While speaking with His fellow countrymen near the treasury in the temple, Jesus made an interesting statement: ‘If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.’ John 8:36.
Christ’s mission was to reveal God’s character to people, free the human will from the slavery of sin, and restore the likeness of the Lord within the heart. Without Christ, all this would have been impossible. But Jesus showed everyone how He sets the human will free.
Three distinct lines of liberation of the human will can be traced in the Savior’s ministry:
1. Liberation from the power of disease;
2. Liberation from the power of demons;
3. Liberation from the power of errors, heresies, and stereotypes.
All this led people to recognize their helplessness before the forces of evil, to repent of their sins, and to thirst for God’s blessings, thereby giving Jesus the authority to free their will from slavery to sin.
When the will is in bondage, its master can impose his course of conduct upon it, persuading a person to do whatever he desires. A soul in which Christ does not dwell is under the control of evil forces that decide according to their own will whom to control and how. The enemy of the soul does not always reveal his dominion over a person in a visible way. He allows people to be kind, polite, and friendly—but only in such a way that they never come into contact with Jesus.
Satan has a most reliable ally living within each of us: our carnal nature, that very old self which is not subject to God and indeed cannot be. It is also tragic that this carnal person within me will never repent. The enemy of the soul knows this very well and always tries to use human nature for his own purposes. In alliance with the forces of evil, my carnal nature continually attacks my will, desiring to bring it under its control.
My will cannot live alone, but it is able to choose. The enemy is prepared to use any method to take possession of the human will. He is ready to offer anything—from the whip to the carrot—if only he can become the master of my choice.
Having no other claimant, my will is compelled to do whatever its master dictates. The enemy cannot force a person to sin, but he persuades that person so skillfully of the necessity of committing lawlessness, and then holds the human will so tightly in the grip of wickedness, that nothing and no one can free it except Christ.
Jesus respects a person’s choice and sets no one free by force. His approach to people is entirely different. He reveals His unconditional love to the world. Christ serves suffering people, displaying a selfless spirit, compassion, and friendliness. The Lord values the human being within each person. He always has something kind and beneficial for me. Knowing firsthand the sad condition I am in and the forces of evil that attack me and hold me in their power, Jesus approaches me, bends down, and asks whether I desire to be made whole.
Throughout everything beautiful that comes from Christ, a very clear line of respect for my freedom of choice can be traced. Although He possesses omnipotence, which even Satan and all his hosts must acknowledge, the Lord patiently waits for my decision concerning every one of His offers.
Even in order to deliver me and make my will truly free, Jesus first desires to know whether I want it. Amazing love!
While enslaved to sin and deprived of any possibility of making a reasonable choice, my will is still able, when brought under the influence of God’s grace, to see the light and recognize its value. In a way I do not understand, the Lord momentarily frees my consciousness at the time of my choice so that He can offer me something better. For this purpose, He uses His servants, inspired books, personal appeals through the Holy Spirit, and many other channels. What will I answer when God asks whether I desire to be set free?
My will must decide something. I may pause in order to weigh everything. I may give a quick answer. Or I may fail to understand anything at all, or show unbelief that my deliverance is possible and that it is so simple.
I say to Jesus, ‘Yes, I do.’ My will immediately clings to Him; faith overcomes every doubt and relies upon the faithfulness of God’s Word. The Lord receives me into His arms and rejoices with me.
Then the most interesting part begins. I remain in a human body and continue living in this world. The Lord releases me and gently tells me to follow Him. I am accustomed to submitting to the power of sin and going wherever it draws me, but now I have received the power to choose my direction and decide what to do with my freedom.
Freedom in Christ means that I may follow Him, or I may return to where I was. In sin, there is no such choice.
Freedom means freedom in everything. But I choose Christ and declare this to Him. He respects my choice and takes my will as His bride. I become God’s friend, accepted by Heaven and free to answer love with love and friendliness with friendship.
In our human relationships, we must be guided by the same principle of respecting another person’s freedom of choice—even when that person is our closest and dearest. If my friend has expressed a desire to participate or cooperate in something I have proposed, I can rely upon him and expect actions corresponding to the decision he has freely made.
This feature of relationships should always be remembered and taken into account. We were all created for a free life in friendship and love.
But a friend’s freedom does not mean that he will become my shadow and do whatever I want and expect from him. At any moment, he may change his decision and act as his conscience directs. In the same way, I am free to build what I consider to be the right relationship between us.
Of course, all this must remain within the boundaries of God’s law, which preserves us in purity and holiness. Within these boundaries, we may permit ourselves everything to which our will gives consent.
When I offer my friendship to a new friend, I wait for his decision. I know that this person is held captive by many stereotypes that may cause him to disagree and reject the offer. But I do not give up, knowing that I have come under special observation. I decide to be genuine and to resemble Jesus in respecting freedom. At the same time, I do not retreat from my intended goal, but carefully present the benefits of our friendship, assuring the person that I have come to stay forever.
Although I do not have enough time for all my friends, this does not prevent me from gaining them, filling my heart with them, and bringing them joy through my presence throughout my life.
The friendship has been formed, and we can move forward. My friend decides to bring love into our relationship and tells me about it, asking for my opinion and decision. I am free to answer as I consider right, but I choose love. I likewise offer my friend love from my side and watch to see whether he accepts it.
Within human relationships of love, the plan for our union with the Heavenly family is revealed. I bind myself to my friends with bonds of love so that this decision may also be bound in the books of Heaven.
But here on Earth, and later throughout all Eternity, my will shall always be free in the freedom that is in Christ. Throughout Eternity, I shall be free to choose the path that God’s providence offers me. But the beginning of this freedom is established here and now in Jesus.
Bible Verses for Reflection
John 8:31–36; Luke 4:18–19; Revelation 3:17–18; Galatians 5:1, 13; 1 Peter 2:13–17; 2 Peter 2:19–20; 1 Corinthians 8:9; 2 Corinthians 3:15–18; Romans 6:12–23; 7:1–6; Psalm 1:1–3; 119:45; 2 Timothy 2:23–26; 2 Thessalonians 3:5; John 6:38.