«　WEEK 23　DAY 3　»

　　Rom. 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life has freed me in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and of death.

　　Luke 4:18-19 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to announce the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to send away in release those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, the year of jubilee."

　　It is not easy to come back to the Lord after we get angry. Perhaps a person may be one who has learned the lessons well and is able to come back to the Lord and calm his anger. However, after such a one leaves the Lord's presence, his anger may return again when he sees the offending person....All these problems are due to the fact that man is under bondage and has no freedom. The sin within us is a real controlling power. In Romans 7:24 Paul says, "Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from the body of this death?" How we thank God for Romans 8:2, which says that in Christ the law of the Spirit of life frees us from the law of sin and of death! We thank the Lord for His mercy. Many can testify that when they get angry, they can get over it very quickly, and the anger does not come back. This is because the law of the Spirit of life frees us from the bondage of sin. (CWWL, 1984, vol. 4, "The Jubilee," p. 30)

　　In Luke 4:18-19...to announce the gospel to the poor is to preach the gospel to those who have lost God, and those who are oppressed refers to those in slavery. We should not think that the year of jubilee came to free us only on the day we were saved. Actually, the entire age of the New Testament is the age of the jubilee. We have our entire Christian life in the jubilee, living a life of liberty, release, and freedom from bondage.

　　Announcing the gospel to the poor, proclaiming release to the captives, and sending away in release those who are oppressed are the freedoms of the jubilee. These are the blessings of the jubilee, the blessings of the gospel. The blessings of the gospel are the return to God and the gaining of God as our possession. Once we enjoy God as our possession, we are free. Only those who enjoy God do not commit sin and are really free. John 8:36 says, "If therefore the Son sets you free, you shall be free indeed." If we want to be free, if we do not want to commit sin, then we must obtain the Son of God and enjoy Him. The Son of God today is the life-giving Spirit. This life-giving Spirit is the Spirit of life, who is in us as the law of the Spirit of life. Therefore, the law of the Spirit of life is just the Lord Himself, who passed through death and resurrection to become the life-giving Spirit, the Spirit of life. Every life has a law, so the Spirit of life also has a law. The law of the Spirit of life releases us from the law of sin. We enjoy the freedom of the jubilee not only at the moment we believe in the Lord, but beginning from that day we should enjoy this freedom all our life and for eternity. This freedom comes from our enjoyment of God. He has become our possession for our enjoyment, and when we enjoy Him, we obtain freedom. This is how we have the real freedom and are no longer in bondage. However, if we do not enjoy God sufficiently, we will still be in bondage in many things.

　　The year of jubilee is for us to be...returned to God from the authority of Satan and [to be] freed from the slavery of sin. Hence, it is useless to struggle and strive. The only effective way for us is to believe the gospel and enjoy God. Some may say, "I will go home and make up my mind not to be angry or lose my temper again," but whereas one can make up his mind to do good, he does not have the power to perform the good. Making up our mind will not work; we must enjoy the Lord. We must learn to contact this true and living Lord to enjoy Him. In this way He becomes our release within us and our freedom. As a result, we have not only our possession but also our freedom. (CWWL, 1984, vol. 4, "The Jubilee," pp. 30-31)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1984, vol. 4, "The Jubilee," ch. 4