THINKING BIBLICALLY ABOUT
FREEDOM IN CHRIST
The Truth Shall Make You Free
The Key To Experiencing Ultimate and Consistent Victory

by Dr. Eddie L. Hyatt, D.Min., M.Div., M.A.


During the praise and worship service, I saw Tom come through the door looking very despondent and oppressed. This was very unusual for he was one of the most enthusiastic members of our congregation and normally arrived at church 30-45 minutes early. Tonight he had arrived late and now stood with his head down without entering into worship. I thought, "What has happened to Tom today?" Shortly thereafter, he interrupted the proceedings and asked, "Would you pray for me? I am all bound up!" Prompted by the Holy Spirit, I replied, "No, we are not going to pray for you. Jesus said that whom the Son sets free is free indeed (Jn. 8:36). You take your liberty!"

Tom immediately thrust his hands into the air and a spiritual explosion occurred. Suddenly the entire congregation exploded in shouts of praise to God and continued for at least the next 10 minutes. It was awesome! Tom shouted praises along with the others. His very countenance changed. He was free!

What set Tom free? A prayer? A certain healing technique? No, it was the truth of Gods Word.

Satan's Power Lies Only with His Ability to Deceive.

We must remember that Satan and demons have no real authority against the Church and individual believers. Satan is able to control people only to the extent that he can deceive them with lies and deceptions. The truth of God's Word is the antidote for all of Satan's lies. Nothing, therefore, can take the place of God's Word in the church and in our personal lives.

When Tom asked for prayer because he was "all bound up," the revelation suddenly came to me that if I prayed for him to be free, I would be affirming Satan's lie to him that he was "all bound up." I saw clearly that what was needed was a declaration of the truth that freedom was already his "in Christ."

When Tom heard that declaration of freedom, he responded to it and we all experienced a level of freedom we had not known.

The Truth Set Roger Free from a Tormenting Past.

During this same pastorate, I dropped by the home of Roger, knowing that he was in a state of despair. Roger had grown up in an atmosphere filled with drugs, violence and immorality. He never knew the identity of his father. As an adult, he had a very powerful encounter with the Lord and committed his life to Jesus. His past, however, continued to haunt him, bringing doubts about his standing with God and his own ability to walk in freedom and liberty.

The problem seemed to be especially exasperated by teaching he heard concerning generational curses; i.e., that family curses are passed down from one generation to the next. People attempted to help him by ministering to him deliverance, the healing of memories and by breaking generational curses. Nothing, however, produced lasting results, and he seemed to sink further into despair and defeat.

As we sat down in his living room, I felt impressed to read a passage from the book of Ezekiel. We both opened our Bibles and read Ezekiel 18:1-20 which is all about the fact that children will not bear the guilt of the sins of their fathers. We came to vs. 20 which says, The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself

At this point Roger leaped from his chair and began dancing a "jig" around the room, shouting and praising God. From that moment he was free. I saw him recently (over 20 years later) and he was still free. What set him free? The truth of Gods word! You shall know the truth, Jesus said, and the truth shall make you free (Jn. 8:32).

We Must Know the Truth in Order to Maintain Our Freedom.

It is one thing to obtain our freedom; quite another to maintain it. We can obtain freedom through someone else's prayer and ministry, but we can maintain it only by knowing and walking in truth.

For example, during a convention a woman came to me asking that I cast the demons out of her. I knew that hers was a chronic condition for I had been told that she had visited most of the charismatic churches in town with the same request. Many had tried to help her, but to no avail.

I encouraged her to sit in the meetings we were having before I prayed for her. "We can get the devil off of you and out of you," I said. "No problem!" "However, when you walk out of here, he will be back. If you don't know how to walk in your authority in Christ and stand your ground, you will be back in the same condition, maybe worse. So, sit in these meetings and learn of your freedom in Christ and allow your faith to be built."

She walked away saying, "You don't understand, you don't understand." Many people, like her, are looking for some apostle, prophet or evangelist to pray a prayer that will solve all their problems. The real key is to know the truth and walk in it.

Luther Discovered the Mighty Power of God's Word.

In his reforming endeavors, Martin Luther learned the power of Gods word. In a sermon preached in 1522, Luther said,

I simply taught, preached, wrote Gods Word; otherwise I did nothing. The Word so weakened the papacy that never a prince or emperor did such damage to it. I did nothing. The Word did it all.

Luther also wrote a brief poem expressing his confidence in the sufficiency of Gods word. It reads,

Feelings come and feelings go

But feelings are deceiving

Ill put my faith in the word of God

Naught else is worth believing.

Let's Get Back to Preaching And Teaching The Word of God.

In the Church, we have substituted self-help methodologies and "pop" psychology for the liberating truths of Gods word. We are like the Israelites of old of whom God said, For My people have committed two evils; They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters and hewn themselves cisterns--broken cisterns that can hold no water (Jer. 2:13). We have forsaken the liberating truths of Gods word, substituting methodologies from the world (which we Christianize) that have already proven themselves ineffective and impotent.

Our Freedom Will Come as We Abide in His Word.

I once heard Oral Roberts say that only 5% of the people for whom he prayed were healed (at least there on the spot). And Oral Roberts had one of the most pronounced healing gifts the Church has known. Does that mean that it was not Gods will for the other 95% to be healed. Certainly not! It is, however, another indication that ultimate and consistent freedom and victory will not come from the prayers of others. God will not allow us to develop a co-dependency on anyone but Himself.

The key to ultimate and consistent victory is found in the words of Jesus recorded in John 8:31, Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed in Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free."