The Truth Will Set You Free

 

"If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. John 8:32

For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 

What does this mean?

This means that the one thing needful, and the only thing needful, is Jesus Christ.

Yes you have physical needs. But you don't really need them - because to die is gain.

But more toward the point that Rhythm of the Sword is getting at, you don't need the glowing screen, daily relaxation, escapist quiet time, entertainment, and earthly serenity. 

You have Jesus Christ.

It is a LIE of the devil that you need these things, these earthly coping mechanisms for life. The devil LIES and tells you to yearn for the next quiet moment with the computer screen, to put your hope in the next chance you get to escape your work, to rest in the depths of your smartphone. Your corrupted human flesh LIES when you find yourself putting your trust in all these things that are, in fact, not Jesus Christ.

To live is Christ, and to die is gain. 

Ultimately, to live is Christ, and only Christ. Christ alone is our rest. Christ alone is our hope and trust and escape from the fears and terrors of this evil age.

One of the devil's favorite modern LIES is the brainwashing of mankind into a relentless background anxiety and discontent, to be fed most often by a LYING, glowing screen. Did you know that for thousands of years, many of God's people have been able to go through life contentedly without this? That's because the screen helps to cause your tension and anxiety and fear; it is not the solution or the escape. It just offers a temporary fix for the fear that it creates. It works like any other addiction. The high of the screen makes the rest of life too low, until you can't feel normal or comfortable without being back on the screen.

In other words, the idol isn't helping you in the way that it LIES and tells you it's helping. Rather, it is the poison that it claims to heal you from. But you can get rid of the brutal cycle altogether, if only you are willing to stop believing the LIE: that to live is something other than Christ, and that to die is loss.

Here's the truth: Ultimately, to live is Christ. And only Christ. And to die is gain. And only gain. With great subterfuge and subtlety, the devil, the world, and your flesh teach the opposite. They LIE and say that to live is many things much more important that Christ, and to die is tragedy.

But take heart, because there is a way, and only one way, out of the enslaving, brainwashing LIE.

THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE

The truth is that you are already a baptized child of God. Which means you are already free.

The truth is that you are already free from the enslavement of the devil, the world, and your flesh.

The truth is that you don't actually have to chase the easy escape of the world.

The truth is that the easy escape of the world is not actually an easy escape, but an expertly-veiled spiral of tension and frustration for the human soul.

The truth is that the screen does absolutely nothing for you.

The truth is that you can actually just stop, and rest in the words of Jesus in Scripture instead.

The truth is that Christ is enough, and that when you tear down your high places and rest in Christ instead, the nagging discontent created by the screen will fade and eventually die, killing your need for another hit.

The truth is that your sins are paid for, your guilt is covered, and you have eternal life.

The truth is that Christ has died, Christ is risen, and Christ will come again.

This truth is your very life, and the only balm for your fear, anxiety, and hopelessness.

This truth is your rest under the burden, your escape from sin, your refuge in trouble.

The truth is that it's not about self-control or discipline. These should be built and will be built, slowly, over time. But discipline is not the fountain or source of freedom. Discipline does not equal freedom. It is how you handle your freedom, it can expand your worldly freedom, but it is not where freedom comes from. Truth equals freedom. Follow me here:

1. The truth is that Jesus is all you need. Luke 10:41-42
2. Therefore you don't need your idol - it doesn't actually fill the need it pretends to. Psalm 115:4-8
3. Not only that, but thanks to Jesus' redeeming blood, your idol does not actually have power to enslave you. Romans 6:12-14
4. Thus, released from the powers of darkness, you are now free. Free to cast down your idols because you don't need them and they don't control you, as much as you have let them in the past. Free to discipline yourself in service to God and neighbor. Free to rest in your Lord Jesus as you freely struggle against idolatry for the rest of your life, until you are finally rid of it in the resurrection. You are free to rest in the truth that sets you free. John 8:31-36

You have the truth in your Holy Baptism, in Holy Absolution, in the true Body and Blood of Jesus. You have the truth. Therefore, though you may still doubt it, and struggle with it, and live in a flesh that denies it, you are, right now, truly free. 

In other words, you can actually fight back with the Word of Christ and prayer when tempted to sin. You can drive away the devil because Christ has freed you. You can take your favorite idol, grind it to dust, and drown it in the water of your Baptism - every day, repenting over and over, because Christ has freed you.

Do not lose sight of this liberating truth. Yes, you will be free from sin, completely free from its effects and powers in your dying body, on the Last Day. But what we are perhaps afraid to believe is that right now, we are already free. Sin already has no dominion over us. Jesus has already replaced the heart of stone with a heart of flesh. Jesus is already upholding us with his free spirit - he has purged us with hyssop and washed us whiter than snow.

THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE

Now, in complete and total freedom, engage unceasingly and joyfully in the discipline of love for God and love for neighbor. Gladly be a slave to God and a servant to your neighbor.