Scripture: Exodus 5:1
” Afterward Moses and Aaron went in and told Pharaoh, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘Let My people go, that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness. “
God told Pharaoh the king of Egypt through Moses and Aaron to let the children of Israel go from Egypt. The children of Israel are God’s people by the covenant He has made with their forefathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But at that time they were in bondage as slaves to the Egyptians. God had promised to give them the land of Canaan, the land which is flowed with milk and honey, as their inheritance. But they would not be able to go to that land if they were not set free first from their bondages in Egypt.
The church are God’s people by the covenant He has made with their head who is Jesus Christ. We were all enslaved by sins in the world. God has promised to give us abundant life as our inheritance. However we will not be able to receive this abundant life if we have not been set free from our bondages to sins in the world.
To be set free from the bondage of sin means to be set free from the consequences of sin. The consequences of sin are all forms of death, which is separation from God: dead spirit, demonized soul, sick body, and lack of provision. Therefore, freedom from the bondage of sin is the destruction of death by life. It means dead spirit becomes revived spirit, demonized soul becomes liberated soul, sick body becomes healthy body, and lack of provision becomes enough provision.
To be set free from the bondage of sin we cannot only be set free from the consequences of sin but we must also be set free from the strength of sin. If not, then we will get the consequences of sin again after we are set free from it. What is the strength of sin? It is something that makes sin powerful, which is the law (1 Cor 15:56). To be set free from the strength of sin is to be set free from the law to be under grace. It means we no longer live by what we must do and what we must not do according to God’s laws but by what we love and what we hate according to God’s nature in us.
The apostle Paul wrote, “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” (Rom 6:14) The key to overcoming sin is not to be under the law of God. Not to be under the law does not mean to be lawless but not to focus on it. The law demands us to live according to its commandments. We should not try to do them. Instead we should focus on God and His love, especially the love that He has shown through His Son who died for us on the cross. As we receive this love in our hearts, we shall love God and our neighbor, which is the fulfillment of the law. This is what it means to be under the grace of God.
As sons of men when we are in bondages we have no power to set ourselves free. We can try to help ourselves to get better but we just cannot get out of our bondages. Likewise, when we see people in bondages we have no power to set them free. We can try to help them and they may get better but we just cannot get them out of their bondages. Why? What is the problem? Because in ourselves we only have the knowledge of good and evil, and this knowledge cannot make us or the people free. Only truth can make us or the people free. The Lord Jesus said, “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:32)
The Lord Jesus said, “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” (John 8:36) The sons of men cannot give freedom because they do not have the truth in their lives. They only have the knowledge of good and evil which can only give some help but cannot give freedom. Only Jesus the Son of God can give freedom because He is the truth (John 14:6). The freedom that Jesus gives is true freedom, like a slave released from the bondage slavery and becomes a free man. It is freedom indeed.
The knowledge of good and evil does not bring freedom, only the truth does. But what is the truth? The truth is actually not a thing but a person. So, the right question is not ‘what is the truth?’ but ‘who is the truth?’ Jesus is the Truth (John 14:6). Because the truth is a person, Jesus, then we need to come Him to receive freedom in our lives and then to have relationship with Him to receive more freedom in our lives. Therefore, if we do not come to Jesus, we will not be made free from our bondages. If we have come to Jesus and have been made free from our bondages but we do not have relationship with Him, then we will be back in our bondages again.