is righteous, and it places righteous requirements upon those who are unrighteous and sinful. If we do not fulfill the righteous requirements of the law, we cannot escape the curse of the law. The Lord Jesus came and paid the price for us on the cross, fulfilling the righteous requirements of the law and redeeming us out from under the law in order to release us from the law and its curse and to give us freedom.
2. “We have been discharged from the law, having died to that in which we were held” (Rom. 7:6 see also Gal. 2:19).
In the past we were under the law and bound by the law. Through faith in Christ, we have escaped the law. Christ was put to death as our Substitute. He paid the entire price required by the law, redeeming us out from under the law and releasing us from the condemnation of the law. In terms of our union with Christ, we were included in His death, causing us to die to the law that bound us and releasing us from the bondage of the law. The law cannot lord it over those who are dead; they are released from its control. Because we died together with Him, we have been released from the control of the law and are no longer responsible to it.
3. “Sin will not lord it over you, for you are not under the law but under grace” (Rom. 6:14).
In the past we were under the condemnation of the law and under the control of the law. The Lord Jesus died in our place to redeem us from the condemnation of the law, or from the condemning law. He also brought us to die with Him, releasing us from the control of the law, or from the controlling law. Then He made us live together with Him in resurrection, giving us His life and enabling us to live under God’s grace. Therefore, we are no longer controlled under law; rather, we are free under grace.
4. “For freedom...Christ has set us free...Do not be entangled with a yoke of slavery again” (Gal. 5:1).
The words freedom and set...free refer to being set free from the law and being given freedom. In the past we were under the law and entangled with a yoke of slavery. Christ released us through His redemption and set us free from the yoke of the law, giving us freedom.
5. “So then you are no longer a slave but a son” (Gal. 4:7).
A person under the law is like a slave without freedom. When he receives the Son of God, the Lord Jesus, as his Savior, the Spirit of sonship enters into him and gives him the life of God, making him God’s son and giving him freedom.
6. “You were called for freedom” (Gal. 5:13).
Because we sinned, we fell under the bondage of the law. God came and called us to receive His salvation and thus released us from the bondage of the law and gave us freedom.
7. “Our freedom which we have in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 2:4).
A person under the law is a slave to ordinances and is bound by the letter; after he receives the Lord’s salvation, he becomes a son of God in Christ and enjoys the freedom of life.
8. “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Cor. 3:17).
The letter of the law places people under bondage, but the Spirit of the Lord frees them. Before a person is saved, he does not have the Spirit of the Lord; consequently, he is under the bondage of the letter of the law. When we were saved, we received the Spirit of the Lord; consequently, the Spirit of the Lord freed us from the bondage of the letter of the law, giving us freedom.
1. “Release to the captives, and...release those who are oppressed” (Luke 4:18; cf. Acts 10:38).
In the past we were Satan’s captives under his oppression. The death of the Lord on the cross destroyed Satan and released us from under his hand, giving us freedom.
2. “Who delivered us out of the authority of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love” (Col. 1:13 see also Acts 26:18).
Satan has a kingdom, and he controls all the people in his kingdom. The authority of darkness in Colossians 1:13 is the kingdom of Satan. When we were sinners, we were in his kingdom of darkness and under his authority and cruel control. When we believed and received the Lord’s salvation through His Holy Spirit of power and His resurrection life, the Lord delivered us out of the kingdom of darkness, that is, out from under Satan’s authority. He also transferred us into His own kingdom of light, making us His children of light who enjoy freedom in the light.
3. “The Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one” (2 Thes. 3:3 see also John 17:15; Matt. 6:13).
Satan is evil, so the Bible calls him the evil one. In the past we were ill-treated and corrupted under his hand. The Lord delivered us out from under his hand, and He will also establish us and guard us from him. This was the Lord’s prayer for us as He was about to leave the world, and it should be our frequent prayer. God is faithful, and He will accomplish this thing.
1. “Who gave Himself for our sins that He might rescue us out of the present evil age” (Gal. 1:4).
The present evil age is the part of the world that is before our eyes; it is used by Satan to seduce, cheat, and control people. In the past we were under the seduction of the present evil age, we were tricked by Satan to come under his control, and we were unable to keep ourselves from following the customs and fashions of this evil age. The Lord offered Himself up and accomplished redemption not only to deliver us from sin and Satan but also to deliver us from the present evil age, which is the world under Satan’s hand. He delivers us out of the customs and fashions of this evil age so that we may have freedom.
