Has the truth set you free?

Yes the truth has set me free! I am now living in HIS victory within me.

I have been in the school of the law and self effort after embracing Jesus Christ as My Savior.

The purpose of the school of the law and death was to strip me of ALL my works of the law and to strip me from all self effort. The only way to graduate is to be totally dead to all self effort. I was in this school for over 40 years on the sin - confess merry-go-round and the dedicate and rededicate cycle that never worked. Sometimes it appeared that I had victory as THE RESULT OF MY OWN EFFORTS but this lasted only for a very short season. And even then I was proud of MY EFFORTS and I became very critical and judgmental toward others, thinking that I was better then them for my actions.

I got stuck in this school for so long that I gave up all hope but as a result I fell into some very serious sins. I came to the place where I realized that I needed faith so I tried to get it but could not because I still regarded myself as my point of origin and source of life.

I knew my sins were forgiven, but I always failed to live and experience Christ's Life. I found out that the harder I tried to live this life the more I failed. Then I was forced to come to the conclusion that me living this was impossible for me to do. I began to realize the reason why I could not live it was that God never even intended me to do that by my own efforts or energy.

I regarded myself as my point of origin and source of life. I found that I could not produce the life of God out of me. I couldn't bring God's life out of me. How was I going to do that? As long as I saw myself as the source of life, though, I had to keep trying. Until one day after countless failures and defeats, Jesus impressed to my spirit: "I am your life. I am the only life acceptable to the Father. I not only want to forgive you; I want to live the life in you. I want to be your life."

So my question was, how do I change the point origin and source of my own life? I knew that my own efforts that it was impossible for me to surrender or to change my source just by the power of my will. Self can NEVER surrender it self.

This is when my eyes were opened to see that this was something that God had already done for me and in me. I saw it was ONLY by HIS doing that I was in Christ. 1 Cor. 1:30 New American Standard Bible (©1995) "But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption."

When the Holy Spirit takes things in hand there is no need for strain on our part. It is not a case of clenching our teeth and thinking that thus we have controlled our-self beautifully and have had a glorious victory. No, where there is a real victory there is no fleshly effort. We are gloriously carried through by the Lord. The object of temptation is always to get us to do something.

Now that I know that I am incapable of pleasing God the temptation to something no longer has any effect on me. How could it?

Added this:

We think of the Christian life as a 'changed life' but it is not that. God offers us an 'exchanged life', a 'substituted life', and Christ is our Substitute within. "I live; and yet no longer I, but Christ liveth in me." This life is not something which we ourselves have to produce. It is Christ's own life reproduced in us.

I cannot say that an intellectual understanding of a truth set me free from anything. Yet, truth did and does set me free and you are right, truth is a Person.

I am so encouraged by this thread.

Like tuc l spent a lot of years - seventeen for me, trying to live the Christian life in the manner of which l aspired to, after having a profound conversion experience at the age of 23. It just did not work and l lost the peace and joy which l had known from the beginning.

I could not understand why l could not maintain the highs of good fellowship and good sermons. It was up on a Sunday, then back down for the rest of the week. When l read Oswald Chambers My Utmost for His Highest, l was even more dismayed, by his much higher spirituality and deep understanding of scripture. I felt that l bore a heavy burden on my back.

I prayed to God that l would go as far as it is possible with Him and longed for a close walk with Him.

My freedom came one day when a friend handed me Watchman Nee's The Normal Christian Life, and glory be to God, it was revealed to me that our sanctification has already been achieved at Calvary. All that was required of me was to have faith in that, submit myself entirely to His will, and determine that sin had no place in my life because He had died to save me from it. Gradual sanctification is of the flesh so all of my self improvements put me back under the curse of the law which demands 100% compliance.

I had three days of rapture and my peace and joy were restored. I no longer had to struggle. I was under graduate e and as long as l trusted in His righteousness, sin had no power over me at all and whatever l wished to do or to stop doing was automatic as it was by faith in the finished work of the cross, where l was crucified with Christ, in reality not just as a notion.

The scriptures were opened a new and l saw that the whole Bible was about this - the return in repentance of God's people who have been in the wilderness, round and round the mountain. It was later before l understood what had happened as there was no teaching of this in my church.

Philip, indeed l felt a fish out of water when l attempted to explain to other believers what God has shown me and accused of being all sorts of a heretic. But this was a reality not a theory for me, l was enabled to walk as He walked and be an overcomer.

Well many years have passed since then and l have been through many a trial and lost that blessing for a time. But even though l have lost almost everything in my life due to my calling of suffering, my hope is nothing less but Jesus and His righteousness whom He gives to those who love Him with their whole hearts.

Sree

"A text without a context is a pretext".

I know you do not agree but I don't know if getting into debating verses like the one from John you gave is allowed on this forum so I cannot get into that verse though it has been discussed plenty of times in the past.

I just wanted to give my testimony to encourage others who do agree with me. I don't think this thread was started for debate.

After accepting Christ and having experienced a Born again life, I got a clear conviction of Conscious sins in my life. I struggled hard to overcome sins that I know. But I failed frequently. Only difference between my pre-born again life and post born again life was the sin conviction and need for repentance. The life style was more or less the same with frequency of sin only being reduced.

Based on my personal life, a truly born again believer cannot live in a life of sin. He will receive an inner spirit who will rest only when he repents and set things right with God. This is exactly what the scriptures say as well.

Now after close to 2 years of defeated life, one night I decided to stop being a Christian. I decided that I was not called to live this life and could no longer take the pain of frequently sinning and not honoring God. I made an honest prayer -' Lord if you have not called me tell me plainly so that I will not be fooling around'. The spirit inside me prompted me to read the Bible one last time.

Bible opened to John 14, where I heard Jesus speaking to me that there is a place reserved for me in his Kingdom and if it was not so then he would have told me plainly. It was not like reading a passage but hearing from someone. And I know who was speaking.

I wept so badly that night with a realization of God's love for me. Though I have continuously dishonored him in my life , he cared to appear in that room, that night to speak to me. After that life became different, I got assurance that Jesus loves me and will rescue me from all temptations. Bible became a different Book and revelations started flowing, with gift to share God's word for encouraging other believers. Above all, I got the power to overcome sin. Power that was lacking in me but was given by my savior.

Indeed Sree the truth that set me free was that l had been crucified with Christ already as in Romans 6 and 7 and it was faith in the possibility of living a holy life that caused me to enter into it and have the freedom to obey Christ completely with my whole heart and not be burdened with guilt.

What did you think of that testimony I just shared?

Do you think this person believes the complete scripture to give their testimony on how Truth has set them free?