Finding Freedom in Christ

Chapter 1

Freedom in Christ

Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. —John 8:32 (NIV)

The Truth Will Set You Free

Jesus said “I have come that you might have life, and have it more abundantly”. Are you enjoying your Christian Life? Are you in bondage? If you are feeling like there must be something more, you need to know the truth; the truth is what will set you free. In John 14:6 Jesus says, “I am the truth”. To know the truth is to know Jesus. Knowing who Jesus is and other facts about Him is not enough; you need to know Him as you would a close friend. Think about the words you might choose to describe a close friend. Now think about the words you would use to describe an acquaintance. Which are the words you use to describe your relationship with Jesus?

First, Consider What Freedom is Not:

• It is not being able to do whatever you want

• It is not without accountability to others

• It is not without consequences of your behavior

Now, Consider What Freedom Is:

• It is being able to enjoy what Christ has given you

• It is being free from the bondage of sin

• It is being free from the power of your sin nature

To Know the Truth

Jesus told His disciples in John 8:32 that you can know the truth and the truth will set you free. If you know Jesus He will set you free. Are you experiencing freedom in Christ? I want to introduce you to a woman who met Jesus and she found freedom.

Before continuing on with this Bible study you need read this woman’s story. You can find this woman’s story in John 4:3-42.

The Bible tells the story of a woman who you would think could never experience freedom. Jesus encountered her at a well outside her home town of Sychar. Jesus and His disciples were tired and hungry from their long journey from Judea. The disciples leaving Jesus at Jacobs well go to get food. Jesus saw a Samaritan woman coming to Jacobs’s well. When the Samaritan woman got to the well and drew water, Jesus asked her to draw a drink of water for Him. Now the Samaritan woman by looking at Jesus would instantly know that he was a Jew, by the way he dressed. A Jewish man from Judea would have had no dealings with any Samaritans, and especially a Samaritan woman. To ask for a drink from her cup would make a Jew ceremonially unclean. This would mean they would not be able to worship at the temple until they had gone through the process of becoming ceremonially clean. When the Samaritan women questioned Jesus, He replied, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked Him and He would have given you living water”.

1. Why do you think Jesus asked this woman for a drink?

Asking for the drink was a way for Jesus to begin a conversation. Jesus immediately turned the conversation from His need to her need. His need was obviously that of physical thirst and a need for a drink of water. Jesus knew that the woman had a greater need than His. He wanted to talk with her about how she could know God personally.

Jesus stated that He would have given her the gift of God and living water if she would have asked. She did not understand what Jesus meant by “the gift of God” and “living water”. The gift of God that Jesus was offering to her was salvation. Salvation is a gift to those who ask. Water is what gives us physical life and living water is what gives us spiritual life. Once the woman showed interest in what Jesus offered her, Jesus asks her to go and get her husband.

2. How did she respond to His request to call her husband (John 4:17)?

3. After the woman told Jesus she had no husband, what did Jesus tell her (John 4:18)?

Jesus agreed with to her, explaining that she had been married five times and was currently living with a man to whom she was not married. Jesus asked her to go get her husband to reveal her sin and give her an opportunity to confess her sin. By verbally admitting her sin she took a necessary step towards finding the freedom that Jesus offers to all who come to Him. When Jesus revealed to her that she has had five husbands and the man she now lives with is not her husband, she calls Jesus a prophet and asks Him yet another question.

4. What is the question she asks Jesus (John 4:20)?

Make it Personal

There are many excuses Jesus could have given for not talking to the Samaritan woman: He was tired, He needed to eat, and His feet were hurting from traveling. His physical needs were not unlike our needs, yet He made the spiritual needs of others his priority. Jesus was willing to alter His plans to meet the spiritual need of people. Is there someone in your life you should be sharing Christ with?