2. “You died with Christ from the elements of the world” (Col. 2:20).
The elements of the world are the religious ordinances and philosophies of the world (cf. vv. 8, 21-22). Satan, through human wisdom and cleverness, invented the religions, ordinances, and philosophies in the world to keep men in bondage. Since we are joined to the Lord and died together with Him to escape the world, we were also delivered from the bondage of worldly religions, ordinances, and philosophies. Now we enjoy the freedom of His salvation.
3. “Having escaped the corruption which is in the world by lust” (2 Pet. 1:4).
The world is filled with all kinds of corruption. This corruption comes from human lusts. People live in corruption and give their lusts free rein. Before we were saved, we lived in our lusts and could not stop ourselves from fulfilling them. When the Lord saved us with the life of God, we were delivered from the corruption which is in the world by lust. Now we enjoy freedom in God’s holy nature.
4. “You were redeemed from your vain manner of life handed down from your fathers” (1 Pet. 1:18, see also v. 19).
The vain manner of life of the people of the world has been handed down from their fathers. It has been passed on from generation to generation, so it is hard to escape. The redemption accomplished by the Lord on the cross and the precious blood He shed brought us back to God. This delivered us from the vain manner of life in the world passed on to us through the generations. We have been freed to live in God’s holiness.
1. “Casting all your anxiety on Him because it matters to Him concerning you” (1 Pet. 5:7 see also Psa. 55:22; Phil. 4:6-7; Matt. 6:25-34).
Men on earth are full of anxiety. They worry about their food and clothing, their health, their future, their children, and many more things. They have no way and no place to go to rid themselves of their anxiety. They can only gain more anxiety; they cannot rid themselves of anxiety. Anxiety is a great entanglement and oppression to humans. However, when we are saved and become children of God, we can cast all our anxiety on Him. By means of prayer and petition, we can cast all our anxiety upon God. Prayer and petition are the means for casting off our anxiety, and God is the place where we can cast it. When we make known our anxieties to God by means of prayer and petition, when we cast our anxiety on Him, inwardly our entire being is unburdened. We are so comfortable, so happy. When we cast all our anxiety on God, He is willing to receive it. He is willing to bear it for us because it matters to Him concerning us. Matters to Him concerning you can be translated “He cares for you.” God cares for us. At all times and in all places, by means of prayer and petition, we should cast our anxiety and burdens on God to free ourselves of the entanglement and oppression of anxiety so that we can be free and happy.
2. “The Lord is my Helper”; “Jehovah is...my salvation; / Whom shall I fear?”; “There is no fear in love” (Heb. 13:6; Psa. 27:1; 1 John 4:18).
Fear is also something people cannot avoid; it is a suffering that is hard to overcome. Who lives in the world without fear? Who can overcome fear? Some fear illness, some fear death, some fear failing in school, some fear losing money in business, and some fear that their children will become bad. If a person is not afraid of one thing, he is afraid of another thing. He is afraid of this life, and he is afraid of the next. People are afraid of many things in the present and in the future because they have lost God. God is man’s Protector; He is the One on whom they can rely. Without God, man has no protection and nothing on which to rely, so he can only know fear. But those who are saved have God as their Helper and salvation, so they can overcome fear. Since God is our Helper, what shall we fear? Since God is our salvation, whom shall we fear? When we have God, we have no fear. As we continue to love God, we will become even more fearless and bold because we will escape the suffering from fear.
3. “The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of trial”; “God...will, with the temptation, also make the way out” (2 Pet. 2:9; 1 Cor. 10:13).
The world is filled with temptations that trap people in sin or cause people to fall. Very few people can meet, overcome, and escape these temptations. But the Lord delivers us out of temptation. If we fear the Lord and live a godly life in Him, whenever we meet with temptation, the Lord will deliver us. When we are tempted, the Lord knows we need His salvation, and He also knows how to save us. Therefore, when we are tempted, He makes a way out for us to escape the troubling temptation so that we can be released.
4. “Come to Me all who toil and are burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28 see also Heb. 12:1).
Before we were saved, we were always toiling and burdened, so we had no rest for our souls. But once we come to the Lord and receive Him as our Savior, He takes our burdens and gives us rest to comfort our souls.
