Title: True Freedom
Contents
Text: John 8:31-32
People face many choices in their lives. Sometimes we make the right choice, but sometimes we make the wrong choice and regret it. Depending on which one you choose and pursue, it will bring about a big change in your life. Religiously, you will be at the crossroads of choosing between faith and unbelief, heaven and hell, loyalty and laziness, and truth and lies.
An article by monk Seong-cheol, who is called a giant in the Buddhist world, was published in the Chosun Ilbo on November 5, 1993. When introducing one part of the content, it says, “Welcome, Satan. I respect and worship you. You are originally a holy Buddha.” Literally translated, Buddha is Satan, but it is strange to worship that Satan, and it is difficult to understand the phrase that Satan is a holy Buddha. So I'm tilting my head. Then in 1991, when he was (re-)inaugurated as the supreme government, he said, “A mountain is a mountain, and a water is water” as the inaugural law. At this, the Buddhists burst into exclamation and praised it as a very great word of truth. However, this statement is not the truth, it is just a natural phenomenon.
Psalm 90:3 says, “For the Lord has turned men to dust, saying, Return, ye men.”
Because life is born and dies once in this world, because it is God's ordained principle, no life can be changed, and even the Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi cannot avoid it, so this is a natural phenomenon. The same is true. Flowers bloom and wither, spring and summer come, summer and fall come, fallen leaves fall and winter comes all of these are the principles God has ordained. Life is only living within the principles set by God.
Ordinary religions use morals, ethics, proper duties, and principles in their life as a measure of their faith. But we Christians must live in the truth that governs more than reason or the principle of life, above it, and all of it.
Truth must have the following three elements:
First, eternity.
Literally, it can only be true if it exists for eternity. Whether they come and go, or come and go, these things cannot be the truth. The things of the world will one day be gone. Things that perish are not truth. That is why 1 John 2:15 says, “Do not love the world or the things in this world.”
You must love only the eternal God. There is only one God who is eternal in heaven and in heaven.
In Exodus 3:14, God said: “I am who I am… .” God is not created or exists by anyone, but He exists from eternity to eternity. Therefore, only He is the truth. Nothing of the world can be the truth.
Second, immutability.
It should not change. It is not the truth that it rots, becomes dirty, grows old, wears out, or decays. Things in the world change at some point. Methods change, shapes change, circumstances change, cultures change, values change, laws (constitution) change. It keeps changing and changing. It was a common belief, common sense, and general knowledge that food should be chewed thoroughly to be healthy. However, a recent study found that if you chew too much, your stomach will not work, which is bad for your health. In this way, things in the world are constantly changing. But the truth does not change.
James 1:17 says, “God does not change, nor does the shadow of turning change.”
Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”
Third, vitality.
There must be life. It is not the truth to be created by anyone, to sustain life, or to exist by any force. It is not the truth that only lives with life, then dies and perishes. You must have a life that can give life to other opponents. Introducing 1 Corinthians 15:45. “As it is written, The first Adam became a living spirit, so the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.” Jesus is the life-giving Spirit, the truth. That is why Jesus said, “I am the way and the life” in John 14:6.
The eternal, unchanging, and self-existent One in heaven is God. God is the invisible truth.
First, because God is truth, His Word is also truth.
John 17:17 says, “The word of God the Father is truth.”
That's why in Matthew 4:4, Jesus answered and said to them, "It is written, Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." People are not animals, not plants. They are spiritual beings created in the image of God. Therefore, the word of God must be food for the spirit.
Second, the truth is Jesus Christ, who came to this world in the flesh as the word of truth.
Jesus is the visible truth. John 1:12 “In the beginning was the Word” and John 1:14 “In the beginning the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. He said”
So, 25 years ago, when we planted the Shepherd Church, we set the church motto as “a church full of grace and truth.”
Third, because Jesus Christ is the truth, the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit of God the Father who came in the name of Jesus, is also the truth. The Holy Spirit is the truth that is with you. John 16:13 says, “But when the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth.
That's right. When you receive the Holy Spirit, you will abide in the truth. When you receive the Holy Spirit, the power to cast out unclean spirits begins to work, and when you receive the Holy Spirit, you can enjoy spiritual freedom. John 8:32 says, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free from sin.” If you believe in Jesus, your sins will be forgiven and you will be saved. This is spiritual freedom.
June is the month of love for the country. I bless you in the name of the Lord to become a Christian who enjoys the freedom of this nation along with spiritual freedom.