5. “I have learned, in whatever circumstances I am, to be content” (Phil. 4:11, see also vv. 12-13; 1 Tim. 6:8; Heb. 13:5).
Worldly people do not have God as their support and satisfaction, so they are greedy for countless things in their lives. No matter the circumstances, they are never content. Their avarice troubles them and prohibits them from finding rest. But we belong to God, and we have Him as our support and satisfaction. Therefore, we do not need to be greedy for the necessities of life, and we can be content in any circumstance. This enables us to escape the troubling of avarice and to enjoy the happiness of contentment and blessing that comes from not being greedy.
1. “The anxious watching of the creation...the creation was made subject to vanity...in hope that the creation itself will also be freed from the slavery of corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God...We ourselves groan in ourselves, eagerly awaiting sonship, the redemption of our body” (Rom. 8:19-23).
Although the Lord’s salvation released us from slavery, bondage, and troubles and gave us the enjoyment of freedom, there is a form of slavery in us that will remain until the Lord returns and His salvation delivers us fully. This slavery is the slavery of the corruption of the old creation, which comes to us through our body. Even though our spirit has been regenerated to become part of the new creation, our outward body is still part of the old creation. This body of the old creation is subject to vanity and is under the slavery of corruption; it groans and travails together with the entire old creation. Therefore, we have release and freedom in the spirit, but often our body is still in slavery and under corruption. Many times our body becomes weak, sick, crippled, and aged, so it brings us into bondage from which we cannot be freed. At such times we feel the slavery of the corruption of the old creation and its vanity. We do, however, have the hope that when the Lord returns, He will use His power, by which all things are subjected, to transfigure our body of humiliation, which is subject to the slavery of the corruption of the old creation, into a glorious body (Phil. 3:20-21). This will be the redemption of our body. Although at the time of our salvation our spirit obtained the freedom of the new creation, our body must wait until the Lord’s return before it can experience the Lord’s redemption and escape the slavery of the old creation. At that time our body will be transfigured into a glorious body just like the Lord’s glorious body, and it will be entirely in the new creation with the glorious freedom of the new creation. The glorious freedom of the new creation that God has prepared for us has not been seen or heard or even come up in man’s heart (1 Cor. 2:9). We will obtain the glorious freedom of the new creation and obtain the sonship of the children of God. Although today we have the life of the Son of God and have become sons of God, we will not obtain the sonship of God until the Lord’s return. This sonship, which is the redemption of our bodies, delivers our entire being — spirit, soul, and body — from within to without in order to fully release us from the old creation and the slavery of the corruption of the old creation so that we may enter the new creation and the glorious freedom of the new creation. Only this freedom is complete, absolute, glorious, divine, and therefore perfect, without any defect or lack. This is because this freedom is the freedom of God Himself and the freedom of God’s glory. At that time we and God will be in His glory together, enjoying His glorious freedom. As He is in glory, we also will be in glory. As He transcends all things, is above all things, and is perfectly free, we also will transcend all things, be above all things, and be utterly free. This is the sonship we will obtain. Hallelujah! Praise Him! Hallelujah! Praise Him for this marvelous salvation! How transcendent and glorious!
The release we obtain in the Lord’s salvation is a freedom, but this freedom does not imply looseness; it is a regulated freedom. Although this release is freedom, it has a law.
1. “Do not turn this freedom into an opportunity for the flesh” (Gal. 5:13).
Although the Lord’s salvation releases us from the bondage of the law and gives us freedom, we cannot turn this freedom into an opportunity for the flesh. If we turn the freedom we have obtained into an opportunity for the flesh, what appears to be freedom will only be another form of captivity and slavery to lusts. True freedom is not subject to the bondage of the law, and it is not a slave to lusts. It transcends all things without giving opportunity to the flesh.
2. “As free, and yet not having freedom as a covering for evil, but as slaves of God” (1 Pet. 2:16).
The freedom of the Lord’s salvation delivers us from all bondage so that we may serve God; we cannot use it as an excuse or a covering for evil. The more we are released from bondage and obtain freedom, the more we are God’s slaves. As we are restricted and regulated by God, serving others willingly for their benefit, we will offer no covering for evil, do nothing bad, and harm no one.
3. “Beware lest somehow this right of yours become a stumbling block to the weak ones”; “Why is my freedom judged by some other conscience?” (1 Cor. 8:9; 10:29).
We who were saved by the Lord are absolutely free and have no regulations or religious ordinances restricting us. But for the sake of others, for the weak ones, we should gladly be restricted in all matters. Concerning the matter of eating sacrifices offered to idols, they are nothing and can be eaten. But some brothers and sisters do not have this spiritual knowledge. Their consciences are weak, and if they see us eating something that was sacrificed to idols and then eat an idol sacrifice themselves, it will put a spot on their weak conscience and stumble them. Therefore, for the sake of the weak brothers and sisters, we should be restricted and not eat loosely so that our freedom does not become a stumbling block to them. This is not only true in the matter of eating but in other things as well. Although we are free in the Lord and are able to do many things, not all things build up others, and some things may even stumble others. Therefore, we should restrict ourselves and not do them for the sake of others. If we love the Lord and the brothers and sisters, there should be many things that we would not do for the sake of the brothers and sisters. Often, for the profit of the brothers and sisters, we cannot wear certain clothes, say certain things, go to certain places, or live in certain ways. For the sake of the brothers and sisters, we cannot do anything that causes them to be concerned, to have questions, or to become critical, even if it does not involve sin and is clean. Despite the fact that we are free, we should be restricted for the sake of the brothers and sisters.
4. “Though I am free from all, I have enslaved myself to all that I might gain the more” (1 Cor. 9:19).
Although Paul was free and could do all things with no one controlling him, he willingly enslaved himself to others and was restricted in all things for the sake of turning others to the Lord. After receiving the Lord’s salvation, we can enjoy absolute freedom, but we should be restricted in all things because we love the Lord, because we love others’ souls, and because we want the Lord to gain more people. The Lord’s salvation makes people free, but those who have obtained the Lord’s salvation are willing to be restricted by the Lord. The more we enjoy the freedom of the Lord’s salvation, the more we enjoy being restricted for the Lord’s sake. Truly, the more we are restricted for the Lord’s sake, the more we enjoy real freedom.
5. “I am not without law to God but within law to Christ” (1 Cor. 9:21).
Although in other passages of the Bible Paul strongly asserts that those who are saved have been released from the law and are not under the law, he says in 1 Corinthians 9:21 that he was not without law to God but within law to Christ. Although he received the Lord’s salvation, was delivered from the bondage of the law, and had obtained freedom, he was not loose before God. He was restricted in the Lord for the sake of serving God and the Lord. Although he was delivered from the law of letters, God Himself was Paul’s law. Although he was released from the ordinances of the law, the Lord Himself was Paul’s regulation. He was walking before God and could not act loosely. He lived before the Lord and could not live loosely. He was governed by God in every matter and was restricted by the Lord in everything. This is the proper condition of one who is saved and who has obtained freedom. The normal condition of those who have received grace and are saved is that they are not loose, even though they are free. We should not be without law; rather, we should move and act before God under God’s governing, and we should live in the Lord under His restriction. Although we are not under the law, we live before God; although we are not in the letter, we are in the Lord. Although we do not have the restriction of the law, we have God’s governing; although we do not have the bondage of the ordinances, we have the Lord’s restricting. This is absolute freedom, but it is also an absolute restriction.
6. “The law of freedom” (James 1:25; 2:12).
The law of freedom is the commands and teachings in the New Testament. The Old Testament law is the law of letters outside of man, so what it commands and requires of man is the opposite of man’s fallen nature and will. Therefore, it makes man feel that he is under bondage. The commandments and teachings in the New Testament are the Lord’s word of life. Even though they are outside of us, their nature is the same as the new nature and new tendencies, which we have received from the Lord’s word and life. Thus, they cause us to obtain inward freedom. By receiving the Lord’s word, we were regenerated inwardly to have a new nature whose taste is to delight in what is commanded and taught in the Lord’s Word. The more we keep the commandments and teachings in the Lord’s Word, the more our new inward nature feels comfortable and free. The commandments and teachings of the Lord’s Word foster our new nature within, releasing and freeing it. These commandments and teachings are the law that enables this new inward nature to be free, for they are identical to the law of life in our new nature. We who have the new nature should not be under the bondage of the Old Testament law of letters; rather, we should live in the New Testament law of life, which is the law of freedom.
